oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on May 20, 2023 10:01:47 GMT
CSS Virginia Wins
Part 1 20 May
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May 30 1854-The Kansas-Nebraska Act is signed into law
October 16, 1859 John Brown raids Harpers Ferry, Virginia (Now West Virginia)
October 18 1859- U.S. Marines storm engine house at Harpers Ferry and capture John Brown
February 16, 1860 Steam Frigate Merrimack decommissioned and laid up in ordinary at Gosport.
September 5, 1860 Merrimack enters Gosport drydock for major overhaul of her 1855, underpowered and unreliable engines.
November 1860
Nov 6 -Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States
Nov 19 - Merrimack undergoes sea trials. Her steam plant is less effective than before the over haul and when pushed during the full power run suffers a catastrophic boiler explosion that kills the Cheif Engineer, two assistant engineers and 35 enlisted men. She is towed back to Gosport.
December 1860
Dec 20 - South Carolina adopts an Ordinance of Secession
Dec 26 - Major Robert Anderson evacuates Fort Moultrie for Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor
January 1861 Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana SECEDE from the Union
Jan 5 - Navy takes delivery, at Gosport Navy yard, of a copy of the very successful Frigate Niagra’s power plant for installation in Merrimack. New engine is stored on it’s flat cars in a rail shed in a disused part of the yard awaiting installation in Merrimack.
Jan 6 - Merrimack taken in hand moored at the fitting out pier for removal of her existing steam main propulsion plant and auxiliary steam engines
February 1861 Feb 9 - Jefferson Davis elected provisional Confederate President
Feb 23 - President-elect Lincoln arrives in Washington, D.C.
Feb 25 - Merrimack engine removal is completed and the beds for the new machinerey are
March 1861 March 4 - Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th President of the United States of America
April 1861 April 15 - Installation of foundation beds for Merrimack’s new main propulsion plant is started.
April 17 - Virginia adopts an Ordinance of Secession and schedules a referendum for May 23
April 18/19 - Federal troops burn the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry to prevent it from falling into the hands of secessionists. The Confederates are nonetheless able to seize valuable military supplies when they occupy Harpers Ferry
April 19 -Taliaferro’s Virginia Militia seized Fort Norfolk and it’s arsenal filled with powder,
shells, and ordnance supplies.
April 19 - President Lincoln declares a blockade of Southern ports
April 20/21 - Federal forces attempt to destroy the Gosport Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia by setting it ablaze. Secessionists put out the fires and salvage a large portion of the facility
April 20 - Merrimack set aflame, but due to the heroic effort of Gosport Navy Yard’s largely seccessionist work force fire is extinquished just above the Gun Deck.
April 25 Steven R. Mallory, the newly appointed Secretary of the CSA Navy, had decided the best investment for the Confederate Navy was to have a small fleet of ironclads . As he surveyed the state of the Gosport Navy Yard, with it’s excellent and only slightly damaged facility, with dry docks and shipbuilding slips all intact or easily repairable. He saw the the vehicle of his plan was available and under his control. In an attempt to destroy the yard before the Confederates could capture it, the commander of the yard ordered that all ships in port for repairs be scuttled. One of these ships, the USS Merrimac, was set afire and burned down to her gun deck. His naval offciers and constructor inspected the Merrimac and determined that her engineless hull could be salvaged. Another failure of the USN was not destroying copy of the very successful Frigate Niagra’s power plant intended for installation in Merrimack. The new engine was stored on it’s flat cars in a rail shed in a disused part of the yard awaiting installation in Merrimack and the Virginian cessionist yard workers knew where it was and had the skill to install it in the new Ironclad. Virginia.
May 1861 May 3 - Lincoln calls for volunteers to join the Union Army for a three-year term
May 11 Mallory formed a team consisting of John L. Porter, a naval constructor; Lieutenant John M. Brooke, a naval officer and gun designer; and William P.
Williamson, a naval engineer. The team came up with a plan, based upon a design
developed by Brooke, to convert the Merrimac into a powerful armored warship like
nothing the world had ever seen.
The design of the ironclad was a large wooden casemate, which resembled the roof of a barn, erected on top of the cut-down hull of the Merrimac. The casemate was
made of two feet of oak, covered by two layers of two-inch armor plate. One layer was
mounted vertically and the second layer was bolted on horizontally. The top of the
casemate was covered with iron grating to provide ventilation, and there were three
hatches. The sides of the casemate canted thirty-five degrees inward, which Brooke
determined best for deflecting shot. The pilothouse was on top of the casemate above the
bow protected by an iron conical shield. The armor plates extended from the casemate six
inches below the water line. The bow and stern were partially submerged during
movement presenting less of a target.
She was armed with six nine-inch Dahlgren smoothbores and two Brooke seven-
inch rifle.
May 21 -The Confederate Congress agrees to move the Confederate capital from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia
May 23 - Virginia voters ratify the State Convention's decision to secede
May 24 - Federal troops seize Alexandria, Virginia
June 1861
June 1 - Skirmish at Fairfax Court House, Virginia
June 2 - P.G.T. Beauregard takes command of Confederate forcesin northern Virginia
June 10 - Engagement at Big Bethel, Virginia
June 16 - Thaddeus Lowe demonstrates the potential of hot air balloons to the government in Washington, D.C.
June 17 - Action at Vienna, Virginia
July 1861 July 1 Wooden-hulled Broadside ironclad New Ironsides ordered by the USN from William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia for $780,000. Unlike Monitor New Ironsides was, although a state of the art ironclad, quite conventional in design of this new type of war ship. She Displaced 4,120 long tons on a Length 230 ft, Beam of 57 ft and Draft of 15 ft 8 in.
New Ironsides was powered by 4 × water-tube boilers 1,800 ihp by two direct-acting steam engines geared to a single propeller shaft. Her max speed was 8-9 knots depending on sea state, her loading, how long it had been since her last boiler cleaning and the amount of fowling to her hull. Her crew was 449.
Her armamanet, on the broadside but behind armor was also quite conventional using fourten 11-inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns, two 150 pounder Parrott rifles and two 50-pounder Dahlgren rifles.
New ironsides armor was substantial with a Belt: 4.5 in, Battery of 4.5 in, Deck of 1 in and Bulkheads: 2.5 in.
July 11, 1861 CSS Virginia Ordered
July 18 - Engagement at Blackburn's Ford, Virginia
July 21 The First Battle of Bull Run/ Manassas. Location: Fairfax County, Prince William County The Army of Northeastern Virginia, underf Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, ought (and lost) the war's first battle.
July 26 Army of the Potomac (AOP) known as “Mr. Lincoln’s Army” established under Major General George Brinton McClellan from the remnants of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. AOP was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln appointed McClellan to command the Union forces in and around Washington the day after the fighting at Bull Run, marking the official beginnings of the Army of the Potomac.
July 27 - Union Major Isaac Lynde surrenders his command at San Augustine Springs, New Mexico Territory
July 27 - Major General George McClellan put in command of the Federal Division of the Potomac
July 31 - Ulysses S. Grant promoted to brigadier general
August 1861 Aug 1861 to April 1862 McClellan brought organization to the seeming chaos he found everywhere throughout his new command.
McClellan organized three to four regiments—the basic building block of American armies since the Colonial era and, during the Civil War, numbering 1,000 officers and men—into brigades. Two to three brigades made up a division. McClellan organized his forces into Army corps in early 1862. Army corps might maneuver either independently or in cooperation, as the military situation demanded. In March, Lincoln and Stanton ordered the army divided into four corps, each with between two and three divisions. They also appointed the four corps commanders. These generals were the senior-ranking division officers in the Army of the Potomac. Each of the four corps commanders also was either a supporter of the Republican Party or, the next best thing for Lincoln, a political neutral.
Aug 3 - Balloon ascension by John LaMountain at Hampton Roads, Virginia
Aug 5 - Lincoln signs the Revenue Act of 1861 into law, USA first national income tax
Aug 14 - Soldiers of the 79th New York mutiny near Washington, D.C.
September 1861
Sept 3 - Confederate troops enter Kentucky, ending the state's neutral status
Sept 5 wooden-hulled broadside Ironclad Galena Ordered Builder H.L. & C.S. Bushnell, Mystic, Connecticut
Galena was 210 feet overall, 36 ft beam, 11 feet draft, 950 long tons displaced with a two mast schooner rig and a 150 crew. Armor was two inches thick above the gun ports, except around the stern where it was 1/2-inch thick.
Galena was powered by a single-cylinder horizontal Ericsson vibrating-lever steam engine, which drove one propeller. The 800-indicated-horsepower engine used steam generated by two boilers and gave the ship a top speed of 8 knots depending on sea state, how long it had been since her last boiler cleaning and the amount of fowling to her hull. It had a bore of 48 inches and a stroke of 36 inches. During her trip to Hampton Roads after commissioning, the ship reached a speed of 9.5 knots when assisted by her sails.
Galena was armed with two 6.4-inch, 100-pounder Parrott rifles in pivot mounts fore and aft firing 70–100-pound shell with a maximum range of approximately 2,250 yards Galena also carried four nine-inch dalgren guns with a rate of fire 70–90-pound shell to a range of 3,450 yards at an elevation of 1 approximately 2,250 yardsGalena. The 20 caliber guns weighed about 9,800 pounds each
Sept 6 - Federal forces seize Paducah, Kentucky
Sept 10 - Engagement at Carinfex Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Sept 12 to 15 - Battle of Cheat Mountain, Virginia (now West Virginia)
October 1861
Oct 3 - The Battle of Greenbrier River (Camp Bartow), Virginia (now West Virginia)
Oct 4 - John Ericsson signed a contract with the Union Navy to build the Monitor for $275,000 (roughly $7.4 million in 2014), with Ericsson being liable for a full refund if the ship did not prove to be a success or be complete in 100 days. Ericsson claimed that he could build the vessel in 90 days, but the Navy gave him 100 days, and his contract held him to that schedule. The Monitor’s hull was built in the shipyard of the Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Ericsson contracted with DeLamater Iron Works of Manhattan to build the engines and machinery of his design. He contracted with Novelty Iron Works, also from Manhattan, to build the Monitor's distinctive turret. Coordinating these three sites was a task only very capabale men like John Ericsson were capable of.
Monitor Displaced 987 long tons, with a Length 179 ft, Beam of 41 ft 6 in, Draft of 10 ft 6 in, two fire-tube boilers of 320 ihp, with 1 Propeller, Vibrating-lever steam engine at a Speed 6-7 knots depending on sea conditions, her loading, how long it had been since her last boiler cleaning and the amount of fowling to her hull. and a crew of 49 officers. She was armed with two 11-inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns. For armoe she had
Armor of 8 in on the turret, Waterline belt of 3–5 inches, Deck of 1 inch and Pilot house of 9 inches
Ericsson, like that sundowning SOB Admiral Rickover (father of the USN Nuclear Navy), was a real bastard to work for but he always delivered an excellent product. Monitor’s revolutionary design included more than forty inventions patented by Ericsson. Ericsson could have made a small fortune from his ownership of those patents, but he donated them all to the U.S. Government. This was his way of showing his support for the cause of preserving the Union .
This act is all the more admirable because the USN had treated him very, very shabily over the 1842 screw steam Corvette Princeton disaster. Ericsson was the designer and main supervisor of construction. The construction was partly supervised by Captain Stockton USN First CO. Captain Stockton designed and directed the construction of the naval gun "Peacemaker" built with old forging technology, 12 inch muzzleloader. Captain Stockton rushed "Peacemaker" and mounted it without much testing. "Peacemaker" had only been test fired five times with standard charges of powder. The new gun never was tested with a double charge proofing shot but was still certified as accurate and “fully proofed."
USS Princeton departed Alexandria, Virginia, February 28 1842 on a demonstration cruise down the Potomac with President Tyler, members of his cabinet, former First Lady Dolley Madison, US Senators and about 400 guests. Captain Stockton decided to fire "Peacemaker" to impress his guests. Peacemaker was fired three times on the trip downriver and was loaded to fire a salute to George Washington as the ship passed Mount Vernon on the return trip. The guests aboard viewed the first set of firings and then retired below decks for lunch and refreshments. When Captain Stockton pulled the firing lanyard, the gun burst. Its left side failed, spraying hot metal across the deck and fragmentation into the crowd. Six men were instantly killed: Sec State Abel Upshur, Sec Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer, Captain USN Beverley Kennon, Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repairs, President Tyler's valet, David Gardiner, a New York lawyer and politician, Virgil Maxcy, a Maryland attorney and state and federal officeholder. Another 16 to 20 people were injured, including several members of the ship's crew, Senator Benton, and Captain Stockton. The president was below decks and not injured.
At Captain Stockton's request, the Committee on Science and Arts of the Franklin Institute conducted an inquiry, which criticized many details of the manufacturing process, as well as the use of a welded band for reinforcement rather than the shrinking technique used on the Oregon. Ericsson, whom Stockton had originally paid $1,150 for designing and outfitting Princeton, sought another $15,000 for his additional efforts and expertise. He sued Stockton for payment and won in court, but the funds were never appropriated. John Ericsson knew he was a very skilled engineer and rightly considered his talents worth every penny he agreed to by contract. He was an honest man in his dealings with all but he had one hell of a temper when he felt he had been wronged, especually when cheated out his rightful compensation. He made it quite clear he would do no more work for the US government until he had been paid in full. He only relented but was still both angry and distrustful of the USN when the Civil War broke out.
Oct 12 - First ironclad in the U.S. Navy, USS St. Louis, launched at Carondelet Missouri
Oct 15 New Ironsides launched
Oct 21 - Battle of Ball's Bluff (Leesburg), Virginia
Oct 25, Captain John Ericsson, designer and chief constructor had Monitor laid her keel lat Greenpoint, Brookklyn. His genious was displayed by the many innovations he included in this Cheese Box on a Raft.
November 1861
Nov 1 - George McClellan replaces Lieutenant General Winfield Scott as general-in-chief of the U.S. Army
Nov 8 - The Confederate emissaries to England and France are removed from the British vessel RMS Trent, initiating the "Trent Affair" and endangering the United States' relationship with Great Britain
Nov 12 - The blockade runner Fingal, bought by Confederates in England, arrives in Savannah
Nov 21 - Judah P. Benjamin confirmed as Confederate Secretary of War. Benjamin had been serving as Jefferson Davis's Acting Secretary of War since September 17
December 1861
Dec 8 - CSS Sumter seizes Northern merchant ship Eben Dodge in the mid-Atlantic
Dec 9 - The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is established by Congress
Dec 9 - Ironclad Galena launched
Dec 26 - United States releases Mason and Slidell, ending the Trent Affair
January 1862
Jan 10 Ironclad Galena commissioned Brooklyn Navy Yard Alfred Taylor as CO.
Jan 15 - Edwin M. Stanton confirmed as U.S. Secretary of War
Jan 30 - Monitor launched at Greenpoint, New York and despite five to one odds against it she floated. The loosers put out 10 to one odds she would not last six months. They rightly figured her shallow draft required for river combat, her low freeboard and heavy turret made her highly unseaworthy in rough waters of a winter and early spring North Atlantic.
The Monitor's engine was a the latest version design by John Ericsson of a "vibrating side-lever engine." He had created similar engines before and decided to use this vatsly improved design again because of its distinctive advantages on a small, low-riding warship. Most steam engines of the time had pistons that operated in a vertical motion, which occupied a lot of space and made them vulnerable to enemy fire because they were partially above the waterline. In contrast, the Monitor's 30-ton, 400-horsepower engine had pistons that moved horizontally, which reduced the height of the engine and allowed it to be mounted below the waterline.
Another absolutely vital innovation Erricsson’s decision to included included two Worthington direct-acting simplex steam pumps. These reliable and versatile machines were ideal for pumping feed water, bilge dewatering, fire fighting, and as general service pumps. Due to their compact size, and light weight compared to flywheel and beam pumps of the day, these features were vitally important in marine applications where space was limited, as it was in Monitor.
February 1862 Feb 10 - Union forces destroy the Confederate "Mosquito" fleet at Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Feb 14 - Union ironclad gunboats attack Fort Donelson, Tennessee
Feb 15 - New Ironsides Commissioned
Feb 16 - Fort Donelson surrenders unconditionally to Ulysses S. Grant
Feb 17, 1862 CSS Virginia Commissioned
Feb 22 - Jefferson Davis inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.
