McHenry County CW Round Table Meets Today: USS Merrimack

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, August 9, at the Woodstock Library at 7, both in person and via Zoom.

David Noe will speak on the USS Merrimack, the ship that was turned into the ironclad CSS Virginia by Confederates and fought the famous battle against the USS Monitor.  (Which ship were you pulling for?)

All are invited to attend.  You do not have to be a member, just have an interest in history.

There will also be several of us meeting at 3 Brothers restaurant in Woodstock (on Illinois Highway 47) at 5:30.  Come for dinner or dessert.

--Old Secesh

President Taylor's Grandsons Fought for the Confederacy-- Part 3: John Taylor Wood

Zachary Taylor's daughter, Ann Mackall Taylor Wood, married Robert Crooke Wood, who remained with the Union during the war.  They had two sons and a daughter, Robert Crooke Wood Jr, who I wrote about in the last two posts.  Also there was a daughter, Sarah Knox  Wood (1835-1915).

John Taylor Wood led quite a life and compiled a remarkable record as a Confederate Navy officer during the Civil War.  I will write more about his service in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog.

A  short synopsis is here.

Served in U.S. Navy after graduating from the USNA in 1853.  Resigned his commission, but U.S. Navy dismissed him.  His family relationship with Jefferson Davis (his aunt was the first wife of Davis and the fact he was the grandson of a former president) gave him great influence in the Confederacy.

Was a second lieutenant on the CSS Virginia in the Battle of Hampton Roads and fight against the USS Monitor.  Led surprise attacks on Union ships in the Chesapeake Bay area.  Commanded the CSS Tallahassee on a commerce raiding expedition along the American coast and captured and destroyed 31 union ships, captured the Union warship USS Underwriter at New Bern, N.C..

He was also with Jefferson Davis at his capture in Georgia.  Escaping to Cuba, he then went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and lived there the remainder of his life.

--Old Secesh

U.S. Presidents with Confederate Ties-- Part 3: Zachary Taylor's Children

Some of the Civil War split between North and South involved the children of U.S. presidents.

One of President Zachary Taylor's sons, Richard, rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the Confederate Army and was a top figure in the Trans-Mississippi theater of the war.  He surrendered his army on May 4, 1865, four weeks after Robert E. Lee.

Another of Taylor's children, Sarah, married future Confederate president Jefferson Davis in 1835 at the age of 21.  At the time, Davis was serving in the U.S. Army under Taylor and Taylor  forbade the relationship, saying, "I will be damned if another daughter of mine will marry into the Army."

Sarah came down with malaria later in 1835 and died.  Taylor, who did in office in 1850, reportedly never forgave Davis for her loss.

In addition, one of Taylor's grandsons, John Taylor Wood,  served on the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia in its famed battle with the USS Monitor in Hampton Roads in March, 1862.  He was the son of Taylor's eldest daughter Ann.  He also commanded the CSS Tallahassee in a very successful commerce raid along the U.S. coast.  That ship left out of Wilmington, North Carolina.

He also had a brother who served in the Confederate Army named Robert Crooke Wood, Jr.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in March: Goodbye Gov. Houston, Lincoln Inaugurated, Battle of Pea Ridge and USS Monitor vs. CSS Virginia

From the American Battlefield Trust March 2022 Calendar.

MARCH 2, 1861

**  After forcing the resignation of Governor Sam Houston, Texas formally joins the Confederacy.

MARCH 4, 1861

**  Abraham Lincoln inaugurated 16th President of the United States of America.

MARCH 7, 1862

**  Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, begins.

MARCH 8, 1862

**  The CSS Virginia engages and destroys the USS Congress and USS Cumberland.

MARCH 9, 1862

**  The USS Monitor and CSS Virginia battle at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

MARCH 14, 1862

**  New Bern, North Carolina captured.

--Old Secesh

Fort Wool in Chesapeake Bay-- Part 5: The Sawyer Gun

The range of the Sawyer gun, with extended elevation, extended all the way to Confederate-held Sewell's Point in Virginia, 3 miles away (where Norfolk Naval Base is now located).  The Confederates had built an impressive fort there complete with  bastions, a redan and three artillery batteries mounting 45 guns.

