Some things happening back these dates in 1861 that pertain to some of the things I've posted about recently.
MAY 26th-- The USS Brooklyn, Cmdr. Charles H. Poor, set the blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi River and New Orleans.
USS Union, Cmdr, John R. Goldsborough, set the blockade of Savannah.
USS Powhattan, Lt. D.D. Porter, set blockade of Mobile.
MAY 29th-- The Confederate privateer J.C. Calhoun captured the American brig Panama and took it to New Orleans along with two other prizes it had captured, the schooners Mermaid and John Adams.
MAY 31st-- The USS Perry, Lt. Parrott, captured the blockade-runner Hannah M. Johnson.
JUNE 3rd-- Confederate privateer Savannah, Capt. Baker, captured the American brig Joseph with a cargo of sugar. Then, the Savannah was captured by the USS Perry, Lt. Parrot.
Lots of Naval Stuff happening. --Old B-Runner
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
Showing posts with label USS Perry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USS Perry. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Problem with Privateers-- Part 1
From the June 3rd Washington Post "A House Divided" blog by Timothy R. Smith.
Commander Enoch Parrott of the USS Perry saw a suspicious schooner in the distance on June 3, 1861. It was closely trailing a brig about 60 miles off Charleston, SC. Might it be a Confederate privateer?
The Perry closed on it and it fled. A chase commenced and a shot fired across the privateer's bow which halted it. A flag was raised, but in the coming dark, the flag could not be determined. The Perry fired and the schooner returned it before surrendering twenty minutes later.
Fourteen men were arrested after the schooner was boarded and determined to be a privateer. They were taken to New York City to stand trial as pirates. The jury failed to reach a verdict.
However, in Philadelphia, the crew of another privateer was found to be pirates and sentenced to hang. When news of the verdict and sentence reached the South, the Confederate Congress authorized President Jefferson Davis to execute an equal number of Union prisoners.
Lincoln postponed the executions indefinitely, avoiding the confrontation. Eventually both crews were exchanged for Union POWs.
Fortunatelu, the issue never became one of trading executions., but it almost did.
Pirates Or Privateers. Thin Line. --Old B-Runner
Commander Enoch Parrott of the USS Perry saw a suspicious schooner in the distance on June 3, 1861. It was closely trailing a brig about 60 miles off Charleston, SC. Might it be a Confederate privateer?
The Perry closed on it and it fled. A chase commenced and a shot fired across the privateer's bow which halted it. A flag was raised, but in the coming dark, the flag could not be determined. The Perry fired and the schooner returned it before surrendering twenty minutes later.
Fourteen men were arrested after the schooner was boarded and determined to be a privateer. They were taken to New York City to stand trial as pirates. The jury failed to reach a verdict.
However, in Philadelphia, the crew of another privateer was found to be pirates and sentenced to hang. When news of the verdict and sentence reached the South, the Confederate Congress authorized President Jefferson Davis to execute an equal number of Union prisoners.
Lincoln postponed the executions indefinitely, avoiding the confrontation. Eventually both crews were exchanged for Union POWs.
Fortunatelu, the issue never became one of trading executions., but it almost did.
Pirates Or Privateers. Thin Line. --Old B-Runner
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)