Feb 25 Monitor Commissioned while still fitting out in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The fitting out process took longer than scheduled. Why? Because Monitor was of a unique design and as such the skilled shipwrights who did not exactly embrace innovation and mechanics who did but were learning as they were doing.
Along with the shipwrights and mechanics the officers and sailors of Monitor were also on an excellerated OJT (On Job Training). The senior officers consisted of regular Navy CO Lieutenant John Lorimer Worden, XO Lieutenant Samuel Greene 22 years old, and CHENG (Chief Engineer) Isaac Newton Jr. and Master, Louis N. Stodder
They were assisted by recently joined “Volunteers” commissioned and warrant officers, the best of which were from the Merchant service. These stout fools were Acting (USNR) First Assistant Engineer, Acting (USNR) Albert B. Campbell, Acting (USNR) Second Assistant Engineer John Stimers, Acting (USNR) Master’s Mate J.N. Webber, Acting (USNR) Paymaster William F. Keeler, and Acting (USNR) Assistant Surgeon, Daniel C. Logue.
On Monitors first trial cruise both regulars and volunteers began the painful process of learning their jobs aboard this experimental beast. It soon became clear that the tradeoffs between a revolutionary river/ shallow estuary ironclad and deep water ship’s seawerthyness had been calculated to a knife’s edge. Their survival depended on them always staying alert to Monitor’s next attempt to kill them and taking what little action they could to avoid it.
March 1862
Mar 5 The mechanics who had been putting in 18 hour days for the past week worked all night at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on the Monitor.
Mar 6 At 11 A.M. Thursday Monitor started down the harbor, in company with the gun-boats Sachem and Currituck. She went along very nicely for once , thanks to those great merchanics, and when she arrived at Governor's Island, the Steamer Seth Low came alongside and took her in tow. Monitor went out passed the Narrows with a light wind from the West and very smooth water. Monitor was urgently required at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Therefore , she was towed by the ocean-going tug Seth Low and accompanied by the gunboats Currituck and Sachem. Lieutenant Worden, not trusting the seal between the turret and the hull, and ignoring Ericsson's advice, wedged the former in the up position and stuffed oakum and sail cloth in the gap. The unseasonably mild weather continued the same all Thursday night.
Mar 7 - Monitor early morning, rising seas washed the oakum away and water poured underneath the turret, as well as through the hawsepipe, various hatches, ventilation pipes, and the two funnels. Now the leather belts for the ventilation and boiler fans loosened and fell off and the fires in the boilers, without forced draft, were nearly extinguished. Over the course of the next day this created a toxic atmosphere in the engine room that knocked out most of the engine-room crew.
7 Mar -At 4 P.M. Monitor off Barnegat Shoals and the sandbars known as Long Beach that sheltered Barnegat Bay on the East Coast of New Jersey. The water had gone down Monitor’s smoke stacks and blowers to such an extent that the blowers gave out, and the Engine Room was filled with gas. CHENG Isaac Newton ordered the engine room abandoned and had the able-bodied crew drag the afflicted engine room hands to the top of the turret where the fresh air could revive them. Both Newton and Stimers worked desperately to get the blowers to work, but they too succumbed to the noxious fumes and were taken above. The wheel ropes controlling the ship's rudder jammed, making it nearly impossible to control the ship's heading in the rough seas.
As the storm strenghened Large waves were splashing over and completely covering the deck and pilot house. Water continued flooding into the vents and ports and the ship began rolling uncontrollably in the high seas. Sometimes Monitor would drop into a wave with such force the entire hull would tremble. Leaks were beginning to appear everywhere. CHENG Isaac Newton ordered the engineers to start the Monitor's two Worthington vibrating side-lever steam pumps which temporarily stemmed the rising waters, but soon Monitor was hit by a squall and a series of violent waves and water continued to work its way into the vessel. The large Adams centrifugal steam pump was also being used but with reduced steam output from a boiler being fed wet coal, it too was unable to stem the rapidly rising water. After all of the steam pumps had failed, CO Warden ordered some of the crew to man the hand pumps and organized a bucket brigade, but to no avail.Right when the Worthington pump could no longer keep pace with the flooding, a call came from the engine room that water was gaining there. Realizing the ship was in serious trouble, Warden signaled tug Seth Low for help and hoisted the red lantern next to Monitor's white running light atop the turret. The merchant master of the tug Seth Low decided that “iron thing” would not last out the night in this gale and changed course due East. He was doing this without orders from the US Navy in order to take shelter in to Barnegat bay if he could get through Barnegat Inlet and just maybe save his tow. Seeing this course change gunboats Currituck and Sachem altered course to stay on station with Monitor. The Navy ships had guartermasters who could communicate by flag hoist but their was none aboard the tug.
March 7 - CSS Virginia as actually Completed as a Casemate ironclad, Displacingabout 4,000 long tons, with a Length 275 ft, Beam of 51 ft 2 in, Draft 21 ft. and a crew of 320 officers and men, some of which are soldiers drafted aboard to man her guns.
CSS Virginia now had very reliable and new machinery of two back-acting engines, with cylinders 42 inches in diameter, and 30 inches stroke. One of SEWAL's Surface Condensers is attached, and has a large area of 373 square feet grate surface. The three boilers, are MARTIN pattern. One of them is a small one, called, in naval parlance, "a donkey." The propeller is of composition, (called "brass,") and measures 15 feet diameter, and 17 feet 6 inches mean pitch. It is calculated to make ninety revolutions per minute. CSS Virginia’s 1,510 Installed horse-power generates 7-8 knots depending on sea conditions and her loading.
CSS Virginia’s Armament Two 7-inch Brooke rifles, Two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, Six 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbores and Two 12-pounder boat howitzers. For armor she had to make due with one inch and two inch thick iron plating, the largest plating produced by the Tredegar Iron works in Richmond, Virginia. She had a Belt of 1–3 inches, Deck 1 inch, Casemate 4 inch.
8 March 1:45 Monitor’s small flotilla sighted Barnegat lighthouse and the master of the tug adjusted his course to intercept the Inlet and shelter behind harbor
Gunboats Currituck and Sachem came along each side and with many fenders between them made fast to Monitor and put out kedge anchors. The crew of Monitor, with the exception of CO Worden, XO Green, CHENG and six seaman, who stationed themselves on top of the turret, was transferred to the gunboats where hot food and warm clothing was provided.
8 March 4 AM Monitor’s “Black Gang” supplemented by the senior engineers of the gunboats climbed back aboard their ship to try to get up steam. CHENG and Acting First Assistant Engineer, Albert B. Campbell, conducted a short inspection, the gas was still almost unbreathable, of the boilers showed they had been torn loose from their mountings. The piping was strained and in not a few places broken. However, the small “Donkey” boiler and engine provided by Ericson for emergencies and inport use, were intact, mainly because they were much lighter than the main plant but had used the same mountings as the larger machinery.
8 March 4:20 AM Monitor’s CHENG, caughing, hacking and barely able to breath haltingly reported this to CO Worden atop the turret. Acting First Assistant Engineer, Albert B. Campbell was prostrate at the turret edge puking his guts up and trying to catch his breath. It was clear that first they had to run belts from dry spares adopted aboard the two gunboats, from the “Donkey” Engine to the exhaust fans and clear the engine room and the rest of monitor of the toxic gas. This would be a very difficult task since a man could not work below for more than 15 minutes. After listening to the report CO Worden seeing Monitor was no longer taking on water ordered all hatches be opened to try to ventilate his ship. He also requested that the Captains of the gunboat “Loan” him whatever canvas wind sails/scoops they had to speed up the process. The two agreed and soon their sailmakers and bosuns were adopting the canvas wind sails to the Monitor’s needs.
8 March 5:30 AM customized canvas wind sails were in place and drawing well.
8 March 6:30 AM the engineers were in the engine room. One group was fitting the belts from the Donkey Engine to the ventilating fans. The belts had to be shortened to fit Monitor’s needs. Another group was prepping the Donkey Boiler, especially the feed water flow, for lighting off. Another group headed by XO Green was standing by to do a thorough inspection of the ship as soon as it was breathable below. For now XO Green was making, aided by daylight a topside inspection of Monitor. So far it looked like no major damage. XO Green thought Ericson designed a tough ship that would probably kill them all if she ever had to make another blue water passage in a gale. He also thought, “Thank God for the skipper of the Seth Low”.
At the same time CO Worden was a very worried man for he knew what was expected to happen in Hampton Roads yesterday. He had been told by his worried superiors His Monitor was the only hope the blockading squadron had against Virginia. Now it was clear IF Virginia did come out yesterday or today or even in the next week or two, barring a miracle, and the Union had not seen any of them since the damn war started, he was not going to make it in time. He also knew a disaster would require a sacrificial scape goats and a lowly Lietenant would be only the first of many.
8 March 1862 the Ironclad CSS Virginia, still under construction waiting for gun shutters to be installed, left on what Captain Buchanan told his crew was to be a practice run. She cruised into Hampton Roads and ended the wooden warship’s dominance of the seas.
The eighth of March 1862 was just another uneventful day for Union sailors
taking part in the blockade of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Yet, a dramatic change was about to take place. At 7:30 AM the horizon was broken by a dreadful sight, the ironclad Casemate ram CSS Virginia, was coming at full steam for the USS Cumberland, a twenty-four gun sailing sloop. Several ships in Hampton Roads fired at the ironclad only to see their shells bounce off her iron casemate and fall harmlessly into the water.
Shells from the Cumberland, the Congress, and the Union Army batteries at
Newport News glanced harmlessly off the Merrimac's sloping sides, which her
crew had made slippery with buckets of hot pork fat. “Those shells had no more
effect,” wrote a newspaper correspondent watching the attack from the shore,
“than peas from a popgun.”
8 March At 9AM the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia began firing on the Cumberland when she was within one mile of the wooden vessel. Her first shot destroyed the Cumberland's aft pivot gun, and then she struck with her ram leaving a gapping hole in Cumberland's starboard side. “The noise of the crashing timbers was distinctly heard above the din of battle,” wrote XO Catesby Jones. “There was no sign of the hole above water, but it must have been large, as the ship soon commenced to careen. The shock to us on striking was slight. The blow was not repeated. If our captain had not ordered “All Back Full 100 yards from impact we might have lost the ram and done some damage to our bow. Later Old Buck told me he had read of this tactic, backing their oars, was used by the ancients who after all were the masters of ram warfare.
The 24 gun Cumberland would continue to fight furiously and went to the bottom with her colors still flying. Accoding to Catsby Jones “With only minor damage; our smokestack was riddled, two guns were disabled, and the lifeboats had been shot away.” The Virginia moved on to destroy her next victim. The casemate ironclad ram set course for the fifty gun sailing frigate USS Congress. The Congress attempted to lighten her load and headed for shallow water to escape the ironclad, but ran aground. Virginia closed in on her prey. The ironclad took a position 200 yards from the Congress and fired hot shot and shells destroying her within an hour.
Over 120 of the 400-man crew were killed or wounded. The Virginia, CSS Beaufort, and CSS Raleigh attempted to evacuate the wounded from the Congress, but were engaged by rifle fire from Union troops along the shore. Buchanan was wounded from the attack and ordered his crew to fire hot shot and shell until the wooden ship was on fire. The Congress’s ammo and powder blew up shortly after midnight, completing her destruction.
By noon of 8 March 1862 the Casemate Ironclad CSS Virginia had easily destroyed two of the strongest wooden ships in the Union squadron.
Several times throughout the day, the Virginia had been fired upon by over one hundred guns from ships in Hampton Roads and batteries on the shore. Virginia's iron casemate was dented, but not penetrated, and no shells had hit her below the waterline. Her damage was superficial.
This was the age of the telegraph and the entire massacre was visible from Fortress Monroe. The telegraphists at the fort were in contact with Lincoln’s War room by the wire. It was the first time the on scene commader could be scrutinized by his political masters, most of whom knew absolutely nothing about the art of war let alone naval warfare. Being poiticians this did not stop them from interfering, in near real time. Panic spread to the Union by that telegraph that wonderful telegraphed to be stoked into frenzy by the highly inflamtory exaggerations spread by reporters and editors who wrote sensation because it sold more papaers and allowed larger fees for advertisements. In Washington, Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton declared, “The Merrimac [Virginia] will change the whole character of the war. She will destroy, every naval vessel; she will lay all the cities on the seaboard under contribution.”
Old Buck knew the light was waning but he thought they could sink the USS Minnesota. Leaving Congress a flaming infirno , CSS Virginia joined Confederate gunboats in bombarding grounded USS Minnesota.
NOTE Much of this is from the Minnesota’s deck log,
in “Quotes” mostly but not all.
See www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online
8 March USS Minnesota had had a pretty tough day so far. The morning of March 8, 1862, began as many others for Minnesota’s crew, with beautiful weather allowing for an easy transfer of mail from an approaching boat. The easy morning shifted to a chaotic afternoon when Minnesota’s deck officer observed “three steamers off Sewall’s Point” closing the blockade; Captain Gershom J. Van Brunt ordered the steam frigate to slip its anchor, releasing it to allow the ship to maneuver, before closing the approaching Confederates. Shore batteries at Sewell’s Point starting a heated artillery exchange with Minnesota at 12:30 P.M. One Confederate shell damaged Minnesota’s main mast, and after an hour of firing, the frigate ran aground a mile from Newport News.
“We backed the Engine and set the mizzen topsail to back the ship off, but all to no effect.” The frigate was firmly aground, at the mercy of CSS Virginia, which was then attacking USS Cumberland and USS Congress. “At 10.30 A.M. the ‘Cumberland’ went down with her Colors Flying. At 11.55 A.M. the ‘Congress’ struck her Colors and hoisted a white flag.”
After sinking Cumberland and forcing the surrender of Congress, CSS Virginia closed Minnesota. Captain Van Brunt’s sailors “immediately transported four of the broadside guns to the bow ports, and commenced firing” at the Confederate ironclad and its two wooden escorts, Jamestown and Patrick Henry, but with little effect. Recognizing this, Captain Van Brunt’s crew worked to refloat the frigate. Doing so was a delicate process. Refloating a grounded ship was easiest done at high tide, when ocean water flooded into Hampton Roads, raising water levels. The Hampton Roads area experiences diurnal tides, meaning that high tide comes twice daily. Based on Minnesota’s log, it appears that high tides for the Sewell’s Point area were at approximately 2 A.M. and 2 P.M.
Twice the ship was temporarily freed before being stuck in the mud again.
Old Buck and his XO knew the tide table for Hampton Roads as well as did the USN. He had purposely laid off Minnesota in deep water channel waiting for the tide that would allow Virginia to close the range on the grounded steam frigate. His two wooden gunboats with their shallow draft were making intermittent dashes in and firing off their puny batteries, while Virginia had been conserving her ammo just lobbing an occasional shot at the Yankees to let them know they were next.
In the time remaining their tedious work was filled with setbacks: “We commenced lightening the ship by starting water, hoisting out provisions and heaving overboard seven of 8in guns.” This might lighten the ship to allow it to refloat at the next high tide. After several hours, the crew “succeeded in getting the ship afloat,” but “again grounded” after steaming only a few hundred yards. There it remained, as Virginia, feeling her way with the lead going and the pilot sweating buckets, closed the range.
As Virginia began to close Captain Van Brunt ordered salvoes be fired at her from from his four centerline mounted long range pivot guns; two 11-inch smooth bores and two 100-pounder muzzle-loading rifles. Virginia was presenting her narrow heavily armored bow which reduced her battery that could bear considerably but made her a very difficult target. Even the steady platform a grounded ship provided did not allow Minnesota to score nore than a few glancing blows on Virginia’s casemate. Even when Virginia closed the range Captain Van Brunt’s full broadside of fourteen 9 inch and seven 8 inch along with the 4 pivot guns still only had the narrow bow target to aim at. On the other hand the few guns Virginia could direct at Minnesota’s 265 foot length were scoring telling hits that were chewing up the wooden hull and spars and dismounting guns and killing sailors.
In time Virginia’s 21 foot draft, even on a high tide, convinced Old Buck he had chanced things enough and he turned to unmask his entire larboard battery of 2 pivot 7-inch Brooke rifles, one 6.4-inch Brooke rifle and three 9-inch Dahlgren smooth bores, all firing shell. This exposed Virginians 250 foot casemate built of 24 inches of oak and pine in several layers, topped with two 2-inch layers of iron plating oriented perpendicular to each other, and angled at 36 degrees from horizontal to deflect fired enemy shells. poured in a very rapid series of full broadside of fourteen 9 inch and seven 8 inch along with the 4 pivot guns. The contest of ironclad vs. wooden hulled steam frigate did not last long. The frigate was blown to pieces from the deadly shells with most of the crew dead, in a matter of 20 minutes.