The Sawyer gun was rifled and could fire a shot further and with more accuracy than the usual smoothbore cannons in use.  It was one of several rifled artillery pieces developed by Sylvanus Sawyer. Sadly for him, none of his designs were widely adopted by Union forces.

A weapon of  the type at Fort Wool was tested at nearby Fort Monroe in 1859.  Two different Sawyer weapons, a 24-pounder rifle and a 3.67-inch were used at the Siege of Richmond in 1864-1865.  The 24-pounder burst on the tenth fire and the 3.67 was rarely used.

Fort Wool had a ringside seat for the Battle of Hampton Roads between the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor during what is referred to as the Battle of the Ironclads on March 9, 1862.  The Sawyer gun fired on the Virginia, but no damage was done to the ship because of her armor.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT: The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal-- Part 2: Severely Damaged in Antietam and Gettysburg Campaigns

The C&O Canal was the only direct route in Washington, D.C., for coal.

The Confederates, despite the strategic importance of the canal, did not attack it early in the war because of hopes that Maryland would join the Confederacy. but did develop plans of attack in case that didn't happen.  Prime spots to attack would be aqueducts and culverts where the canal crossed water.

Jackson destroyed the C&O Railroad Bridge

While the CSS Virginia was still a threat to Washington, canal boats were taken and sunk downstream on the Potomac River to prevent its approach.

During the Confederate incursions northward ending in the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, the C& O Canal was heavily damaged.

--Old Secesh

Markers and Remains of Newport News-- Part 2: The Sea Battles

CONGRESS AND CUMBERLAND OVERLOOK--  26th Street and West Avenue.  Scene of the March 8, 1862, engagement between the CSS Virginia and these two Union ships which were destroyed.

MONITOR AND MERRIMACK OVERLOOK--  Anderson Park.  16th Street and Oak Avenue.  Site of the famous Battle of the Ironclads which forever changed naval architecture.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table-- Part 3: Peninsula Campaign Navy

I had done research on the naval aspects of the campaign, but that wasn't discussed much.  I'll be writing about my research in my Civil War Navy Blog, "Running the Blockade" next week.

With the fall of Norfolk looming, the Confederates were looking to remove the CSS Virginia, a huge threat to Union efforts, up the James River to Richmond.  Its guns were removed, but the newly lightened ship then had too much freeboard between its armor and wooden hull.

This would enable Union gunners, and especially the USS Monitor, to damage or sink the ship.  This was a big reason why the ship was destroyed.

The Virginia's crew (and possibly guns) were removed to Drewry's Bluff for that place's defense.

--Old Secesh

Top Ten Civil War Innovations-- Part 3: Telegraph and Iron Gunships

6.  TELEGRAPH--  50,000 miles of telegraph wire had been strung by 1860.  Another 15,000 miles were added during the war.  Lincoln used it for real-time information.  By October 1861, the coast-to-coast telegraph had eliminated the Pony Express.  During the war, several patents improved distance and power of the original Morse telegraph.

7.  IRON GUNSHIPS--  The Confederate Navy couldn't match the U.S. Navy in numbers so needed a super weapon which they got with the ironclad CSS Virginia.  The USS Monitor was built in 90-days and had 40 patentable inventions by John Ericsson.

--Old Secesh

A War of 1812 Connection: the ap Catesby Jones Family

In the last week, I have been writing about War of 1812 Navy commander Thomas Catesby ap Jones and his brother, U.S. Army commander Roger ap Catesby Jones.  The name Catesby ap is not very common made me think of Civil War Confederate officer Catesby ap Roger Jones who commanded the CSS Virginia in its epic battle with the USS Monitor.

It turns out that Catesby ap Roger Jones is the son of Roger ap Catesby Jones.  The Catesby ap means son of and is Welch language.

Another of Roger ap Catesby Jones' sons served on the CSS Tennessee.

The lives of Roger and Thomas Catesby ap Jones can be found in my Not so Forgotten: War of 1812 blog for today and this past week.

