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Category Archives: Navies
Blockade, Privateering, and the 1856 Declaration of Paris
In April 1861, the commanders in chief of both the United States and Confederacy issued far ranging proclamations. Abraham Lincoln declared a blockade of Confederate ports while Jefferson Davis issued a call for privateers to make war on US seaborne … Continue reading
George N. Hollins’ Fall From Grace
Circumstances change amidst battle and combat leaders often have great discretion in carrying out orders. The maxim of marching to the sound of the guns comes to mind, especially during the US Civil War. Commanders were often praised for following … Continue reading
The Wet March: USS Monitor Almost Sinks
If by “on the march,” we mean the exercise of rapidly shifting a combat unit from behind the lines to where the action is while overcoming formidable obstacles of terrain and weather, then the U.S. Navy had its own wet … Continue reading
Posted in Navies
Tagged Battle of Hampton Roads, Ironclad, John L. Worden, on-the-march, Samuel D. Greene, USS Monitor
3 Comments
On the March to Sailor’s Creek with Tucker’s Naval Battalion
One thousand Confederate sailors and Marines defended Richmond by April 1865. Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes commanded the James River Squadron’s ironclads, wooden steamers, and torpedo boats. The Confederate Naval Academy, officers in training, operated CSS Patrick Henry. Captain John R. … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Leadership--Confederate, Navies
Tagged Adolphus Schwartzman, Battle of Sailor's Creek, Confederate Navy, Confederate States Marine Corps, CSS Patrick Henry, Drewry's Bluff, Eugenius Jack, Fall of Richmond, George Terrett, Howard McHenry, James River Squadron, John R. Tucker, Joseph Viernelson, on-the-march, Raphael Semmes, Richard S. Ewell, Robert E. Lee, Robert Watson, William Mahone
1 Comment
USS Tyler and USS Lexington at Shiloh
One decisive reason the Federals won the war on the rivers was the rapid creation and utilization of gunboats. These vessels protected transports, patrolled the rivers, shelled Confederate defenses, directly supported Union amphibious operations, and more than once saved a … Continue reading
Farragut vs. Port Hudson
In April 1862 Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut took a fleet past Forts Jackson and St. Philip. His passage of the forts led to the fall of New Orleans and made Farragut the darling of the Northern press. In March … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Navies
Tagged Admiral David G. Farragut, Benjamin Butler, George Dewey, Nathaniel Banks, Port Hudson, Red River
5 Comments
Sailor and an Artist – Robert Weir of the USS Richmond
Aboard the USS Richmond, floating just off Pensacola Bay, Third Engineer Robert F. Weir sat in his “little cosey, hot, office,” hard at work penning letters to his wife and composing sketches for Harpers Weekly. These letters, accompanied by doodles … Continue reading
The Most Frightened Man and the Ironclads
One hundred and sixty years ago yesterday, March 8, 1862, a frustrated commander in chief convened another council of war to prod Major General George B. McClellan into action. McClellan proposed to transport the Army of the Potomac down the … Continue reading
160 Years: “Unlike Anything That Ever Floated” In Hampton Roads
It was morning, Sunday, March 9, 1862. As executive officer and second in command of the revolutionary ironclad, USS Monitor, Greene supervised the weapons in the turret while his captain, Lieutenant John L. Worden, commanded the vessel from the little … Continue reading