This only left Roanoke, Minnesota's sister ship, which wisely and out of necessity of her deep draft had run to seaward into choppy water with a clear route out into the Atlantic where Virginia could not go.
By this time it was nightfall, the Virginia and her small squadron of by Patrick, Jamestown, Teaser,CSS Beaufort, and CSS Raleigh anchored off Sewall's Point. Her crew celebrated their victory and planned to finish their rout of the Union ships in the coming morning. They had broken the blockade and were masters of hmaption Roads. Their casemate iron clad ram CSS Virginia proved no wooden ship, no matter her strength could stand against an iron ship.” With the armor and firepower of the ironclad, the era of wooden warships had ended.
Old Buck and Sec Mallory now wondered if their steam powered, casmated ironclad would also be proof against land batteries, such as those defending the Potomac river and washington? The XO had to cut the celebration short after a few hours because their ship needed maintenance and they had to coal and rearm for their next histuey making mission. Barges and steamers were approaching their anchorage loaded with what they required along with mechanics from Gosport and Tredegar to repair as much damage as possible before they sailed tomorrow.
Old Buck wanted his men rested so Mallory sent out a steveadore crew of slaves to provision and rearm the ship under the supervision of shore side CSN petty officers. This allowed his worn out crew to turn in by midnight.
Not so for his senior officers. CO and Flotilla Commander Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSN, Sec Mallory an Army Engineer colonel who had served in Fortress Monrow and was well aquainted with shore batteries and washington , XO Lieutenant Catesby Roger Jones, Gunnery Officer “The Gun Boss” Army Captain Thomas Kevill United Artillery, Company E, 41st Virginia Infantry Regiment, the CO’s of Raleigh and Beaufort worked on the plan for tomorrow.
CHENG was busy overseeing the maintenance on his engines.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 20, 2023 10:27:48 GMT
CSS Virginia Wins
Part 1 20 May
May 30 1854-The Kansas-Nebraska Act is signed into law
October 16, 1859 John Brown raids Harpers Ferry, Virginia (Now West Virginia)
October 18 1859- U.S. Marines storm engine house at Harpers Ferry and capture John Brown
February 16, 1860 Steam Frigate Merrimack decommissioned and laid up in ordinary at Gosport.
September 5, 1860 Merrimack enters Gosport drydock for major overhaul of her 1855, underpowered and unreliable engines.
November 1860
Nov 6 -Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States
Nov 19 - Merrimack undergoes sea trials. Her steam plant is less effective than before the over haul and when pushed during the full power run suffers a catastrophic boiler explosion that kills the Cheif Engineer, two assistant engineers and 35 enlisted men. She is towed back to Gosport.
December 1860
Dec 20 - South Carolina adopts an Ordinance of Secession
Dec 26 - Major Robert Anderson evacuates Fort Moultrie for Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor
January 1861
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana SECEDE from the Union
Jan 5 - Navy takes delivery, at Gosport Navy yard, of a copy of the very successful Frigate Niagra’s power plant for installation in Merrimack. New engine is stored on it’s flat cars in a rail shed in a disused part of the yard awaiting installation in Merrimack.
Jan 6 - Merrimack taken in hand moored at the fitting out pier for removal of her existing steam main propulsion plant and auxiliary steam engines
February 1861
Feb 9 - Jefferson Davis elected provisional Confederate President
Feb 23 - President-elect Lincoln arrives in Washington, D.C.
Feb 25 - Merrimack engine removal is completed and the beds for the new machinerey are
March 1861
March 4 - Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th President of the United States of America
April 1861
April 15 - Installation of foundation beds for Merrimack’s new main propulsion plant is started.
April 17 - Virginia adopts an Ordinance of Secession and schedules a referendum for May 23
April 18/19 - Federal troops burn the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry to prevent it from falling into the hands of secessionists. The Confederates are nonetheless able to seize valuable military supplies when they occupy Harpers Ferry
April 19 -Taliaferro’s Virginia Militia seized Fort Norfolk and it’s arsenal filled with powder,
shells, and ordnance supplies.
April 19 - President Lincoln declares a blockade of Southern ports
April 20/21 - Federal forces attempt to destroy the Gosport Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia by setting it ablaze. Secessionists put out the fires and salvage a large portion of the facility
April 20, 1861, Merrimack set aflame, but due to the heroic effort of Gosport Navy Yard’s largely seccessionist work force fire is extinquished just above the Gun Deck.
April 25 Steven R. Mallory, the newly appointed Secretary of the CSA Navy, had decided the best investment for the Confederate Navy was to have a small fleet of ironclads . As he surveyed the state of the Gosport Navy Yard, with it’s excellent and only slightly damaged facility, with dry docks and shipbuilding slips all intact or easily repairable. He saw the the vehicle of his plan was available and under his control. In an attempt to destroy the yard before the Confederates could capture it, the commander of the yard ordered that all ships in port for repairs be scuttled. One of these ships, the USS Merrimac, was set afire and burned down to her gun deck. His naval offciers and constructor inspected the Merrimac and determined that her engineless hull could be salvaged. Another failure of the USN was not destroying copy of the very successful Frigate Niagra’s power plant intended for installation in Merrimack. The new engine was stored on it’s flat cars in a rail shed in a disused part of the yard awaiting installation in Merrimack and the Virginian cessionist yard workers knew where it was and had the skill to install it in the new Ironclad. Virginia.
May 1861
May 3 - Lincoln calls for volunteers to join the Union Army for a three-year term
May 11 Mallory formed a team consisting of John L. Porter, a naval constructor; Lieutenant John M. Brooke, a naval officer and gun designer; and William P.
Williamson, a naval engineer. The team came up with a plan, based upon a design
developed by Brooke, to convert the Merrimac into a powerful armored warship like
nothing the world had ever seen.
The design of the ironclad was a large wooden casemate, which resembled the
roof of a barn, erected on top of the cut-down hull of the Merrimac. The casemate was
made of two feet of oak, covered by two layers of two-inch armor plate. One layer was
mounted vertically and the second layer was bolted on horizontally. The top of the
casemate was covered with iron grating to provide ventilation, and there were three
hatches. The sides of the casemate canted thirty-five degrees inward, which Brooke
determined best for deflecting shot. The pilothouse was on top of the casemate above the
bow protected by an iron conical shield. The armor plates extended from the casemate six
inches below the water line. The bow and stern were partially submerged during
movement presenting less of a target.
She was armed with six nine-inch Dahlgren smoothbores and two Brooke seven-
inch rifle.
May 21 -The Confederate Congress agrees to move the Confederate capital from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia
May 23 - Virginia voters ratify the State Convention's decision to secede
May 24 - Federal troops seize Alexandria, Virginia
June 1861
June 1 - Skirmish at Fairfax Court House, Virginia
June 2 - P.G.T. Beauregard takes command of Confederate forcesin northern Virginia
June 10 - Engagement at Big Bethel, Virginia
June 16 - Thaddeus Lowe demonstrates the potential of hot air balloons to the government in Washington, D.C.
June 17 - Action at Vienna, Virginia
July 1861
July 1 1861 Wooden-hulled Broadside ironclad New Ironsides ordered by the USN from William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia for $780,000. Unlike Monitor New Ironsides was, although a state of the art ironclad, quite conventional in design of this new type of war ship. She Displaced 4,120 long tons on a Length 230 ft, Beam of 57 ft and Draft of 15 ft 8 in.
New Ironsides was powered by 4 × water-tube boilers 1,800 ihp by two direct-acting steam engines geared to a single propeller shaft. Her max speed was 8-9 knots depending on sea state, her loading, how long it had been since her last boiler cleaning and the amount of fowling to her hull. Her crew was 449.
Her armamanet, on the broadside but behind armor was also quite conventional using fourten 11-inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns, two 150 pounder Parrott rifles and two 50-pounder Dahlgren rifles.
New ironsides armor was substantial with a Belt: 4.5 in, Battery of 4.5 in, Deck of 1 in and Bulkheads: 2.5 in.
July 11, 1861 CSS Virginia Ordered
July 18 - Engagement at Blackburn's Ford, Virginia
July 21, 1861 The First Battle of Bull Run/ Manassas. Location: Fairfax County, Prince William County The Army of Northeastern Virginia, underf Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, ought (and lost) the war's first battle.
July 26 1861 Army of the Potomac (AOP) known as “Mr. Lincoln’s Army” established under Major General George Brinton McClellan from the remnants of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. AOP was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln appointed McClellan to command the Union forces in and around Washington the day after the fighting at Bull Run, marking the official beginnings of the Army of the Potomac.
July 27 - Union Major Isaac Lynde surrenders his command at San Augustine Springs, New Mexico Territory
July 27 - Major General George McClellan put in command of the Federal Division of the Potomac
July 31 - Ulysses S. Grant promoted to brigadier general
August 1861
Aug 1861 to April 1862 McClellan brought organization to the seeming chaos he found everywhere throughout his new command.
McClellan organized three to four regiments—the basic building block of American armies since the Colonial era and, during the Civil War, numbering 1,000 officers and men—into brigades. Two to three brigades made up a division. McClellan organized his forces into Army corps in early 1862. Army corps might maneuver either independently or in cooperation, as the military situation demanded. In March, Lincoln and Stanton ordered the army divided into four corps, each with between two and three divisions. They also appointed the four corps commanders. These generals were the senior-ranking division officers in the Army of the Potomac. Each of the four corps commanders also was either a supporter of the Republican Party or, the next best thing for Lincoln, a political neutral.
Aug 3 - Balloon ascension by John LaMountain at Hampton Roads, Virginia
Aug 5 - Lincoln signs the Revenue Act of 1861 into law, USA first national income tax
Aug 14 - Soldiers of the 79th New York mutiny near Washington, D.C.
September 1861
Sept 3 - Confederate troops enter Kentucky, ending the state's neutral status
Sept 5 1861 wooden-hulled broadside Ironclad Galena Ordered Builder H.L. & C.S. Bushnell, Mystic, Connecticut
Galena was 210 feet overall, 36 ft beam, 11 feet draft, 950 long tons displaced with a two mast schooner rig and a 150 crew. Armor was two inches thick above the gun ports, except around the stern where it was 1/2-inch thick.
Galena was powered by a single-cylinder horizontal Ericsson vibrating-lever steam engine, which drove one propeller. The 800-indicated-horsepower engine used steam generated by two boilers and gave the ship a top speed of 8 knots depending on sea state, how long it had been since her last boiler cleaning and the amount of fowling to her hull. It had a bore of 48 inches and a stroke of 36 inches. During her trip to Hampton Roads after commissioning, the ship reached a speed of 9.5 knots when assisted by her sails.
Galena was armed with two 6.4-inch, 100-pounder Parrott rifles in pivot mounts fore and aft firing 70–100-pound shell with a maximum range of approximately 2,250 yards Galena also carried four nine-inch dalgren guns with a rate of fire 70–90-pound shell to a range of 3,450 yards at an elevation of 1 approximately 2,250 yardsGalena. The 20 caliber guns weighed about 9,800 pounds each
Sept 6 - Federal forces seize Paducah, Kentucky
Sept 10 - Engagement at Carinfex Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Sept12 to 15 - Battle of Cheat Mountain, Virginia (now West Virginia)
October 1861
Oct 3 - The Battle of Greenbrier River (Camp Bartow), Virginia (now West Virginia)
Oct 4 - John Ericsson signed a contract with the Union Navy to build the Monitor for $275,000 (roughly $7.4 million in 2014), with Ericsson being liable for a full refund if the ship did not prove to be a success or be complete in 100 days. Ericsson claimed that he could build the vessel in 90 days, but the Navy gave him 100 days, and his contract held him to that schedule. The Monitor’s hull was built in the shipyard of the Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Ericsson contracted with DeLamater Iron Works of Manhattan to build the engines and machinery of his design. He contracted with Novelty Iron Works, also from Manhattan, to build the Monitor's distinctive turret. Coordinating these three sites was a task only very capabale men like John Ericsson were capable of.
Monitor Displaced 987 long tons, with a Length 179 ft, Beam of 41 ft 6 in, Draft of 10 ft 6 in, two fire-tube boilers of 320 ihp, with 1 Propeller, Vibrating-lever steam engine at a Speed 6-7 knots depending on sea conditions, her loading, how long it had been since her last boiler cleaning and the amount of fowling to her hull. and a crew of 49 officers. She was armed with two 11-inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns. For armoe she had
Armor of 8 in on the turret, Waterline belt of 3–5 inches, Deck of 1 inch and Pilot house of 9 inches
Ericsson, like that sundowning SOB Admiral Rickover (father of the USN Nuclear Navy), was a real bastard to work for but he always delivered an excellent product. Monitor’s revolutionary design included more than forty inventions patented by Ericsson. Ericsson could have made a small fortune from his ownership of those patents, but he donated them all to the U.S. Government. This was his way of showing his support for the cause of preserving the Union .
This act is all the more admirable because the USN had treated him very, very shabily over the 1842 screw steam Corvette Princeton disaster. Ericsson was the designer and main supervisor of construction. The construction was partly supervised by Captain Stockton USN First CO. Captain Stockton designed and directed the construction of the naval gun "Peacemaker" built with old forging technology, 12 inch muzzleloader. Captain Stockton rushed "Peacemaker" and mounted it without much testing. "Peacemaker" had only been test fired five times with standard charges of powder. The new gun never was tested with a double charge proofing shot but was still certified as accurate and “fully proofed."
USS Princeton departed Alexandria, Virginia, February 28 1842 on a demonstration cruise down the Potomac with President Tyler, members of his cabinet, former First Lady Dolley Madison, US Senators and about 400 guests. Captain Stockton decided to fire "Peacemaker" to impress his guests. Peacemaker was fired three times on the trip downriver and was loaded to fire a salute to George Washington as the ship passed Mount Vernon on the return trip. The guests aboard viewed the first set of firings and then retired below decks for lunch and refreshments. When Captain Stockton pulled the firing lanyard, the gun burst. Its left side failed, spraying hot metal across the deck and fragmentation into the crowd. Six men were instantly killed: Sec State Abel Upshur, Sec Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer, Captain USN Beverley Kennon, Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repairs, President Tyler's valet, David Gardiner, a New York lawyer and politician, Virgil Maxcy, a Maryland attorney and state and federal officeholder. Another 16 to 20 people were injured, including several members of the ship's crew, Senator Benton, and Captain Stockton. The president was below decks and not injured.
At Captain Stockton's request, the Committee on Science and Arts of the Franklin Institute conducted an inquiry, which criticized many details of the manufacturing process, as well as the use of a welded band for reinforcement rather than the shrinking technique used on the Oregon. Ericsson, whom Stockton had originally paid $1,150 for designing and outfitting Princeton, sought another $15,000 for his additional efforts and expertise. He sued Stockton for payment and won in court, but the funds were never appropriated. John Ericsson knew he was a very skilled engineer and rightly considered his talents worth every penny he agreed to by contract. He was an honest man in his dealings with all but he had one hell of a temper when he felt he had been wronged, especually when cheated out his rightful compensation. He made it quite clear he would do no more work for the US government until he had been paid in full. He only relented but was still both angry and distrustful of the USN when the Civil War broke out.
Oct 12 - First ironclad in the U.S. Navy, USS St. Louis, launched at Carondelet Missouri
Oct 15 1862 New Ironsides launched
Oct 21 - Battle of Ball's Bluff (Leesburg), Virginia
Oct 25, 1862 Captain John Ericsson, designer and chief constructor had Monitor laid her keel lat Greenpoint, Brookklyn. His genious was displayed by the many innovations he included in this Cheese Box on a Raft.