--Old Secesh

99th New York Infantry: the "Union Coast Guard"-- Part 4: 1862

These are events in 1862.

JANUARY: Designated as 99th New York Infantry Regiment.

JAN. 7-FEB. 8TH: Co. B detached to steamers Southfield and Hunchback and accompanied Burnside's Roanoke Island Expedition.

FEB. 8TH: Battle of Roanoke Island. Company B detached. Three men killed or mortally wounded, seven men wounded.

MARCH 7TH: Co. K organized. Co. D serving on the USS Congress.

MARCH 8-9: Battle of Hampton Roads between the CSS Virginia, USS Monitor and U.S. fleet. Destruction of the USS Congress and Cumberland. The 99th lost ten killed or mortally wounded, fifteen wounded and seven missing from Co. D serving on the USS Congress.

More to Come From 1862.

USS Congress Not a Good Ship To Be On in March 1862.  --Old Secesh

Garrett J. Pendergrast, USN

From Wikipedia.

From Dec. 5, 1802. Died November 7, 1862. One of the oldest officers in the Union Navy during the war.

He was a flag officer on the USS Cumberland during the action at Gloucester Point and it was under his orders that Lt. Thomas O. Selfridge reconnoitered the Confederate defenses. He was the uncle of Austin Pendergrast, the hapless commander of the USS Water Witch when it was captured.

During the Mexican War, Pendergrast commanded the USS Boston He was also the commanding officer of the USS Merrimack (which later became the ironclad CSS Virginia) when it was commissioned.

Starting April 24th, the Cumberland and supporting ships began seizing Confederate ships and privateers off Fort Monroe in the Chesapeake Bay, capturing 16. The first major blockade operation of the war.

When the Cumberland was sunk by the CSS Virginia, Pendergrast was no longer the ship's commander.

In July, 1862, Pendergrast became a commodore and was assigned to the command of the Philadelphia Naval Yard where he died November 7, 1862, of a paralytic stroke.

He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. Find-A-Grave shows a large obelisk with an anchor on it. It also says that Austin Pendergrast is buried at the same spot and that Garrett was his father.

I had Never Heard of Him. --Old B-Runner

Looking for the Cumberland and Florida-- Part 1

From the June 27th Daily Press.

Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy had a two-day expedition to survey the remains of two famous Civil War ships resting on the bottom of the lower James River in Virginia.

Using sonar technology, data will be retrieved and 3-D maps made of the USS Cumnerland, which was sunk off Newport News Point by the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia during the March 8-9 Battle of Hampton Roads. The Cumberland, a frigate mounting 50 guns, sank with over 120 crew members and is protected by federal law as a war grave.

The same will also be done for the Confederate captured commerce raider CSS Florida which was sunk November 19, 1864, after a collision with a Navy troop ferry.

Sunken Ships Always a Big Interest of Mine. --Old B-Runner

You Tube Featuring the Engines of Civil War Ironclads

Came across a video clip on You Tube which showed the operation of the "USS Monadnock Trunk Steam Engine in animation form. You can find it by typing in that name.

There are also videos of the engines of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.

The Monadnock participated in both Battles of Fort Fisher, taking up a position 1200 yards from the fort and pounding away at the fort's walls with the four other ironclads.

Hey, it was what moved the ships.

You Move Me Baby. --Old B-Runner

Craney Island, Virginia

Located near Portsmouth. The HMdb (Historical Marker database) are out doing their usual great job of cataloging the nation's "History on a Sticks."

This time, hey did one for Craney Island, a place I've never heard of before, but it is where a big victory was won over British troops in the War of 1812, and where the ironclad CSS Virginia was blown up in 1862 to prevent capture.

The marker said that during the War of 1812, on June 22, 1813, American defenders held out against a much-larger British force suffering no casualties while killing 200 British, capturing 13, and causing 40 to desert. This saved Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Gosport Naval Yard.

In May, 1862, when Confederates abandoned Norfolk, efforts were made to lighten the CSS Virginia to take her up the James River, but were unsuccessful, and the ship was blown up by Craney Island.

