Six More Questions on Fort Fisher-- Part 2

Answers below.

6.  The fall of Fort Fisher closed of what Confederate port?

7.  Who was the Confederate general in charge of the whole area who did not attempt to save the fort?

8.  Fort Fisher was built to protect Wilmington and help what kind of ship get into the harbor?

9.  What was the name of the famed Confederate naval officer  who commanded the CSS Albemarle, CSS Florida and also blockade runners?  

10.  Fort Fisher is often called the Malakoff Tower of the South."  In what war was the Malakoff Tower?

11.  Frank Crawford question.  (This means it is really hard.)  Fort Fisher was surrendered buy a Confederate major who had also surrendered Fort Johnston across the Cape Fear River to the Confederate earlier in the war.  What was his name?

*********************************

ANSWERS

6.  Wilmington, North Carolina

7.  Braxton Bragg

8.  Blockade Runners

9.  John Newland Maffitt

10.  Crimean War

11.  Major James Reilly

I got them all correct, but, of course, I'm a Fort Fisher nut.

--Old B-Runner

What They Said About Berdan's Sharpshooters-- Part 2: "Minnie Bullets and Grape Shot Were As Thick As Hail"

**  Civil War historian Jim Woodrick wrote of the Battle of Antietam that at the Cornfield, the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters "returned fire and the Confederates started too break, leaving guns, knapsacks and everything that impeded their progress on the ground beside their dead and wounded comrades."

**  At the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, sharpshooters unleashed a quick and deadly salvo at a North Carolina battery under Captain James Reilly.  James Reilly, later as a major, was the officer who surrendered Fort Fisher.  A Confederate force of about 200 men were sent out to deal with them.

They had devastation visited upon them by the sharpshooters.  One of the Confederates wrote:  "We advanced through a field and about half a mile before we reached the...foot of the mountain (Big Round Top), our men tumbling out of ranks at every step, knocked over by the enemy's sharpshooters."

**  Private John C. West of the 4th Texas wrote:  When the command was given to charge we moved forward as quickly as we could....  Yankee sharpshooters were on the higher mountains, so as to have fairer shots at our officers.

"On we went yelling and whooping...minnie bullets and grape shot were as thick as hail, and we were compelled to get behind the rocks and trees to save ourselves."

Don't Mess With the Sharpshooters.  --Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Dec. Meeting-- Part 1: Trivia, Too Easy, Too Hard

This past  Saturday, the McHenry County Civil War Round Table met at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois, with the topic being Civil War Trivia.  We all took turns asking questions.  I mostly asked naval questions that were fairly easily answered.

(My questions are in my Civil War Navy blog, Running the Blockade.)

The only three that they couldn't answer was the name of the man who surrendered three forts during the war.  One was Fort Johnston which he surrendered twice to Confederate while he was still a U.S. ordnance sergeant and the other, Fort Fisher, he surrendered to Union forces as a Confederate major.  This man was James Reilly.

Another was which battle took place Christmas Eve and Day 1864.  And that was the First Battle of Fort Fisher.

The third one was the Union admiral who made $109,689 for his cut on captured blockade runners, S.P. Lee, a distant relative of Robert E. Lee.

Of course, like with so many Civil War buffs, there is not a lot of knowledge about the Navy part of the war.

--Old Secesh

July Second Saturday at Fort Fisher

From the July 9th WWAY 3 ABC News, Wilmington, NC.

The monthly Second Saturday program at Fort Fisher concentrated on Civil War authors of both fiction and non-fiction, who set up at the Fort Fisher Visitors Center to discuss their books and sign copies.

Jack Travis has written a book on Confederate Major James Reilly who he describes as the greatest battery leader of the war. Major Reilly was in the US Army and surrendered Fort Johnston to Confederates after North Carolina seceded and then joined the Confederate Army and was at Fort Fisher during the battles. It was he who surrendered the fort after the commanders, William Lamb and W.H.C. Whiting, were wounded.

The next Second Saturday is August 13th.

Sure Would Like to Go to One of These Interesting Events, But Too Far Away. --Old B-R'er

Confederate Burials in Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery-- Part 1

This past fall, a ceremony was held at the grave of Fort Fisher's Major James Reilly, who surrendered the fort after Whiting and Lamb had been wounded. His grave is at Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina.

There are quite a few other Confederate graves in the cemetery.

KATHERINE DAVIS WHITING-- wife of General Whiting. October 14, 1836-November 21, 1901. It was her efforts that had the general's body moved from New York back to his adopted Wilmington after the war.

GENERAL W. H. C. WHITING-- March 22, 1824- March 10, 1865. He had been wounded twice during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. He was captured and imprisoned at Governor's Island in New York Harbor.

His wounds were healing and he was gaining strength when suddenly he was stricken with diarrhea and dysentery and he died 12 days short of his 41st birthday. Sometime in the late 1800s, his wife had him reinterred at Oakdale.