November 1861
Nov 1 - George McClellan replaces Lieutenant General Winfield Scott as general-in-chief of the U.S. Army
Nov 8 - The Confederate emissaries to England and France are removed from the British vessel RMS Trent, initiating the "Trent Affair" and endangering the United States' relationship with Great Britain
Nov 12 - The blockade runner Fingal, bought by Confederates in England, arrives in Savannah
Nov21 - Judah P. Benjamin confirmed as Confederate Secretary of War. Benjamin had been serving as Jefferson Davis's Acting Secretary of War since September 17
December 1861
Dec 8 - CSS Sumter seizes Northern merchant ship Eben Dodge in the mid-Atlantic
Dec 9 - The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is established by Congress
Dec 9 - Ironclad Galena launched
Dec 26 - United States releases Mason and Slidell, ending the Trent Affair
January 1862
Jan - 10 Ironclad Galena commissioned Brooklyn Navy Yard Alfred Taylor as CO.
Jan 15 - Edwin M. Stanton confirmed as U.S. Secretary of War
Jan 30 - Monitor launched at Greenpoint, New York and despite five to one odds against it she floated. The loosers put out 10 to one odds she would not last six months. They rightly figured her shallow draft required for river combat, her low freeboard and heavy turret made her highly unseaworthy in rough waters of a winter and early spring North Atlantic.
February 1862
Feb 10 - Union forces destroy the Confederate "Mosquito" fleet at Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Feb 14 - Union ironclad gunboats attack Fort Donelson, Tennessee
Feb 15 1862 New Ironsides Commissioned
Feb 16 - Fort Donelson surrenders unconditionally to Ulysses S. Grant
Feb 17, 1862 CSS Virginia Commissioned
Feb 22 - Jefferson Davis inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.
Feb - 25 Monitor Commissioned while still fitting out in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The fitting out process took longer than scheduled. Why? Because Monitor was of a unique design and as such the skilled shipwrights who did not exactly embrace innovation and mechanics who did but were learning as they were doing.
Along with the shipwrights and mechanics the officers and sailors of Monitor were also on an excellerated OJT (On Job Training). The senior officers consisted of regular Navy CO Lieutenant John Lorimer Worden, XO Lieutenant Samuel Greene 22 years old, and CHENG (Chief Engineer) Isaac Newton Jr. and Master, Louis N. Stodder
They were assisted by recently joined “Volunteers” commissioned and warrant officers, the best of which were from the Merchant service. These stout fools were Acting (USNR) First Assistant Engineer, Acting (USNR) Albert B. Campbell, Acting (USNR) Second Assistant Engineer John Stimers, Acting (USNR) Master’s Mate J.N. Webber, Acting (USNR) Paymaster William F. Keeler, and Acting (USNR) Assistant Surgeon, Daniel C. Logue.
On Monitors first trial cruise both regulars and volunteers began the painful process of learning their jobs aboard this experimental beast. It soon became clear that the tradeoffs between a revolutionary river/ shallow estuary ironclad and deep water ship’s seawerthyness had been calculated to a knife’s edge. Their survival depended on them always staying alert to Monitor’s next attampt to kill tthem and taking what little action they could to avoid it.
March 1862
Mar - 5 The mechanics who had been putting in 18 hour days for the past week worked all night at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on the Monitor.
Mar – 6 At 11 A.M. Thursday Monitor started down the harbor, in company with the gun-boats Sachem and Currituck. She went along very nicely for once , thanks to those great merchanics, and when she arrived at Governor's Island, the Steamer Seth Low came alongside and took her in tow. Monitor went out passed the Narrows with a light wind from the West and very smooth water.
Monitor was urgently required at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Therefore , she was towed by the ocean-going tug Seth Low and accompanied by the gunboats Currituck and Sachem. Lieutenant Worden, not trusting the seal between the turret and the hull, and ignoring Ericsson's advice, wedged the former in the up position and stuffed oakum and sail cloth in the gap. The unseasonably mild weather continued the same all Thursday night.
Mar 7 - Monitor early morning, rising seas washed the oakum away and water poured underneath the turret, as well as through the hawsepipe, various hatches, ventilation pipes, and the two funnels. Now the leather belts for the ventilation and boiler fans loosened and fell off and the fires in the boilers, without forced draft, were nearly extinguished. Over the course of the next day this created a toxic atmosphere in the engine room that knocked out most of the engine-room crew.
7 Mar -At 4 P.M. Monitor off Barnegat Shoals and the sandbars known as Long Beach that sheltered Barnegat Bay on the East Coast of New Jersey. The water had gone down Monitor’s smoke stacks and blowers to such an extent that the blowers gave out, and the Engine Room was filled with gas. CHENG Isaac Newton ordered the engine room abandoned and had the able-bodied crew drag the afflicted engine room hands to the top of the turret where the fresh air could revive them. Both Newton and Stimers worked desperately to get the blowers to work, but they too succumbed to the noxious fumes and were taken above. The wheel ropes controlling the ship's rudder jammed, making it nearly impossible to control the ship's heading in the rough seas.
As the storm strenghened Large waves were splashing over and completely covering the deck and pilot house. Water continued flooding into the vents and ports and the ship began rolling uncontrollably in the high seas. Sometimes Monitor would drop into a wave with such force the entire hull would tremble. Leaks were beginning to appear everywhere. CHENG Isaac Newton ordered the engineers to start the Monitor's two Worthington vibrating side-lever steam pumps which temporarily stemmed the rising waters, but soon Monitor was hit by a squall and a series of violent waves and water continued to work its way into the vessel. The large Adams centrifugal steam pump was also being used but with reduced steam output from a boiler being fed wet coal, it too was unable to stem the rapidly rising water. After all of the steam pumps had failed, CO Warden ordered some of the crew to man the hand pumps and organized a bucket brigade, but to no avail.Right when the Worthington pump could no longer keep pace with the flooding, a call came from the engine room that water was gaining there. Realizing the ship was in serious trouble, Warden signaled tug Seth Low for help and hoisted the red lantern next to Monitor's white running light atop the turret.
The merchant master of the tug Seth Low decided that “iron thing” would not last out the night in this gale and changed course due East. He was doing this without orders from the US Navy in order to take shelter in to Barnegat bay if he could get through Barnegat Inlet and just maybe save his tow. Seeing this course change gunboats Currituck and Sachem altered course to stay on station with Monitor. The Navy ships had guartermasters who could communicate by flag hoist but their was none aboard the tug.
March 7 - CSS Virginia as actually Completed as a Casemate ironclad,
Displacingabout 4,000 long tons, with a Length 275 ft, Beam of 51 ft 2 in, Draft 21 ft. and a crew of 320 officers and men, some of which are soldiers drafted aboard to man her guns.
CSS Virginia now had very reliable and new machinery of two back-acting engines, with cylinders 42 inches in diameter, and 30 inches stroke. One of SEWAL's Surface Condensers is attached, and has a large area of 373 square feet grate surface. The three boilers, are MARTIN pattern. One of them is a small one, called, in naval parlance, "a donkey." The propeller is of composition, (called "brass,") and measures 15 feet diameter, and 17 feet 6 inches mean pitch. It is calculated to make ninety revolutions per minute. CSS Virginia’s 1,510 Installed horse-power generates 7-8 knots depending on sea conditions and her loading.
CSS Virginia’s Armament Two 7-inch Brooke rifles, Two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, Six 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbores and Two 12-pounder boat howitzers. For armor she had to make due with one inch and two inch thick iron plating, the largest plating produced by the Tredegar Iron works in Richmond, Virginia. She had a Belt of 1–3 inches, Deck 1 inch, Casemate 4 inch.
The Monitor's engine was a the latest version design by John Ericsson of a "vibrating side-lever engine." He had created similar engines before and decided to use this vatsly improved design again because of its distinctive advantages on a small, low-riding warship. Most steam engines of the time had pistons that operated in a vertical motion, which occupied a lot of space and made them vulnerable to enemy fire because they were partially above the waterline. In contrast, the Monitor's 30-ton, 400-horsepower engine had pistons that moved horizontally, which reduced the height of the engine and allowed it to be mounted below the waterline.
Another absolutely vital innovation Erricsson’s decision to included included two Worthington direct-acting simplex steam pumps. These reliable and versatile machines were ideal for pumping feed water, bilge dewatering, fire fighting, and as general service pumps. Due to their compact size, and light weight compared to flywheel and beam pumps of the day, these features were vitally important in marine applications where space was limited, as it was in Monitor.
8 March 1:45 Monitor’s small flotilla sighted Barnegat lighthouse and the master of the tug adjusted his course to intercept the Inlet and shelter behind harbor
Gunboats Currituck and Sachem came along each side and with many fenders between them made fast to Monitor and put out kedge anchors. The crew of Monitor, with the exception of CO Worden, XO Green, CHENG and six seaman, who stationed themselves on top of the turret, was transferred to the gunboats where hot food and warm clothing was provided.
8 March 4 AM Monitor’s “Black Gang” supplemented by the senior engineers of the gunboats climbed back aboard their ship to try to get up steam. CHENG and Acting First Assistant Engineer, Albert B. Campbell, conducted a short inspection, the gas was still almost unbreathable, of the boilers showed they had been torn loose from their mountings. The piping was strained and in not a few places broken. However, the small “Donkey” boiler and engine provided by Ericson for emergencies and inport use, were intact, mainly because they were much lighter than the main plant but had used the same mountings as the larger machinery.
8 March 4:20 AM Monitor’s CHENG, caughing, hacking and barely able to breath haltingly reported this to CO Worden atop the turret. Acting First Assistant Engineer, Albert B. Campbell was prostrate at the turret edge puking his guts up and trying to catch his breath. It was clear that first they had to run belts from dry spares adopted aboard the two gunboats, from the “Donkey” Engine to the exhaust fans and clear the engine room and the rest of monitor of the toxic gas. This would be a very difficult task since a man could not work below for more than 15 minutes.
After listening to the report CO Worden seeing Monitor was no longer taking on water ordered all hatches be opened to try to ventilate his ship. He also requested that the Captains of the gunboat “Loan” him whatever canvas wind sails/scoops they had to speed up the process. The two agreed and soon their sailmakers and bosuns were adopting the canvas wind sails to the Monitor’s needs.
8 March 5:30 AM customized canvas wind sails were in place and drawing well.
8 March 6:30 AM the engineers were in the engine room. One group was fitting the belts from the Donkey Engine to the ventilating fans. The belts had to be shortened to fit Monitor’s needs. Another group was prepping the Donkey Boiler, especially the feed water flow, for lighting off. Another group headed by XO Green was standing by to do a thorough inspection of the ship as soon as it was breathable below. For now XO Green was making, aided by daylight a topside inspection of Monitor. So far it looked like no major damage. XO Green thought Ericson designed a tough ship that would probably kill them all if she ever had to make another blue water passage in a gale. He also thought, “Thank God for the skipper of the Seth Low”.
At the same time CO Worden was a very worried man for he knew what was expected to happen in Hampton Roads yesterday. He had been told by his worried superiors His Monitor was the only hope the blockading squadron had against Virginia. Now it was clear IF Virginia did come out yesterday or today or even in the next week or two, barring a miracle, and the Union had not seen any of them since the damn war started, he was not going to make it in time. He also knew a disaster would require a sacrificial scape goats and a lowly Lietenant would be only the first of many.
8 March 1862 the Ironclad CSS Virginia, still under construction waiting for gun shutters to be installed, left on what Captain Buchanan told his crew was to be a practice run. She cruised into Hampton Roads and ended the wooden warship’s dominance of the seas.
The eighth of March 1862 was just another uneventful day for Union sailors
taking part in the blockade of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Yet, a dramatic change was about to take place. At 7:30 AM the horizon was broken by a dreadful sight, the ironclad Casemate ram CSS Virginia, was coming at full steam for the USS Cumberland, a twenty-four gun sailing sloop. Several ships in Hampton Roads fired at the ironclad only to see their shells bounce off her iron casemate and fall harmlessly into the water.
Shells from the Cumberland, the Congress, and the Union Army batteries at
Newport News glanced harmlessly off the Merrimac's sloping sides, which her
crew had made slippery with buckets of hot pork fat. “Those shells had no more
effect,” wrote a newspaper correspondent watching the attack from the shore,
“than peas from a popgun.”
At 9AM the scsemat ironclad CSS Virginia began firing on the Cumberland when she was within one mile of the wooden vessel. Her first shot destroyed the Cumberland's aft pivot gun, and then she struck with her ram leaving a gapping hole in Cumberland's starboard side. “The noise of the crashing timbers was distinctly heard above the din of battle,” wrote XO Catesby Jones. “There was no sign of the hole above water, but it must have been large, as the ship soon commenced to careen. The shock to us on striking was slight. The blow was not repeated. If our captain had not ordered “All Back Full 100 yards from impact we might have lost the ram and done some damage to our bow. Later Old Buck told me he had read of this tactic, backing their oars, was used by the ancients who after all were the masters of ram warfare.
The 24 gun Cumberland would continue to fight furiously and went to the bottom with her colors still flying. Accoding to Catsby Jones “With only minor damage; our smokestack was riddled, two guns were disabled, and the lifeboats had been shot away.” The Virginia moved on to destroy her next victim. The casemate ironclad ram set course for the fifty gun sailing frigate USS Congress. The Congress attempted to lighten her load and headed for shallow water to escape the ironclad, but ran aground. Virginia closed in on her prey. The ironclad took a position 200 yards from the Congress and fired hot shot and shells destroying her within an hour.
Over 120 of the 400-man crew were killed or wounded. The Virginia, CSS Beaufort, and CSS Raleigh attempted to evacuate the wounded from the Congress, but were engaged by rifle fire from Union troops along the shore. Buchanan was wounded from the attack and ordered his crew to fire hot shot and shell until the wooden ship was on fire. The Congress’s ammo and powder blew up shortly after midnight, completing her destruction.
By noon of 8 March 1862 the Casemate Ironclad CSS Virginia had easily destroyed two of the strongest wooden ships in the Union squadron.
Several times throughout the day, the Virginia had been fired upon by over one hundred guns from ships in Hampton Roads and batteries on the shore. Virginia's iron casemate was dented, but not penetrated, and no shells had hit her below the waterline. Her damage was superficial.
This was the age of the telegraph and the entire massacre was visible from Fortress Monroe. The telegraphists at the fort were in contact with Lincoln’s War room by the wire. It was the first time the on scene commader could be scrutinized by his political masters, most of whom knew absolutely nothing about the art of war let alone naval warfare. Being poiticians this did not stop them from interfering, in near real time.
Panic spread to the Union by that telegraph that wonderful telegraphed to be stoked into frenzy by the highly inflamtory exaggerations spread by reporters and editors who wrote sensation because it sold more papaers and allowed larger fees for advertisements. In Washington, Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton declared, “The Merrimac [Virginia] will change the whole character of the war. She will destroy, every naval vessel; she will lay all the cities on the seaboard under contribution.”
Old Buck knew the light was waning but he thought they could sink the USS Minnesota. Leaving Congress a flaming infirno , CSS Virginia joined Confederate gunboats in bombarding grounded USS Minnesota.
NOTE Much of this is from the Minnesota’s deck log,
in “Quotes” mostly but not all.
See www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online
USS Minnesota had had a pretty tough day so far. The morning of March 8, 1862, began as many others for Minnesota’s crew, with beautiful weather allowing for an easy transfer of mail from an approaching boat. The easy morning shifted to a chaotic afternoon when Minnesota’s deck officer observed “three steamers off Sewall’s Point” closing the blockade; Captain Gershom J. Van Brunt ordered the steam frigate to slip its anchor, releasing it to allow the ship to maneuver, before closing the approaching Confederates. Shore batteries at Sewell’s Point starting a heated artillery exchange with Minnesota at 12:30 P.M. One Confederate shell damaged Minnesota’s main mast, and after an hour of firing, the frigate ran aground a mile from Newport News.
“We backed the Engine and set the mizzen topsail to back the ship off, but all to no effect.” The frigate was firmly aground, at the mercy of CSS Virginia, which was then attacking USS Cumberland and USS Congress. “At 10.30 A.M. the ‘Cumberland’ went down with her Colors Flying. At 11.55 A.M. the ‘Congress’ struck her Colors and hoisted a white flag.”
After sinking Cumberland and forcing the surrender of Congress, CSS Virginia closed Minnesota. Captain Van Brunt’s sailors “immediately transported four of the broadside guns to the bow ports, and commenced firing” at the Confederate ironclad and its two wooden escorts, Jamestown and Patrick Henry, but with little effect. Recognizing this, Captain Van Brunt’s crew worked to refloat the frigate. Doing so was a delicate process. Refloating a grounded ship was easiest done at high tide, when ocean water flooded into Hampton Roads, raising water levels. The Hampton Roads area experiences diurnal tides, meaning that high tide comes twice daily. Based on Minnesota’s log, it appears that high tides for the Sewell’s Point area were at approximately 2 A.M. and 2 P.M.
during the battle. Twice the ship was temporarily freed before being stuck in the mud again.