Didn't Know That. --Old B-Runner

Anniversary of the Famous Battle Between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia

Today marks the 147th anniversary of the battle that set naval architecture on a new course in history.

The USS Monitor clashed with the CSS Virginia which was returning to "mop up" the wooden ships of the Union navy at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The day before, the Virginia had decimated the fleet with little damage to itself. The wooden sides of the federal matches were no match for the ironclad Confederate ship.

During the night, the hurriedly-constructed Monitor arrived at the battle scene and took position between the rest of the fleet and the Virginia.

The battle was largely inconclusive, with the Virginia eventually leaving the scene and retiring to her berth.

Other naval powers immediately canceled all orders for wooden ships and began the construction of ironclad ones. The Monitor's turret was especially copied. The idea of potting large calibre guns in a revolving turret so they could be fired in almost any direction revolutionized naval architecture into the 1940s.

Quite an Engagement. --Old B-Runner

The Nameless Grave-- First Battle of Hampton Roads

The March 3rd Historical Marker Data Base was about Longfellow's "A Nameless Grave" which he must have seen at Newport News, Virginia. It is on a marker placed there by the American Legion in 1965 in honor of 252 American sailors, five Confederate and 247 Union, who gave their lives to defend a cause they believed in on March 8, 1862. It is located at Christopher Newport Park and right by the wreck of the USS Cumberland and CSS Florida.

Two were from the CSS Virginia, three from the Confederate gunboats Raleigh and Beaufort, 127 from the SS Cumberland, 120 from the USS Congress, three from the USS Minnesota, and three from the Union steam tender Whitehall.

The following day, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia had the first clash of the ironclads with no fatalities.

A Salute to the Unknown. We May Not Know Your Name, But You Are Honored for Your Gallantry. Longfellow Put It Well. --Old B-Runner

CSS Virginia vs. USS Cumberland

The Civil War Navy and Marine Forum on Yahoo had a notice about the battle between the Virginia and Cumberland preceding the USS Monitor-CSS Virginia battle. These were taken from military telegraph postings as the battle unfolded.

The messages were from George Cowlam who was observing the fight.

"She is steering straight for the Cumberland.-- The Cumberland gives her a broadside-- She keels over, seems to be sinking--No, she comes on again-- She has struck the Cumberland and pored a broadside into her, God!-- The Cumberland is sinking-- The Cumberland has fired her last broadside."

From "The Military Telegraph During the Civil War."

The News as It happens. --Old B-Runner

CSS Virginia-- Is the Wreck Still There?

Carl Fisher is a member of the Yahoo Group Civil War Naval and Marine Forum and lives in Norfolk, Virginia. He keeps up with all things Elizabeth River.

Since 2003, the Maerk Shipping Company has built a large container terminal on Carney island and dredged most of the offshore area where the Virginia was blown up.

Before doing that, they had to have extensive magnetometer surveys and found no metallic objects of any significance in the area.

Fisher's opinion is that there is little of the Virginia left.

Another posting in the same group from Tom Apple said that the CSS Virginia's remains were raised in May 1876 and floated to dry dock where the machinery was removed and wood broken up. A Norfolk company made 200 canes and other souvenir pieces out of the remains. This according to the Norfolk, Virginia May 30th and May 31st, 1876 papers.

So Much for That Ship. --Old Blockade-Runner

USS Monitor and CSS Virginia Artifacts

The USS Monitor Center at the Mariner's Museum in Virginia is featuring cut-away interior views of the ship and its adversary as well as a commemorative anchor made of iron salvaged from the Virginia in 1929.

There is also an oil can that has been raised from the Monitor. It probably at one time contained whale oil, which was a major 19th century lubricant.

There is also a ten-foot long deck plate which was placed over the original plates to strengthen the deck. It was problably put on during a refitting at the Washington Naval Yard. This is one item that you are even encouraged to touch.

The USS Monitor Center is a 65,500 square foot, $30 million complex that open in March 2007. Admission is $12.50.

www.marinersmuseum.org

Touch a Piece of History. --Old B-Run.