With the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh tomorrow, here is an interesting story about a man who led quite an interesting Civil War career, but obtained his greatest notoriety for something that happened six years after the war.
From the April 3rd Examiner "A Shiloh Confederate...you may not know" by Gregg Clemmer.
Shiloh is known for many things:
** The loss of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston.
** Will S, Hays, a correspondent with the Louisville Democrat was inspired to compose "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" which turned Johnny Clem into a household name.
Nor so well-known at the time was a Confederate private in the "Dixie Grays," Company E., 4th Arkansas Regiment. He was captured April 7th, and rather than go to a Yankee prison, became a "Galvanized Yankee" joining the Union Army. After just 18 days, he was discharged with a severe case of dysentary.
He then served on merchant ships before enlisting in the Union Navy where he was assigned to the USS Minnesota as a record keeper.
He definitely was one of the few, if any, who could claim to have served in the the Confederate Army, the Union Army and the Union Navy.
This private's name was Henry Morton Stanley who became much more famous six years later in Africa where he uttered the words "Dr. Livingston, I presume."
How's That for a Piece of History? --Old Secesh
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
Showing posts with label USS Minnesota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USS Minnesota. Show all posts
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
An Early Submarine Attack?
From the Civil War Naval Chronology.
October 9, 1861
According to the chronology, this date marked the first documented attempt to sink and enemy ship with a submarine in the Civil War. The target was the USS Minnesota, the location Hampton Roads, Virginia.
The attack failed when the submarine got caught up in some grappling hanging over the Minnesota's jib boom (which its occupants mistook for an anchor cable). The strange vessel escaped.
An October 12th newspaper reported that a Confederate deserter claimed the sub employed an India rubber suction plate to attach to its target and then was to plant a timed bomb on the hull.
I did some research, but never found any other mention of the attack. Of interest, the US Navy currently has a nuclear submarine under construction named the Minnesota.
OTHER EVENTS
October 10, 1861
The USS Daylight, Cmdr. Lockwood, silenced a Confederate battery attacking the American ship John Clark anchored at Lynnhaven Bay, Virginia. This was the ship that started the blockade of Wilmington.
OCTOBER 18th-- The USS Gemsbok, Acting Master Cavendy, captured the brig Ariel off Wilmington with a cargo of salt. (With that cargo, it was probably inbound.)
It's a Sea Thing. --Old B-Runner
October 9, 1861
According to the chronology, this date marked the first documented attempt to sink and enemy ship with a submarine in the Civil War. The target was the USS Minnesota, the location Hampton Roads, Virginia.
The attack failed when the submarine got caught up in some grappling hanging over the Minnesota's jib boom (which its occupants mistook for an anchor cable). The strange vessel escaped.
An October 12th newspaper reported that a Confederate deserter claimed the sub employed an India rubber suction plate to attach to its target and then was to plant a timed bomb on the hull.
I did some research, but never found any other mention of the attack. Of interest, the US Navy currently has a nuclear submarine under construction named the Minnesota.
OTHER EVENTS
October 10, 1861
The USS Daylight, Cmdr. Lockwood, silenced a Confederate battery attacking the American ship John Clark anchored at Lynnhaven Bay, Virginia. This was the ship that started the blockade of Wilmington.
OCTOBER 18th-- The USS Gemsbok, Acting Master Cavendy, captured the brig Ariel off Wilmington with a cargo of salt. (With that cargo, it was probably inbound.)
It's a Sea Thing. --Old B-Runner
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)