Old Buck and his XO knew the tide table for Hampton Roads as well as did the USN. He had purposely laid off Minnesota in deep water channel waiting for the tide that would allow Virginia to close the range on the grounded steam frigate. His two wooden gunboats with their shallow draft were making intermittant dashes in and firing off their puny batteries, while Virginia had been conserving her ammo just lobbing an occasional shot at the Yankees to let them know they were next.
In the time remaining their tedious work was filled with setbacks: “We commenced lightening the ship by starting water, hoisting out provisions and heaving overboard seven of 8in guns.” This might lighten the ship to allow it to refloat at the next high tide. After several hours, the crew “succeeded in getting the ship afloat,” but “again grounded” after steaming only a few hundred yards. There it remained, as Virginia, feeling her way with the lead going and the pilot sweating buckets, closed the range.
As Virginia began to close Captain Van Brunt ordered salvoes be fired at her from from his four centerline mounted long range pivot guns; two 11-inch smoothbores and two 100-pounder muzzle-loading rifles. Virginia was presenting her narrow heavily armored bow which reduced her battery that could bear considerably but made her a very difficult target. Even the steady platform a grounded ship provided did not allow Minnesota to score nore than a few glancing blows on Virginia’s casemate. Even when Virginia closed the range Captain Van Brunt’s full broadside of fourteen 9 inch and seven 8 inch along with the 4 pivot guns still only had the narrow bow target to aim at.
On the other hand the few guns Virginia could direct at Minnesota’s 265 foot length were scoring telling hits that were chewing up the wooden hull and spars and dismounting guns and killing sailors.
In time Virginia’s 21 foot draft, even on a high tide, convinced Old Buck he had chanced things enough and he turned to unmask his entire larboard battery of 2 pivot 7-inch Brooke rifles, one 6.4-inch Brooke rifle and three 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbores, all firing shell.
This exposed Viginia’s 250 foot casemate built of 24 inches of oak and pine in several layers, topped with two 2-inch layers of iron plating oriented perpendicular to each other, and angled at 36 degrees from horizontal to deflect fired enemy shells. Minnesota poured in a very rapid series of full broadside of fourteen 9 inch and seven 8 inch along with the 4 pivot guns. The contest of ironclad vs. wooden hulled steam frigate did not last long. The frigate was blown to pieces from the deadly shells with most of the crew dead, in a matter of 20 minutes.
This only left Roanoke, her sister ship which wisely and out of neccessity of her deep draft had run to seaward into choppy water with a clear route out into the Atlantic where Virginia could not go.
By this time it was nightfall, the Virginia and her small squadron of by Patrick, Jamestown, Teaser,CSS Beaufort, and CSS Raleigh anchored off Sewall's Point. Her crew celebrated their victory and planned to finish their rout of the Union ships in the coming morning. They had broken the blockade and were masters of hmaption Roads. Their casemate iron clad ram CSS Virginia proved no wooden ship, no matter her strength could stand against an iron ship.” With the armor and firepower of the ironclad, the era of wooden warships had ended.
Old Buck and Sec Mallory now wondered if their steam powered, casmated ironclad would also be proof against land batteries, such as those defending the Potomac river and washington? The XO had to cut the celebration short after a few hours because their ship needed maintenance and they had to coal and rearm for their next histuey making mission. Barges and steamers were approaching their anchorage loaded with what they required along with mechanics from Gosport and Tredegar to repair as much damage as possible before they sailed tomorrow.
Old Buck wanted his men rested so Mallory sent out a steveadore crew of slaves to provision and rearm the ship under the supervision of shore side CSN petty officers. This allowed his worn out crew to turn in by midnight.
Not so for his senior officers. CO and Flotilla Commander Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSN, Sec Mallory an Army Engineer colonel who had served in Fortress Monrow and was well aquainted with shore batteries and washington , XO Lieutenant Catesby Roger Jones, Gunnery Officer “The Gun Boss” Army Captain Thomas Kevill United Artillery, Company E, 41st Virginia Infantry Regiment, the CO’s of Raleigh and Beaufort worked on the plan for tomorrow.
CHENG was busy overseeing the maintenance on his engines.
Interesting Senior Chief ( oscssw), cant wait for Part II. |
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on May 20, 2023 10:36:42 GMT
Interesting Senior Chief ( oscssw ), cant wait for Part II. I can  Hope you like this one. It is a filler while I get some rest from NOVA GENOVA. The Rock my friend research for that beast is so long because I keep on getting diverted by something new I learn and go off and research that for my own education. I got to develop a more disciplined approach. 
I know a hell of a lot about the naval side of the American Civil war and about Little Mac. Very little research required. I just sat down and wrote part one from memory with an occasional look up of exact dates. Part 2 is going to really be almost all ATL. I have amused myself for many years thinking about how that damn war could have been avoided or ended much quicker and this is my chance to get that down on paper.
Thanks again, my f5reind The Rock, for providing this forum for my scribbling.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 20, 2023 10:40:36 GMT
Interesting Senior Chief ( oscssw ), cant wait for Part II. But USS Monitor is disabled by a storm and fails to reach Hampton Roads is kinda a anti-climax, i had toughed CSS Virginia would sunk USS Monitor in battle. But i am getting ahead of it, Part II will most likely see some other kind of action at Hampton Roads. |
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on May 20, 2023 10:52:38 GMT
I can Hope you like this one. It is a filler while I get some rest from NOVA GENOVA. The Rock my friend research for that beast is so long because I keep on getting diverted by something new I learn and go off and research that for my own education. I got to develop a more disciplined approach. But USS Monitor is disabled by a storm and fails to reach Hampton Roads is kinda a anti-climax, i had toughed CSS Virginia would sunk USS Monitor in battle. But i am getting ahead of it, Part II will most likely see some other kind of action at Hampton Roads. .  |
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 20, 2023 11:10:58 GMT
But USS Monitor is disabled by a storm and fails to reach Hampton Roads is kinda a anti-climax, i had toughed CSS Virginia would sunk USS Monitor in battle. But i am getting ahead of it, Part II will most likely see some other kind of action at Hampton Roads. . Lets see if we still get the big showdown then between them. |
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miletus12
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Post by miletus12 on May 20, 2023 12:06:06 GMT
I think LT Cushing has a date with the Intelligent Whale in his future.
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on Jun 20, 2023 13:08:23 GMT
I think LT Cushing has a date with the Intelligent Whale in his future. You my, favorite cynic and revered tutor  are entering my all to easy to read mind. I warn you now what you will find there the stuff nightmares are made of. Consider yourself forewarned and I strongly suggest you don't go near that black pit. 
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miletus12
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Post by miletus12 on Jun 21, 2023 4:03:19 GMT
I think LT Cushing has a date with the Intelligent Whale in his future. You my, favorite cynic and revered tutor are entering my all to easy to read mind. I warn you now what you will find there the stuff nightmares are made of. Consider yourself forewarned and I strongly suggest you don't go near that black pit.
 It is going to be tough to get at the Merrimack to sink her. Just look at the kind of problems Cushing had to overcome, both hydrographically and in the form of man-made obstacles, to get at the Albemarle. Log booms and Confederates will be extremely present if the CSN floats the Merrimack up the James. |
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on Jun 21, 2023 17:45:11 GMT
All very true but Albemarle is securely moored in a prepared defensive anchorage. My ATL has CSS Virginia desperately trying to reach Chesapeake Bay before the Union can muster the forces to trap her on the Potomac river. Makes a difference, especially when I am calling the shots! 
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on Jun 21, 2023 17:48:06 GMT
CSS Virginia Wins
Part 2
21 May
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8 March 1862 6 PM Commander John Randolph Tucker’s CSS Patrick Henry, anchored off Sewall's Point. The squadron Commander Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSN, had chosen the wardroom, former salon of the once merchant ship, now his most powerful wooden gunboat, to hold a council of his captains.
Old Buck thought no use beating around the bush and said, “Gentlemen tomorrow, some of us are going to bombard Washington. The way is open to the Potomac river. Virginia has proven nothing those dam Yankee bastards have can harm her. I will lead in Virginia and silence the water batteries and forts they have. Once we get to the Anacostia River we will head for the navy yard. After we sink whatever shipping we find there and silence the few field guns emplace we will anchor. From that position the main batteries of Virginia and Patrick Henry will destroy The Capital and white House. Who knows we might even kill that Neegra loving son of a bitch Lincoln and his cabinet. If God chooses to favor us, as he has so far in our war of Independence, we just may send a good many of the sons’ of Satan Abolitionist senators and congress critters to meet him in person.”
There was silence for a few minutes as his captains wrestled with the boldness and enormity of Old Buck’s plan. Some thought surely after Bull Run this should so break the nerve of those cowardly Yankee politicians that they will sue for peace on our terms. Others did not expect that much until elections were held. Some with strategic insight thought if anything could bring Britain and France into the war on the side of the Confederacy this would do it. Napoleon III would be the most likely of the two. He was always looking for a way to enhance La bell France’s position in the world.
It would take quite a bit more to move Great Britain. Ever looking to maintain her primacy, Lord Palmerston pursued a policy of neutrality. British public opinion was divided on the War. The Confederacy tended to have support from the elites: the aristocracy and the landed gentry, Anglican clergy and some professionals who admired tradition, hierarchy and paternalism identified with the Southern plantation owners. The middle classes, the religious Nonconformists, intellectuals, reformers and most factory workers, who saw slavery and forced labor as a threat to the status of the working man sided with The Union. However, most British did not express an opinion on the matter.
Lord Palmerston’s government was also divided. Chancellor of the Exchequer William Ewart Gladstone, came from a slave owning West Indies family supported the Confederacy. Foreign Minister Lord Russell wanted neutrality. Prime Minister Lord Palmerston wavered between support for national independence, his opposition to slavery and the strong economic advantages of Britain remaining neutral.
The prime Minster pursued a policy of neutrality because the UK’s primary foreign policy concerns were centered in Europe, where he had to watch both Napoleon III's ambitions and Otto von Bismarck's rise in Prussia. There were also serious problems involving Italy, Poland, Russia, Denmark and China.
He was also guided in his official reactions to American events by past British policies and their own national interests, both strategically and economically. In the Western Hemisphere, as relations with the United States improved, Britain had become cautious about confronting it over issues in Central America. As a naval power, Britain had a long record of insisting that neutral nations abide by its blockades, a perspective that led from the earliest days of the war to de facto support for the Union blockade and frustration in the South.
Old Buck’s opinion was held by many North and South, "I saw at a glance where the feelings of England and the rest of Europe are. They hope for our ruin! They are jealous of our power. They care neither for the South nor the North. They hate both."
The young Captain, actually a lieutenant, of the little CSS Raleigh broke the silence with a very enthusiastic “Rebel Yell” taken up by the other captains. Old Buck let them yell for a few minutes and then, putting on his stern Admiral’s face shouted, “Enough of this foolishness. You are Commanders of ships in the Confederate States Navy and I demand you act like gentlemen. Now back to business.” His Boys immediately took up the demeanor of Naval Officers, sat down and awaited their admiral’s next words.
“I will be taking Patrick Henry, and despite her Captain’s youth and atrocious behavior this evening, Raleigh with Virginia”, Old Buck said with a wink.
“Patrick Henry first, because Commander Tucker and his crew did such fine service today. Second, because she is armed with a 10-inch Pivot mount, a 64 pounder, Six 8-inch guns, and two 32 pounder rifles. These guns have the range, if handled correctly, to reach our primary targets. Third, if I should be put down Commander Tucker, as second in command, can be counted on to press on and handle our ships with both courage and great capacity.” Tucker bowed to his Admiral and said, “This is a great honor Sir. I will not let you down. Although I very much doubt I will get the chance because we all know YOU sir are Indestructible.”
Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSN looked at his old shipmate from their days in the USN and said, “I do hope your right Johnnie and now back to business.
I chose Raleigh because we just might need a tug before this day is out. She will also tow a coal barge for Virginia’s ravenous engines. I have a duty not to loose Virginia; Mallory has a lot more Yankee killing for her in mind. So, Gentlemen, if things go badly and anything can happen in battle, Raleigh just might be the most important vessel we have.
The rest of the squadron will do as much damage to the shipping in the lower Chesapeake as possible. Well that’s it, get your ships ready for tomorrow, take good care of your crews, they have earned that.”
Just to seal this moment Old Buck said, “And now I think a toast to our country is in order.”
His voice then turned harsh, “Raddalis” you old rascal, bring in a bottle of my “Buffalo Trace Bourbon” and glasses for these young ruffians.” Old Buck then looked each of his captains directly in the face and with something of the pride of a father for his sons said, “I certainly am not going to waste my Good Stuff on the likes of you”. They stood and downed the fiery liquor thanking God they were serving this great fighting admiral. All Old Buck could choke out at this moment was a harsh “Your all dismissed, I can’t stand the sight of your smug faces any longer.” He thought and not for the first time “Dear God why do I have to get such good young men killed? Why can’t those abolitionist scum just leave us alone?
A few minutes later he said “Commander Tucker and Lieutenant (Joseph W.)Alexander stay awhile we still have some planning to do.”
At this point Old Buck called for charts of the upper Chesapeake, Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. About ten minutes later Patrick Henry’s “Sailing Master” Jake Cantral, a former long term and respected local pilot brought in the charts. Commander Tucker asked his Admiral if it would be alright for sailing Master Cantral to join them. Old Buck was more than happy to agree because he was not all that confident in his pilot of this day. The man did not run them aground but it was clear his nerves were shot by the end of the battle. Maybe this older man would be as good a replacement as he was likely to find before they sailed.
8 March 1862 9 PM Mystic shipyard of Maxson, Fish & Company, owned by William Maxson, Commander Alfred Taylor USN, CO wooden hulled armored steam sloop USS Galena sat at his desk drinking a mug of French brandy spiked coffee and reading an order from Gideon Welles himself to make his ship ready to sail by first light tomorrow. Attached was an assessment of the catastrophic battle of Hampton Roads, that annihilated most of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron there. Fact was his command was ready for sea but not for an ironclad battle, not quite yet. He was in Mystic, not a navy yard, to have adjustments made to his steam plant. It worked well enough but he and his CHENG were both convinced it could be made to perform much better. The modifications had been made and pier side trials looked promising but Galena had not had her post yard availability sea trials yet.
H.L. & C.S. Bushnell, Mystic, had commissioned naval architect Samuel H. Pook to draw up the plans for a seagoing armored warship and then subcontracted actual construction to Maxson, Fish & Co., also of Mystic, Connecticut. They had built a damn fine ship. She was a good sea boat under steam and under a full rig of sails, far better than Monitor or New Ironsides. She actually maintained a speed of 7–8 knots during her second trial run with sails alone.
Her engine was of the ingle-cylinder horizontal vibrating-lever type. After the break in period, which had been sheer hell and utter frustration, had proven to be, when served by well trained men, both powerful and NOW quite reliable. That had required time and the talent and dedication of his excellent CHENG (AKA Chief engineer) Charles Roe, “Charlie” Roe. Although CHENG was responsible, he did have excellent help from the steam engineering staff of the the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and a few mechanics, who had help build this engine.
Those mechanics were supplied by John Ericsson, designer and builder of his patented the single-cylinder horizontal vibrating-lever steam engine. The 800-indicated-horsepower engine used steam generated by two boilers and gave the ship a top speed of better than the contracted flank speed of 8 knots. It had a bore of 48 inches and a stroke of 36 inches which was quite compact compared to most other marine steam engines.
Mating the engine to the single propeller shaft was more of an art than a science at this point. Particular attention had to be given to supporting the rotating shaft, it could not be allowed to warp, even a little. Modifying the transom and through hull shaft opening also took time to get right with a minimum of salt water entering the hull.
Galena made over 9 and half knots under both sails and steam but the wind conditions were crucial and the XO was sure under the right conditions Galena could top 10 knots under steam alone and maybe 12 using both sail and steam.
