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

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 2

Continued from July 1st.

The last survey was in 2007 and since then, the sites have been subject to several research expeditions as well as illegal artifact hunting.

Many artifacts from both ships, including guns, cannon parts, glassware and a belt buckle are on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, Virginia.

The raider CSS Florida captured almost 40 merchant ships during its career and was involved in an international dispute between the United States and Brazil over whether its seizure in Brazilian waters was illegal. Its sinking was under controversial reasons as well.

Both sites are protected under federal law, but there has never been a survey of the Florida before.

The NOAA is also surveying World War II Battle of the Atlantic wrecks off the North Carolina shore at this time as well.

Always Interested in Sunken Ships. --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

USS Cumberland

The remains of the USS Cumberland, which was sunk by the CSS Virginia March 8, 1862, are still in the James River right near the Nameless Grave marker. Close by are also the remains of Union batteries that were protecting Camp Butler.

Salvage of the Cumberland started almost immediately and continued into the 1900s.

The USS Cumberland was laid down in 1824 and wasn't launched until 1842. From 1855-1857 it was completely rebuilt. When Confederate forces took over the Gosport naval yard at the beginning of the war, it was towed out and later participated in the attacks on the Confederate forts at Cape Hatteras.

On March 8th, the Virginia rammed the Cumberland, causing it to sink, however, the Confederate ship lost its ram, two guns, and suffered internal damage. Congress later recognized that the Cumberland did more damage to the Virginia than the Monitor.

The Cumberland was rumored to have been carrying $40,000 in gold, which enticed many salvors. Over the years, a lot of salvage has been done illegally on the wreck.

In 1909, part of the anchor was recovered and sent to the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. Many other artifacts are at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, Va..

In 1981 NUMA held discussions with local oystermen whose dredges had picked up artifacts over the years from the wreck. It is now known that there are two wrecks, the other being that of the CSS Florida.

No Fair, Iron Vs. Wood. --B-R

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