More Confederate Burials to Come. --Old B-Runner

Major Reilly's Sword

The sword of Major James Reilly is on display at the Fort Fisher Museum. It was made in 1860 in Massachusetts and was used to surrender fort Fisher after both General Whiting and Colonel Lamb were wounded.

Reilly turned it over to Union Captain E. Lewis Moore who returned it in 1893. It has been in the possession of Reilly's descendants since then who have now loaned it to the state park.

The official surrender of the fort occurred on the night of Jan. 15, 1865 and was by General Whiting to Union General Alfred Terry.

Major Reilly was an enlisted man in the US Army before the Civil War and participated in the Seminole, Indian and Mexican wars.

Let's Hear it for the Major. --Old B-Runner

Fort Fisher's Major James Reilly-- Part 3

His military stone was dedicated October 24th at Oakdale Cemetery. On it are listed battles he took part in: Yorktown, Peninsula Campaign, Manassas, South Mountain. Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Washington, NC, Suffolk Campaign, Gettysburg, and 1st and 2nd Battles of Fort Fisher.

The memorial service was attended by his great granddaugthers Mary Scott Betham and Mary Alice Crowley of Wilmington, and Catherine Reilly Steele of Gatlinburg, Tn. Also, two reenactors portraying his battery, one from NC and the other from Maine were there.

Source thewildgeese.com

Fort Fisher's Major James Reilly-- Part 2

James Reilly was an ordnance sergeant in the US Army when he surrendered Fort Johnson and was the sole defender.

He resigned from the US Army and joined the 10th NC Artillery, Co. D, which became known as Reilly's Battery and served in the Army of Northern Virginia until 1863 when he was promoted to major and transferred to Fort Fisher where he became second in command under Col. William Lamb. It was he who surrendered Fort Fisher after Col. Lamb and Gen. Whiting were wounded. So, Reilly had the misfortune to have to surrender two forts in the Wilmington area.

After the war, he returned to Wilmington, NC, and lived there the rest of his life operating the Wilmington and Brunswick Ferry. He died in 1894 and is buried at Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington.

An Interesting Story. --Old B-Runner

Fort Fisher's Major James Reilly-- Part 1

One of those many, many heroes of the Civil War who are not known to the general public.

Dozens of people gathered at Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery this last weekend to dedicate a new marker for Major James Reilly who surrendered Fort Fisher, was imprisoned in Maryland (probably Point Lookout). Even though offered a higher position with higher pay, he refused and remained in prison. From Wild Geese Today.

He had the nickname of "Old Tarantula" and was born in Ireland in 1823. After serving in the British Army, and crossed the Atlantic to the United States and joined the U.S.army. He served in the Seminole Indian War and was severely wounded in the Mexican War.


SURRENDERED FORT JOHNSON

On January 7, 1861, while the sole military person at Fort Johnson in Smithville, NC, now Southport, he surrendered Fort Johnson to a large force of North Carolina militia

Continued. --Old B-Runner

Artifacts to Be Presented to Fort Fisher

The September 18th Wilmington (NC) Star-News reported that this morning, a ceremony was held at the fort in which personal effects of Major James Reilly were presented. Reilly surrendered the Fort Fisher to Union Captain E. Lewis Moore.

Dr. James Reilly Lee, a descendant of the major presented a sash, shako plume, and shoulder epaulets owned by his ancestor. If I recall, Reillys sword, with which he surrendered the fort is already on display. The sash and plume probably date back to Reilly's prewar service as an ordnance sergeant and surrendered Fort Johnston in Southport to Confederate forces near the before the war began. The epaulets appear to have been altered during his Confederate service.


SWORDS AND A SPYGLASS

Captain Moore's sword and a sword and spyglass belonging to Confederate Captain John Ramsay were also presented. The story has it that Ramsay loaned the spyglass to Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Antietam and Lee used it to watch the arrival of A.P. Hill.

Representatives of the Reilly and Moore families were present for questions.

Also, Jack Travis, author of "Men of God, Angels of Death: History of the Rowan Artillery" gave a talk and signed copies of his book. James Reilly commanded the Rowan Artillery as a captain until promoted to major September 7, 1863 and being transferred to Wilmington. Ramsay was then promoted to captain and command of the unit.

Reilly was captured at Fort Fisher and imprisoned at Fort Delaware. He returned to Wilmington and died at age 71, Nov. 7, 1894 and was buried at Oakdale Cemetery. While looking for Whiting's grave, I came across Reilly's grave.

Travis will also be giving a talk at the Rowan, NC Public Library this week, sponsored by the Robert F. Hoke Chapter 78 UDC. Reilly was an Irish catholic and veteran of the Seminole and Mexican wars.

Some More God Stuff at the Museum. Definitely Would Have Liked to Have Been There. --Old B-Runner