Galena’s “Black Gang” firemen (coal heavers) was a real pickup team. There were few old Navy Men, with the rest half former merchant engineers and half scared, ignorant green kids. CHENG “Charlie” Roe, had to call in more than a few markers to get three of his best former senior Engineer petty officers assigned to Galena. Through herculean efforts and a good number of busted skulls and broken noses his senior enlisted molded the black gang into as excellent a band of “Snipes” as this greatly expanding Navy had today. Hell they were even better than a lot of prewar mechanics and firemen.
His “Deck Apes”, who formed the gun crews, were as green but had a higher proportion of “Old salts” than did his “Black Gang”. The problem was due to the requirements of getting Galena operational, she spent far too much time in the Dock yard availability and consequently opportunities for live firing her guns had been few. The Gun captains, at this point all experienced Navy men, had done a good job while in port drilling their gun crews but you did not develop marksmen in port and even old hands lost their touch if not constantly practiced, underway.
Sail handling suffered to some extent but no where as badly as gunnery for the same reason; lack of underway time.
He had concerns about Galena’s battery of wo 6.4-inch, 100-pounder Parrott rifles in pivot mounts fore and aft and four 9-inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns. Each nine-inch gun weighed approximately 9,000 pounds. They could fire a 70–90-pound shell to a range of 3,450 yards at an elevation of 15°. The muzzle-loading Parrott rifles fired a 70–100-pound shell and had a maximum range of approximately 2,250 yards . The 20-caliber guns weighed about 9,800 pounds each. These were the same guns in the wooden ships at Hampton Roads that had failed to defeat Merrimack’s armor.
Finally, he was concerned about fighting another armored ship. Galena's original design, dated 28 June, was for a schooner-rigged corvette with three masts, 162 feet long at the waterline with a beam of 32 feet , a depth of hold of 10 feet 8 inches and an estimated displacement of 800 long tons . His ship's sides were protected by wrought iron plates 2.5 inches thick, backed by 1.5 inches of India rubber and the 18-inch side of the hull. The ship's deck consisted of armor 1.25 inches. A revised design was submitted to the Ironclad Board, for which a contract was awarded on 28 September, in which his sloop was enlarged, probably because it was uncertain if the original design could support the proposed armor's weight.
While under construction, the armor scheme was modified. The original rubber backing was replaced by an additional 5⁄8 inch of iron although Commodore Joseph Smith, Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and Pook were uncertain if the ship could support this weight. To reduce the weight several alternatives were proposed. One proposal was to reduce the thickness of the protection to 1⁄2 inch for a distance from 20 feet from the bow and stern and the other was to reduce the armor's thickness above the sills of the gun ports to 2 inches and the deck armor's thickness to 1/2-inch over 2 1/2 inches of wood. Of course the worst of solutions was decided upon by the navy brass the two proposals were combined so that the armor was two inches thick above the gun ports, except around the stern where it was 1/2-inch thick.
His knowledge of the specifics of the Hampton roads battle was quite limited at this point. He hoped it was fought at long range, not gunnel to gunnel. If that was the case his armor should allow him to come in close and pour his fire into the Rebel iron clad at point blank range. Maybe even at pistol shot and therefore the penetrating power of his solid armor breaking shot would do a lot more damage than the wooden ships had managed.
If that were not the case he would still use his 8 to 10 knot speed to force a close engagement and if needs be he’d ram and board the bastard. The rebs only had one iron clad in the Chesapeake and the loss of his ship was acceptable if he could take or sink Merrimack. He was sure the North would build a lot more ironclads and they would be superior to what the Rebs could build. New Ironsides would be operational soon and that thing Monitor with her two 11 inch guns rode so low their was little to shoot at but that heavily armored turret. Even she should be a match for Merrimack if he damaged her enough.
The rub was he had only a partial load out of ammunition and less than 10% of that the still in short supply “Palliser shot” armor defeating rounds. Wrought iron armor of unknown thickness covered Merrimack. This armor was practically immune to both the round cast-iron cannonballs and to the recently developed explosive shell. A Brit named Palliser, invented a method of hardening the head of the pointed cast-iron shot. By casting the projectile point downwards and forming the head in an iron mold, the hot metal was quickly chilled and became intensely hard, while the remainder of the mold, being formed of sand, allowed the metal to cool slowly and the body of the shot to be resistant to shattering. All the Union ships in Hampton Roads had a supply of “Palliser shot”, how much he did not know.
What he was no longer concerned with was the fighting spirit and determination of his officers and crew. After hearing of the slaughter of the wooden ship in Hampton Roads yesterday, they were all out for vengeance. They wanted “Seccesh” blood and were prepared to take this fight to the knife and the knife to the hilt. With crewmen like Fireman Charles Kenyon, Quartermaster Jeremiah Regan, and Corporal John F. Mackie he could get the job done and what more could a captain ask for?
8 March 1862 11:45 PM sitting in his hammock chair on the quarter deck of Patrick Henry with a now quarter filled decanter of his “Buffalo Trace Bourbon” and a very good cigar Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSN , was in a contemplative mood. Tomorrow if he could help it, was going to be a decisive day for his young country.
He honestly believed as the realists in senior positions of the CSA did that Washington, DC, was the most strategic and vulnerable city in the Union. Sandwiched between the Confederate state of Virginia to the west and the border slave state of Maryland to the east, Washington sat astride the War’s most critical and active military front, the Eastern Theater. The Union army used the city to mobilize and supply the Army of the Potomac, defend the eastern seaboard, and launch military thrusts toward Richmond.
He Believed that by severely damaging the Union’s capital, it would lead to defeat in a matter of months not years as many feared. His boys would put a victorious end to this horrible blood bath of brothers, fathers, sons and cousins butchering each other. So now the CSN will target Washington itself the “grand depot of supplies” for the Eastern Theater. To that end his ships were carrying as many rounds as they could safely store, mainly of shell and grape with just 10% of the iron clad killing armor piercing rounds.
He planned to destroy the Subsistence Depot consisting of twenty huge warehouses along the city’s Potomac wharves. To supply the Army of the Potomac, the depot stored three million military rations, including 18,000 barrels of flour, 9,000 barrels of salted beef and 3,000 of salted pork, 500,000 pounds of coffee, 500,000 pounds of sugar, and 1,500,000 pounds of hard bread, along with tons of candles, soap, and ice.
He would bombard symbols that were also legitimate strategic targets like The white House, The Capital, The Treasury building and Patent office. He also wanted to do as much damage as he could to the largest arsenal in the Union, The Washington Arsenal at Buzzard point next to the Navy YARD. Another great strategic target was the Baltimore and Ohio railway depot, at New Jersey Avenue and C Street NW; just north of the U.S. Capitol which moved thousands of troops into and through the Washington daily.
9 March 1862 5:30 USS Galena was outbound from Mystic shipyard of Maxson, Fish & Company destination Hampton Roads. Her crew had spent the night getting in supplies and bringing her engineering plant back to life from cold iron. They had done everything else required to make her in all respects ready for a 10 knot speed run. The storm that had almost sunk Monitor was blowing itself North so he would be pushing his engines for all they had and spreading every piece of canvas he had. With luck, Commander Alfred Taylor USN and his crew could be in the Chesapeake by this evening ready to engage CSS Virginia immediately if the Rebs would just accommodate them.
9 March 1862 7:30 AM Sewell’s point three companies of the the Confederate States Marine Corps (CSMC), a branch of the Confederate Navy, reported for duty aboard, CSS Virginia, CSS Patrick Henry and CSS Raleigh. They had been drawn from the headquarters and main training facilities in Richmond, located at Camp Beall on Drewry's Bluff and at the Gosport Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. The 180 Marines were under the command of Major Israel Greene Adjutant and Inspector of the Corps.
Israel Greene, had until recently served in the USMC as a First Lieutenant. He had been the commander of the 80 strong Marine Detachment drawn from the Washington Navy yard for Duty under Colonel Robert E Lee US Army, that captured John Brown during his raid on Harpers Ferry.
CSMC was established by the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States 16 March 1861. The Corps' strength was authorized at 45 officers and 944 enlisted men, under Colonel-Commandant Lloyd J. Beall. CSMC units, Companies and Marine Detachments (MarDets), were stationed at Confederate naval bases, aboard CSN warships and occasionally helped garrison shore fortifications. A 48 strong MarDet from Company C, under Second Lieutenant George Holmes, was currently, serving aboard CSS Virginia and helping to man several of her guns. CSS Patrick Henry had a MarDet of 30 drawn from Company G under Sergeant Joseph Riddock. CSS Raleigh carried on her books a small MarDet of 12, also from Company G, led by Sergeant Isaac Huff Walling. These three shipboard MarDets brought total CSMC available for a landing party to 288 marines. 150 of the additional CSMC were assigned to CSS Patrick Henry, 20 went to Virginia and 10 squeezed into Raleigh. This not very large landing party were to be put ashore to burn and otherwise destroy as many government buildings and other Federal property as their short time and limited mobility ashore would allow. Old Buck was still mulling over an idea by one of the CSMC mad men to capture and hold hostage the supreme court and such other prominent government officials as they could get their hands on. Well, he thought, we in the navy don’t call them Jar heads for nothing.
9 March 1862 9 AM Sewell’s point Old Buck gave the order to get underway, by signal flags. CSS Virginia, CSS Patrick Henry and little CSS Raleigh had steam up, tested their engines and set sea and Anchor details long before the order was given and therefore responded immediately. With high tide at 2PM and the most powerful ships of the Union blockading squadron destroyed the way to Washington DC was clear aside from the river defenses and whatever lesser wooden warships, soon to be drift wood, the Yankees were able to assemble in Chesapeake Bay. It was his plan to make his transit to arrive off the junction of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers at mean high tide.
Old Buck had selected only two ships to accompany Virginia up the Potomac river to lay waste the Union Capital.
CSS Patrick Henry was a powerful converted brigantine-rigged, side-wheel steamer gunboat of the CSA. She had done very well yesterday under her CO Commander John Randolph Tucker. She was a new ship launch in 1859 as Yorktown displacing 1,300 tons, length of 250 ft, beam of 34 ft and a draft of 13 ft. (8 feet shallower than Virginia). Her crew, a very proud, now blooded and battle tested of sailors, numbered 150 officers and men who nicknamed their ship “Patrick”. Although unarmored accept for 10 inch thick oak planking protecting the sides of her gun deck “Patrick” was very well armed with One 10-inch Pivot mounted smooth-bore, One 64 pounder , Six 8-inch guns, two 32 pounder rifles in her broadside battery.
CSS Patrick Henry, having been recently built in New York City by the renowned William H. Webb incorporated the latest in paddle wheel marine propulsion. Webb chose a steam engine with a cylinder whose piston connected with one end of an overhead beam driving a gear wheel that moved the paddle shaft. This engine found extensive use in America because it was powerful and reliable. This latest version included refinements, one of which was a side lever. This engine delivered 4,570 indicated horse power propelled the now 1400-ton ship at 14.5kts knots with an average coal consumption at her 10 knot cruising speed was around 350 tons per day; Virginia’s was much worse.
9 March 1862 11 AM after brushing off, no time for a long engagement now, the remainder of the Union Navy blockading force Old Buck rounded Smith POINT and started up the main channel of the Potomac river with Virginia leading. Now they had to beat Washington’s water defenses.
9 March 1862 11:20 AM news of the rebel Squadron’s progress into the Potomac river reached “The Operations room” in the white House by dedicated military telegraph. News quickly spread to the congress who evacuated the capitol and took refuge in "Fort Massachusetts", constructed in 1861. It guarded the northern approach to Washington, D.C., on the Seventh Street Turnpike and was well out of range from the Potomac or Anacosta river warships guns.
Lincoln was made of much sterner stuff. He and his cabinet were meeting in The White House to decide what action they could take to counter the “Iron Rebel Beast”. Yesterday there had been panic that Virginia would arrive in the river and bombard Washington into rubble. Lincoln had stood firm and managed, with the passage of time and no Rebel holocaust, to lesson the fears of his cabinet and Congress. Now it seems their fright of yesterday, while premature, was about to come true.
The Union Army and navy Brass in the capital were relying on both Fort Foote and the Natter Battery anchoring the defenses on the Potomac Rivers' southern approach and were often referred to as water or river shore batteries.
Fort Foote, designed and built by Lieutenant Colonel Walker K. Armistead was completed on October 2, 1824. Extensive remodeling was performed in the 1840s and the first guns were mounted in 1846. The masonry fort was occupied by soldiers from the First, Third and Fourth U.S. Artillery during its early history. Except for a few guns at the Washington Arsenal, Fort Foote was the only defense for the Nation’s Capital until the Civil War. In march 1862 the fort was manned by 200 troops from the 1st Wisconsin and 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery.
The Water Battery , an earthen gun emplacement, was constructed at the intersection of the foot of Jefferson Street and Green. The battery protected Alexandria, a valuable supply depot.
The emplacement stood on a bluff overlooking the river and included a hospital, slaughter house and barracks. The guns were located on the east side of S. Lee street between Jefferson and Green. The support area was in the block of S. Lee, Green, S. Fairfax and Jefferson.
9 March 1862 1 PM the CSN had made good time. Old Buck had established a line abreast formation with CSS Virginia shielding Patrick Henry and Raleigh in between both from the shore batteries. Her stout iron Clad sides had proven, once again proof against anything the Union could fire at her. She also suppressed the Union fire by firing explosive shells and grape into the defenders works. In this she dismounted a number of guns and killed and wounded a great many more union Coast artillery troops. At times field gun batteries of 12 pounder Napoleons, three inch ordnance rifles and even some 20 pounder Parrots were brought into action to supplement the fixed defenses. The only time that tactic proved more than irritating was when one of the three inch rifle batteries set up opposite a fixed battery and Virginia could not shield her two consorts. Patrick Henry was hit twice killing eight, wounding 17 sailors and marines and temporarily dismounting one of her 32 pounder rifles. She returned counter battery fire and in three broadsides of grape and shell literally annihilated the field battery.
For just plain stupidity a New York recently raised volunteer Infantry regiment formed line, in the open, supporting the four 20 pound Parrot field battery and volley fired into the CSN Squadron. The ships concentrated their fire on the guns as the Regiment poured 850 round volleys into their stout sides. Eventually, Old Buck reluctantly gave the order to engage the troops with grape shot. The regiment was shot to pieces in five broadsides from Patrick Henry.
1:30 PM The CSN ships, now just North of the Anacostia river with the channel shoaling opened fire on The Subsistence Depot, twenty huge warehouses along the city’s Potomac wharves.
132 PM In the white House POTUS Lincoln, his cabinet and senior brass heard the cannonade begin. They ran to the windows but could not see where the Confederate Navy was firing from.
1:45 PM In the white House POTUS could see the smoke rising from the direction of Potomac wharves. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, asked his naval aid, Can they reach the White House from the river?” The Commander replied yes but not with any accuracy. They can not see their target and so all we have to worry about is random shot.”
Lincoln then asked “would it do any good to adjourn to the cellar Commander?”
“I don’t think so. To reach here they have to be firing at least 9 inch shells. If a full broadside hits The white House squarely none of you have to worry about reelection.”
To which Lincoln replied “and you will never rise to Captain!”
Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, joined in the black humor by saying, “Too bad the damn congress high tailed it to "Fort Massachusetts". A few of those 9 inch broadside would do that bunch and the Union, a world of good.”
It was then Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase’s turn. “I suggest we all reconvene in Willard’s Bar, I’ll stand you all to round of drinks!”
Lincoln added, “I could use a damn big Applejack Now Salmon and that is no lie.”
1:55 PM At that point a Telegraphist Corporal come in with a message. He saluted and handed it to the Secretary of war who read it. Very formerly Edwin McMasters Stanton said, “Mr. President The rebel ironclad Merrimack and two gunboats have set fire to The Subsistence Depot. Five of the score of warehouses have been destroyed by shell fire. Most of the others are damaged and all are involved in a raging fire that is consuming Potomac wharves and three merchant vessels tied up there. The exact loss of life is unknown but Colonel Sharpe reports it is great. Furthermore, other structures in the harbor district are also destroyed and on fire.”
2 PM CSS Patrick Henry (Pat to her enlisted crew) per Old Buck’s last signal shifted her fire to The White House. Commander Tucker’s Gunner E. R. Johnson used as an offset aiming point the steeple of St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square. He plotted the range, bearing and distance using a Corps of US Army Engineer’s recent map of the government district of Washington.
“Gunner Johnson turned over the direction of the ship’s one 64 pounder and two 32 pounder rifles to their own gun captains. These guns would continue to pound the Subsistence Depot warehouses, a fairly short range direct fire target.
Gunner Johnson, laid his Six 8-inch rifles against The White House and his 10-inch Pivot mounted smooth-bore on the Treasury Buildings. Splitting the battery was necessary because of the ballistics differences and rate of fire between the 8 inch and the 10 inch guns. This way he kept all his gun that would bear firing.
Using a borrowed sextant and that map, Gunner Johnson provided the elevation, powder charge and firing bearing to the Midshipman directing the ten inch pivot. From the mainmast head neither the White House or the treasury buildings could be spotted but the Gold dome of the Church was just visible and given they were firing shell just maybe the smoke rising from the bursting round might be visible and used to adjust the fire. To this end Commander Tucker sent one of his Master’s mates aloft with the lookouts and a good telescope and hand compass.
Almost before the 10 inch round had landed Gunner Johnson ordered the 8 inch battery to fire. From the Masthead, relayed by sailors positioned along the main mast, a report of “Not Observed” for both 10 and 8 inch was received by The Gunner. A slight change was ordered to compensate for the very little ship movement even with an anchor down. Then the 10 inch fired, followed by a full minute for the 8 inch battery. That adjustment was warranted not to confuse anyone.
2:10 PM After ten minutes of firing smoke could be seen from where the white House was plotted. Still nothing from the Treasury building. Gunner Johnson roared at the 8 inch battery “Pour it into them Yankee bastards boys. Rapid fire, no change in elevation or bearing.” He wanted his rounds dispersed a little now all the better to ensure they got Abe and anyone else around him.
2:12 PM A 8 inch shell hit the roof of the white house starting a small fire It was that smoke “Pat’s” crew had observed. Lincoln and his cabinet were not even aware of the fire for ten minutes. Once it was reported POTUS Lincoln ordered the building evacuated. Most of the household staff, including those most prominent positions of the president’s secretary, steward and chief doorkeeper, ran outside and got as far away from the building as their legs would carry them. Lincoln, his Union Intelligence Service, (forerunner of the US Secret Service) Pinkerton bodyguard, his family the cabinet and both Army and Navy men assigned to staff duty at the white House were escorted by their Army guards to take shelter in the nearby Treasury Building.
The idea of using the sturdy Treasury Building as a refuge of last resort was General Winfield Scott’s. Soon after the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861, there was concern that an attack on Washington was imminent so General Scott had the very sturdy new Treasury building readied to be used as a "last stand" by the federal government in the event the capital city was overrun. The exterior of the building was ringed with sandbags and soldiers, and inside corridors and hallways leading to the underground vaults, which were ideal as bomb proofs were barricaded "floor to ceiling".
Scott’s original plan provided in the event of an unstoppable assault against the capital for surviving U.S. Army forces to fight from three centers of final resistance with the Treasury Building as the "citadel" of the third. Under the General’s plan, troops assigned to defend the White House would fight a delaying action in President's Park to cover the evacuation of Abraham Lincoln into the Treasury vaults.
Now that “Pat” had the range, and with smoke plumes rising the offset method was no longer required and the rate of fire increased greatly. The white house was once again set afire as it had been in the war of 1812 but this time the shells bounced the rubble. The Treasury building was hit by the 10 inch but that volume of fire and slow rate of reload coupled with the fact Old Buck wanted to get at a lot more targets saved it and those sheltering in the it’s vaults for the most part.
Both Virginia and Patrick Henry subjected the depot to 40 minutes of controlled, relatively short range and accurate salvos of shell fire. Most of the warehouses were seriously damaged and many were on fire when Old Buck signaled his squadron to cease fire and follow Virginia into the Anacostia river. Patrick Henry’s “Sailing Master” Jake Cantral, had done an excellent job piloting the Virginia strike force up the Potomac. His ships, even the 21 foot draft Virginia had not touched bottom once. Cantral had not only kept them in the channel but he could ,when required, pilot them to minimize exposure to the shore batteries. Now his challenge was to waste no time, as the tide was now ebbing placing Virginia and Patrick Henry in position to continue the bombard of Washington.
3:10 PM Old Buck first turned his shell guns on The Washington Arsenal at Buzzard point, at the mouth of the Anacostia river. The arsenal had only a few light guns mounted to defend this vital government industrial activity located at Greenleaf's Point.
A significant portion of the army's cannons, bullet cartridges, and bombs were assembled here. It was manned by very skilled mechanics and artillery men who were employed to mend and clean guns and to provide fittings and carriages for the cannon." In addition to assembling cannons and other ordnance, the arsenal also manufactured ammunition.
3:25 PM, Patrick Henry’s sixth salvo landed four shells on target. One of the the new buildings built in 1858 as part of a major upgrading of the old facility, manufacturing bagged charges for the army’s heavy field guns.
As many able bodied men had gone off to war, young women had replaced some of them. 108 young women were working in the arsenal's main laboratory alongside as many men and boys. Stacked just outside the building were several pans of newly-made "star" flares that had been set out to dry. One of Patrick Henry’s shells ignited these flares and set off a chain reaction. One flare flew in an open window and set off the gunpowder that the girls were using. A powerful explosion blew the roof a foot off the laboratory and quickly turned it into a blazing inferno.
Those killed by the initial blast suffered less than the many who struggled to escape the burning building. The fire, fed by three more close hits spread rapidly to other buildings in the arsenal until a general conflagration enveloped 80% of the facility with great loss of life.
One of those who did not die, was not injured or lost his head was First Sergeant Richard Baker 2nd US Coast artillery regiment who had been assigned to the arsenal to inspect and proof fire his branch’s heavy guns. There was a test range on the beach below Buzzard point. On that range was an un-proofed Seacoast 10-inch Rodman Gun on a front-pintle barbette carriage. Rodman guns differed from all previous artillery because they were hollow cast, a new technology that Rodman developed that resulted in cast-iron guns that were much stronger than their predecessors. They fired both solid shot and shell.
The Sergeant had three problems to solve. First were there any cartridges left he could modify to fire the 10 inch gun? Second, were there any Solid shot or Shells for the 10 inch Rodman left in these ruins. Third, could he find any healthy, trained artillerymen to help him work this huge gun. One thing the old Vet knew was that, at times like this the last thing he wanted to do was ask Permission for what he was about to do. That was the surest way to waste valuable time and maybe be stopped from doing anything.
He knew for a fact there were no charges and no shells stored at the test range. There might be solid shot. He made his way to the buried magazine away from the production buildings. Once there he found the guard was missing and the iron studded oak door was closed and locked. No problem; he knew where the keys were. It took him a half hour to steal the keys out of the duty officer’s desk and get back to the magazine. Still no guard. Baker opened the door and with a flame proof, he hoped, lantern he inspected the inventory sheet he knew would be inside because he had made it out or corrected it often enough. Among hundreds of munitions he found Two dozen 10 inch charges, 20 ten inch Rodman shells, another two dozen solid shot, not the new steel for use against ironclads and a dozen stand of 10 inch grape. He then found a couple boxes of 10 inch Rodman fusses. All were exactly where they had been yesterday when that Navy Ruckus had everyone running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. He found the “Gun Tools”, rammers, Sponges, buckets etc. in the locked shed above. He had the key for that as well.
Now for a gun crew. The wood frame arsenal barracks were burning fiercely. There was so much smoke large parts of the arsenal could not be seen. What he could see was a heavy duty four wheeled dray wagon with it’s team of oxans still yoked just standing there chomping on grass. He needed men just to load the dray. Each 10 inch powder charge weighed 15 lb but the Round shot weighed 128 lb and the shells were 102 lb. It took a full 8 man team to train and elevate the beast and at least four more men to supply charges and shot.
It took a well trained gun crew 3 minutes to swab, load, aim and fire the gun. A two man crew at the muzzle rammed a 15 pound black powder charge, followed by either round shot, not the new steel used against ironclad or shell. The gunner called out orders for the crew below to adjust the aim: “Left. Stop. Elevate!” The wheels of the massive gun turned toward its target. Pulling a long lanyard ignited the friction primer. As the soldiers cleared for safety, a flame shot into the powder bag and ignited the powder.
By the time the Sergeant had rounded up the needed crew the CSN flotilla was too far up the river and out of the gun’s arc of fire. Baker told his men, “Not to worry they got to come back the way they came. We’ll get them, then.” Now they had time to finish the back breaking task of supplying and loading the big gun. They also went through the entire loading and firing practice a half dozen times under the scrutiny of their sergeant and now it was time to wait.
4 PM All Old Buck and his squadron knew was the arsenal was not worth any more of their explosive shells. He ordered his ships to shift fire onto the navy yard, as they continued up the Anacostia river to their anchor stations in the basin. In the process they fired on the giant ship houses and set them and the ships building in them on fire. As they closed their anchorage they sank three more wooden warships and a half dozen smaller merchant ships and coasters.
Once anchored by bow and stern to provide the very steadiest gun platform, Old Buck ordered their short range guns to destroy the machine shops, foundry, pump houses for the dry docks, the Rope walk, the marine barracks and any other structured that looked useful to the USN. He was saving his remaining heavy gun ammo for the Baltimore and Ohio railway depot, at New Jersey Avenue and C Street NW; just north of the U.S. Capital with a few for that symbol of Union oppression too. Too bad there was no surprise left. If he knew anything about politician it was they valued their lives greatly; so they would not be court in the Capital but wherever the safest place in Washington was. Probably in Fort Stevens which was well out of the range of his guns. Too bad.
4:30 PM At the signal from the Admiral the squadron sent off it’s boats loaded with CSMC landing parties to finish what the guns had started and two parties of Marines and sailors broke off for “special Duty. They raced out of the yard and made for two churches in the direction of the capital Building.
First group was commanded by Lieutenant Francis Lyell Hoge, his second Midshipman William Carroll, a quartermaster Petty Officer and two able seaman trained in signaling from CSS Patrick Henry. They had an escort of 12 CS Marines armed with Rifles under a Sergeant. Their objective was the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church at 1500 S. Capitol Street and Independence Ave. Their mission was to observe the fall of shot and signal, by semaphore flags correction to the CSN Squadron off the Navy yard. They were to set up a an observation post in the belfry of the church steeple with a clear view of Baltimore and Ohio railway depot, at New Jersey Avenue and C Street NW; just north of the U.S. Capitol.
The second Gunfire observation group were to set up shop in the belfry of the steeple The United Church in Northwest Washington, locate at 1920 G St. and constitution Ave. Lt. Thomas W. W. Davies commanding second Midshipman L. D. Hamner, with a quartermaster Petty Officer and two able seaman trained in signaling from CSS Patrick Henry. They also had an escort of 12 CS Marines armed with Springfield Rifles under a Sergeant.
Both Churches were chosen because they had a direct line of sight to the anchored ships and the Capital and railway depot.
5 PM CSS Virginia and Patrick Henry began bombarding the capital Building under directed by Lt. Thomas W. W. Davies. It took three rounds to register the guns. That was followed by six broadsides from both Patrick Henry and Virginia to level the capital building.
5:30 PM fire was directed onto the Rail depot. This was an area target. The observation teams walked the salvos up and down the depot inflicting great damage. The 14 heavy guns of the squadron were firing rapidly until sunset at 7:30 PM. During the time Virginia was anchored Raleigh had transferred her coal supply to the ironclad by coming alongside and tieing up to Virginia’s unengaged side and pass the coal bags through the still unshuttered gun ports.
7:45 PM. Both Fire observation parties and the rest of the landing force were back aboard the squadron reporting the capital building was razed, great damage had been done to the Depot including the destruction of eight locomotives and 102 rail cars. 9 Warehouses were destroyed and acres of supplies in open fields, under tarpoleens and lean twos were also destroyed. The tracks and switching gear were utterly destroyed and the depot looked like the surface of the moon so rutted was it with shell holes.
7:50 PM. The squadron headed back down the Anacostia River led by the Raleigh with Pilot Jake Cantral and his leadsman aboard taking continuous soundings. The plan was to make best speed while they still had a half hour of daylight and another hour of nautical twilight and get as far down the Potomac as possible. With luck they would reach Gunston cove. They would lay up in that deserted part of the river until moonrise and then decide if it was bright enough to hazard the transit down to the Chesapeake bay at night.
7:58 PM Sergeant Richard Baker opened fire with his 10 inch Rodman gun at the Raleigh. Of his scratch crew only he knew the gun had not been proof fired yet and since the range was so short he was only using a half charge 8 pounds. He aimed the piece carefully and the ordered the rest of the gun crew to take shelter away from the gun and lie down. Baker then pulled the lanyard, setting off the friction primer and won his bet. He ordered his men to reload double quick.
If he sank her in the channel he would bottle up the Rebel ships until “The Brass” figured out a way to take them. Of course his first shot missed but it’s muzzle flash and powder smoke gave away his position to the sharp eyed rebel lookouts. The CS Marines on the Raleigh opened fire with their rifles first. The range was so short bullets were whining around his men and thudding into the sand bag wall someone had had the brains to have built to confine the iron shards from a failed gun.
Baker fine tuned his aim and ordering everyone clear again fired his second half charge shell at the Tug. Another miss but close aboard this time. Next shot would sink the ocean going Tug. Now as his crew went through the swabbing out and loading drill Raleigh’s two bronze Type 2 14-pounder James rifle on pivot mounts at the foc’sle and just aft of the deck house open fire. One round was short the other exploded in the sand bag sand bag wall scattering iron splinter into the gun crew. Two men were down and two more were slightly injured as Baker fired again and was rewarded with a hit into the pilot house, killing her 26 year old CO Lieutenant Joseph W. Alexander and the quartermaster. The shell failed to explode and continued through the lightly built pilot house and landed on the opposite shore where it finally did explode.
Sergeant Baker had little time to take pleasure in his hit because, CSS Patrick Henry, next ship in line, let loose a full broadside into his position. “Pat’s” gunners smothered the lone gun with both grape and shell. One round from her 10-inch Pivot mounted smooth-bore struck the Rodman square on the muzzle knocked it off it’s carriage with a split barrel. The remaining broadside of three 8-inch and one 32 pounder rifles demolished the test range. Sergeant, soon to be Captain US Coast Artillery, Richard Baker was unharmed. Three of his gunners, one badly injured to be a cripple for the rest of his life and two who fully recover were stunned for the moment. “Pat” did not fire again as the target was destroyed and her CO was quite concerned by how little ammo he had left.
Raleigh, out of control continued with her rudder amidship on her course long enough for her Sailing Master and two machinist mates to Rig her tiller and regain steerage. Pilot Cantral and his leadsmen, half deafened by the blast from the Foc’sl 14 pounder James, continued to guide the little CSN squadron. Old Buck ordered one of Patrick Henry’s officers, First Lieutenant Oscar F. Johnston to assume command of the Raleigh. There was no time to loose.
9:15 PM The CS Marine landing party sent ahead to scout the shores of Gunston cove signaled “All clear”. Old Buck ordered his squadron to anchor when the sounding reached 32 feet.
9:30 PM Pilot Cantral reported to his Admiral and Captain aboard Patrick Henry. Old Buck had shifted his flag to the more comfortable ship shortly after they passed the last of the water defenses of Washington. Cantral advised they wait until 11 PM to get underway down the Potomac. From what he could see the full moon and cloudless sky should allow him to recognize the landmarks to safely pilot the squadron the rest of the way down the river. He added the high tide at 2 AM would only be an added assurance.
Admiral Franklin Buchanan, had to make another of those hard decisions. His men were exhausted. Tired men made mistakes and failed to notice things better rested men would not miss. In a“Neck or Nothing” high stakes gamble like this little visit into the heart of the beast that was the Union capital there were a lot of good men in blue intent on killing every last one of us. He knew they, unlike most of the political Harlots, were men who knew their trade; not so long ago he called them shipmates. They had to be concentrating forces to sink his little squadron. One way to do that was to block the channel with sunken ships. The Union did not need their new ironclads or even warships to do that. Every minute he delayed here, waiting for that moon to rise, repair damage, feed and rest his crews was time for those block ships to be sunk. Nothing the Union could do now
Old buck replied, I want this squadron underway by 10:30 PM” He then turned to Commander Tucker , “Hang out a signal if you please Commander. I want Jones and Johnston here as soon as possible for a short meeting.”
9:40 PM Old Buck, Pilot Cantral, CSMC Major Israel Greene and his captains sat around a table in the salon drinking coffee liberated by the CSMC landing party this afternoon. The admiral stated, “ I’ll let you go as soon as I get your verbal report on the condition of your ships and crews. We will start with Captain Johnston.” Swallowing a swig of this fine Yankee coffee First Lt Johnston said, “My chippie and engineers have rigged a serviceable wheel. The carpenter’s crew have repaired the Pilot house. Our hull is sound, we have plenty of coal and our engine is in good working order. Aside from the two casualties you know about Admiral, the crew and our marines are all fit for duty. They are in the process of being fed now.”
Gatesby Jones was next. “Virginia is in all respects ready to proceed and if called on fight another battle Admiral. Our machinery is in fine shape, our armor is a bit dented but nothing more. We refueled this afternoon and have more than enough coal to make our home port. We have suffered no casualties. My one concern is our ammunition supply. We still have the 20 rounds of the steel anti armor shot we sailed with but are down to less than 90 shells and 20 stand of grapeshot. My men are being fed as we speak.”
CSMC Major Greene, at a nod from Old Buck spoke next. “Admiral Buchanon of the 288 Marines we started this mission with I have 263 fit for duty. We have plenty of ammunition and are ready to carry out any orders you issue Admiral.”
Last to report was Commander Tucker who said, “Patrick Henry is ready in all respects to continue with the mission. Our machinery is functioning well, we have plenty of coal and our hull is intact. Our battery is undamaged but we have expended over 70% of our shell ammunition. IMO, that is enough for another engagement against wooden ships or a limited one against shore batteries. We still have our entire allotment of 50 rounds of Eight inch anti-armor ball. My crew are being fed now.”
Old buck said, “Well I figured we were all running low on ammunition. However, I assure you we made the best use possible of that ammunition.”
He then said. “Lt Jones could your 9 inch smooth bores make use of those eight inch anti armor ammunition? If we encounter one of the Yankee ironclads I will be relying on Virginia to take the fight to her and shield Patrick Henry and Raleigh.”
Gatesby Jones did not have to ponder this, “Admiral they would be useless at long range, of limited value at medium range but at close range would be almost as powerful as our 9 inch. If we have to fight another ironclad most of our broadsides will most likely be at close range Sir. I would welcome those rounds very much indeed.”
Commander Tucker spoke up, “Admiral I and the crew of “Pat” would deem it an honor to turn over those 50 rounds of Eight inch anti-armor ball to Virginia, if so ordered Sir.”
Old Buck replied, “Make it so and do it before we proceed.”
Commander Tucker just looked at his XO, who immediately left to get the ammunition transfer started. He thought My captain was smart to get rid of those balls but not their powder charges.
Gatesby Jones said, “That is very gracious of you Commander. If the situation arises before we can rearm and I pray God it does, I assure you we will put your generous gift to the best of uses!” He was much relieved by the addition of 50 more armor piercing rounds, even if they would have far too much windage for accurate shooting at long range.
Old Buck continued “The crew of Raleigh is to be commended on the quick repair job they made to their pilot house and steering gear. I will miss her late captain but have every confidence in her current one.
I order you to inform your crews that their admiral has nothing but the greatest pride and respect for our seamen. They did a magnificent job today which they will some day tell their grand children was absolutely essential to the Birth of our nation. Every man, including our marines, is a hero in my eyes. Spike the main Brace and all those under charges, sentence or stoppage of pay or Grog now have their sentences commuted AND their records cleaned. There will be time later to recognize those who exceeded even this exceptional performance and you have my word that time will not be long in coming.”
At that the small group cheered, banged the table. Commander Tucker rose and using his quarter deck bellow proposed a toast to their admiral. They all stood, downed their Bourbon and held their glasses out for another round. Old Buck nodded to Rasilus who poured out the fire water. They downed another round and Old Buck figured he better get them back to their ships while they could still walk.
He stood up and raised a glass to them all and then downed it in one gulp.
He then said, “Back to your commands, before we are all courtmartialed for being too drunk to do our duty! There is no way I am going to share my Good sipping whiskey and limited supply of Cuban cigars with drunken scoundrels like you. Be off with you!”
Old Buck watched them go from the weather deck, Rasilus at his side with a bottle of the best Scotch whiskey, presented to him by one of the Fire control shore parties after they looted a very good private stock. The Quartermaster told him there was no chance his admiral would be poisoned because he had tested the scotch whiskey for him three times and was still alive!” Buck thought he may be alive but he was far from steady but given the bribe he saw fit not to put him on report.
10:35 PM Now the race down river, through the dark to the cheapness was under way with Raleigh leading. Sailing Master Cantral and his trusted leadsman in her bows were again taking continuous soundings (Virginia drew 21 feet). The squadron was running at it’s best speed limited by Virginia’s Maximum speed of 8 knots. Cantral was no fool so he just knew the Union forces between them and safety had been warned by telegraph. What’s more, given the level of destruction they had done, the very heavy loss of Union Civilian lives and the insult to Yankee pride at having their capital trashed by the Confederacy every last one of those union troops and sailors was out for the squadron’s blood. No quarter was going to shown them. No plan with the even the lightest chance of success would be to risky for the Union not to try now.
Old Buck, was not the only one thinking about the destruction of the CSN Squadron. Brigadier General James S. Wadsworth, having been assigned to duty by the direction of the President as military governor of the District of Columbia, besides the military command of the city of Washington, assumed charge of the defenses north and south of the Potomac in the vicinity of Washington.
He should not reduce the artillery strength of the forts directly protecting the capital. He did not know where else he could find the large caliber guns necessary to defeat “Merrimac’s iron armor any place else NOW. It would take time to displace those guns and transport them down to a spot on the banks of the Potomac ahead of Buchanon’s ships. The Army of the Potomac had heavy guns on field carriages but Little Mac had them on the Peninsula; no help there.
What he could do is use his authority and the speed of the telegraph to order local commanders to sieze shipping and sink some of those vessels in the channel. That would put the cork into the bottle and give him time or maybe get the Navy off their fat asses to get something big enough to sink Buchanon’s three ships.
Problem was, at this time he did not know where the CSN ships were and where they were was much further down the Potomac than he thought. Old Buck was taking fearful chances to get back to Hampton Roads as quickly as possible. Five block ships were sunk in the potomac channel that night, all behind the CSN squadron. It took nearly a month to clear the channel completely.
10:30 PM Unknown to Brigadier General James S. Wadsworth, some in the USN were about to show him they had not been sitting on their asses. The two fastest, six and seven knot respectively, 30 foot steam launches, drawn from warships in the Roads and manned by all volunteer crews were to try to stop CSS Virginia. They, with the aid of a warrant carpenter and his mates, were converting these steam launches into “Torpedo boats”.
Their main battery would be a single 30 Spar Torpedo and their secondary a single 12 pounder smooth bore boat gun loaded with grape on top of round with ample reloads of canister in the ready locker. The boats had been stripped of every absolutely unessential item and their weight had been reduced enough that the fleet’s best engineers were sure they had gained another knot or two. They would need every bit of speed they could muster as the Virginia squadron could make 8 knots. The converted steamer Patric Henry, with her engine delivering 4,570 indicated horse power could reach 14.5 knots but she had to stay with Virginia.
Six of those Spar Torpedoes were at this moment being rushed by express train from the smouldering remains of the Washington navy Yard to Morgantown Maryland where six Cavalrymen waited to gallop them to Cedar Point.
Those infernal machines were being evaluated by the “Experts” of the Union Navy at the Washington Navy yard. So far, despite the rather long and not very impressive history of the Spar torpedo, it was felt the great advances of late just might have made them a reliable weapon. Unfortuneatly, no such advances had been made in naval tactical thinking and so the spar torpedo boat crews were most likely on a suicide mission.
The Spar Torpedo, which had been used as far back as the War of 1812 by the USN with little success, consisted of a lightweight copper barrel containing 60 pounds of gun powder on the end of a long wooden spar to be deployed from the bow of a “high speed,” low silhouette steam launch. One of the recent technical advances which so impressed the very consrevative USN to test them again was the use of the Percussion cap lock.
The use of the percussion cap, which was water proof and far more reliable than the old “Flint Lock” made the current version of the Spar Torpedo a far more reliable weapon. The percussion cap or percussion primer, was perfected in the mid 1820s by English-born American artist Joshua Shaw, as a copper cup filled with fulminates. The cost of the single-use percussion ignition device kept the US military from replaceing the much cheaper flint lock until the late 40’s, despite the fact the Springfield Armory had already proven conversion of the Flint lock to percussion cap was a relatively easy and cheap process. The first percussion firearm produced for the US military was the percussion carbine version (c.1833) of the M1819 Hall rifle. Despite the fact US Army’s breech loading caplock Hall rifles, muzzle loading rifled muskets and Colt Dragoon revolvers gave the US advantage over the smoothbore flintlock Brown Bess muskets used by Santa Anna's troops during the Mexican War, it was not until the mid 1850’s the cap was used in the Spar torpedo.
The Spar “Torpedo” was detonated by means of a trigger mechanism adapted from a rifle percussion lock. The spring-loaded trigger was detonated by means of a long cord attached to the attacking vessel. The attacking vessel rammed its target, embedding the barbed torpedo in its hull, then backed off. When the attacker reached the limit of the trigger cord, the torpedo was detonated.
The idea was to attack this night, ramming the torpedo into the wooden hull, that supported the Virginia’s Iron Casemate, below the waterline. It was expected the force of the explosion to the target ship’s hull would leave the attack boat unharmed. Yah right, and if the “Rebs” were aware of the torpedo boats approach the boat crews would be eating grape and canister shot long before the 30 foot long spar planted the warhead. Make no mistake, surprise was absolutely essential to success and survival of these brave Union sailors.
10 March 1862 2 AM CSS Raleigh leading the Confederate squadron followed by CSS Virginia with CSS Patrick Henry last in line off Pope’s creek Maryland. Sailing Master Cantral and his trusted leadsman Bosun Mate Liam Connolly were piloting the squadron from the bows of little Raleigh. Liam was taking continuous soudings trying to keep Virginia with her 21 foot draft from going aground. Sailing Master Cantral had laid out in, a light proof cabin from which he could clearly hear Lima’s soundings, the most up to date Potomac river chart. It had been updated very recently by agents for the South. This meant his night vision was shot and he had to rely on the best young eyes aboard as lookouts. He had carefully hand picked these young men and beat into their eager skuls exactly what he wanted them to look for, as well as having them study the chart.
The squadron was running at it’s best speed limitted by Virginia’s Maximum speed of 8 knots. Cantral was no fool so he just knew the Union forces between them and safety had been warned by telegraph. He agreed with Old Buck speed was their best armor this night. So far most of the marks had been clsoe enough to those recorded on the chart to assure him they were in the deep channel. Actually the most dangerous part of the transit had been well up the river alongside Washington and on the anacostia river where the channel was shallowest but he had good landmarks under bright sun to to guide him. Either by luck or good planning they had a full moon and clear sky tonight.
3:10 AM in the channel off the mouth of Clifton Creek Maryland the two Spar Torpedo boats named Number 1, starboardd and Number 2 Larboard in typical USN fashion, in line abreast formation and 500 yards apart began their run into the attack. Raleigh lay 1000 yards ahead followed by the bulk of their target CSS Virginia at 1500 yards and Patrick Henry at 2,000 yards. The plan was to use the combined speed of 12 knots to deliver a surprise and coordinated attack on both larboard and starboard just aft of the case mate’s forward gun ports. It was hoped by going in at a steerage speed of 4 knots the launches would not attract attention by their wake or the sound of their engine. The engine was encased in a wooden box to reduce it’s noise thanks to the idea of one of the petty officers. If spotted on the way in the launches would go to flank speed and continue into their target. Retreat was not an option this morning. Every US sailor from the Lieutenants commanding to the junior unrated was determined to sink that Seccesh bastard and avange theslaughter of their gallant shipmates of Hampton Roads yesterday.
Once the torpedo barb was embeded below the waterline they would fire the damn thing and then come to full speed as they ran for the cover of the shore. The 12 pounder boat gun had been repositioned to the stern to cover their retreat. Each boat also carried colored rockets to seignal the shore of their success or failure. Red for success white for failure. 3:30 AM a lookout on the Raleigh reported something off the beam to starboard. Raleigh’s acting skipper First Lt Johnston tried to locate the contact but it was already well astern of his ship and her superstructure masked the torpedo boat. He did not want to show a light by firing off a signal rocket, the emergency alarm and hesitated. He decided to order three blasts on the steam whistle, also a warning something was amiss but not necessarily a Union attack.
3:38 AM warned by the whistle Lt. Catesby Jones’ starboard lookout spotted Torpedo Boat Number One, 125 yards off the bow. Jones immediately ordered his bow gun to open up with grape on the bearing. Although they did not have a clear target the dispersion of grape in the gneral direction of the 30 foot wooden boat took off their smoke stack and the head of one of the union sailors. The boat skipper ordered full speed and his crew manned the already rigged out spar. It took the forward gun crew 45 seconds to relaod and depress the muzzle of their gun. In that time at closing speed of 12 knots number one’s Torpedo struck the ironclad with a resounds clang that shattered the spar. They had hit the casemate. The skipper pulled the lanyards anyway as he ordered the boat to head for the Maryland shore. The 60 pound charge detonated with sound and flash but did no dange to Virginia. It did scare the hell out of the crew but Jones’s nerve were of a sterner stuff and he kept his head waiting for a dmage control report. The report reached him in a bout three minutes. Fearing grounding more than naything he had the helmsman maintain his course guideing on the shrowded stern light of raleigh.
3:40 AM Torpedo Boat Number Two’s skipper took full advantage of the dsitraction of Number One’s attack and bore into his target with cool determination. He maneged to plant his torpedo’s barb into the wooden hull,four feet below Virginia’s waterline. He ordered all back full and when at the end of the lanyard yanked it smartly. The toredo firing mechanism worked perfectly. The torpedo was positiojed exctly where it would do the most harm, the boat had manged to attack in complet surprise and it all came to nothing. The powder charge for whatever erason exploded with a “Low Order detonation”. It made a hell of a lot of flame and noise but Merrimack’s sturdy hull was proof and although damaged and flooding it was not fatal. Virginia’s Damage control team was able to plug the hole, mostly seal it with rolled hammocks and then braced it with stout timbers. Marrimack’s excellent pumps mostly cleared the bilges and she proceeded on with her combat effectiveness un damaged. Two of her boradside guns fired grapoe after Torpedo boat Number two but did no damage.
Virginia managed to fire a full broadside at Torpedo Boat Number One but she was so far into the drakness not a single ball came close. Total casulatues were the ingle decapitated young sailor. The crews were ready to do it again as as soon as they got their spars and torpedoes replaced. The brass was willing but the speed of advance of the Virginia’s squdron and the rapid approach of daylight made another attempts unlikely.
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lordroel
Administrator
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Post by lordroel on Jun 21, 2023 17:56:26 GMT
especially when I am calling the shots!
Posting images ore videos of young children in post ore threads is not tolerated on the forum unless approve by the Administrator (Lordroel) or a moderator (Inspector General), this rule is to prevent unwanted attention to the forum.
So i have edit it out, i do this as the rule says, if one image of a young child is allowed, then others will follow. |
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miletus12
Squadron vice admiral
To get yourself lost, just follow the signs.
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Post by miletus12 on Jun 21, 2023 18:01:34 GMT
 You could use that. |
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jun 21, 2023 18:05:01 GMT
You could use that. , should i be concerned about your Racoon obsesion. But lets go back to topic, want to get to Florida this year, upsetting Senior Chief means i will not be allow to enter. |
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Jun 21, 2023 18:06:26 GMT
especially when I am calling the shots!
Posting images ore videos of young children in post ore threads is not tolerated on the forum unless approve by the Administrator (Lordroel) or a moderator (Inspector General), this rule is to prevent unwanted attention to the forum.
So i have edit it out, i do this as the rule says, if one image of a young child is allowed, then others will follow.No problem. I won't violate that rue again. I really like to know what you think of Part 2 after you have a chance to read it.
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Hope you like this one. It is a filler while I get some rest from NOVA GENOVA. The Rock my friend research for that beast is so long because I keep on getting diverted by something new I learn and go off and research that for my own education. I got to develop a more disciplined approach. 
are entering my all to easy to read mind. I warn you now what you will find there the stuff nightmares are made of. Consider yourself forewarned and I strongly suggest you don't go near that black pit. 
