OCKADE

. S. Navy

CHARLESTON

BLOCKADE

The Journals

of John B. Marchand, U.S. Navy

1861-1862
U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE

HISTORICAL MONOGRAPH SERIES

No. 2

The Naval Historical Monograph Series was established in 1975. It consists of book-length studies relating to the history of naval

warfare which are based, wholly or in part, on the holdings of the

Naval War College Naval Historical Collection.

Contents may be cited consistent with conventional research

methods. Reprinting in whole or in part is prohibited without the

express permission of the President, Naval War College.

ie ie ic ie "ie "k

This publication was made possible by the generosity of the Naval

War College Foundation, Inc., a charitable, nonbusiness Rhode

Island corporation organized to provide a private source of

support to the Naval War College in carrying out its mission.

U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I. 02840

First Edition
CHARLESTON

BLOCKADE

The Journals

of John B. Marchand, U.S. Navy

1861-1862

Edited with Commentary

by

Craig L. Symonds

Naval War College

Newport, Rhode Island

1976
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Marchand, John B. b. 1808.

Charleston blockade.

(Historical monograph series; no. 2)

Bibliography: p. 301

Includes index.

1. United States-History-Civil War, 1861-1865-Blockade-Sources.

2. Charleston, S.C.- History -Civil War, 1861-1865-Sources. 3. United

States-History-Civil War, 1861-1865-Personal narratives. 4. Marchand,

John B., b. 1808. I. Title. II. Series.

E600.M37 973.7'5'0924 76-17543
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

PREFACE vii INTRODUCTION ix

I CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE

7 September- 9 October 1861 1

II IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE

10 October-6 November 1861 15

III TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER

7 November- 2 December 1861 36

IV HEARTSICK AND TIRED

3 December 1861-19 January 1862 56

V I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT

20 January- 27 February 1862 81

VI ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY

28 February-11 March 1862 112

VII BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS

12March-14May 1862 135

VIII FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON

15-21 May 1862 163

IX A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION

22-30 May 1862 179

X THE BATTLE OF ARMIES

31 May-19 June 1862 194

XI UNREMITTING VIGILANCE

20 June-8 July 1862 214

XII RELIEVED FROM COMMAND

9July-8 August 1862 243

EPILOGUE 273

BIBLIOGRAPHY 276

INDEX 281
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

John B. Marchand opp. p. 1

The U.S.S. James Adger 2

Two of Marchand 's Fellow Officers:

Comdr. Steedman and Lt. Comdr. Ammen 82

Du Pont's Favorites:

Comdr. John Rodgers, Capt. Charles H. Davis, and

Comdr. C.R.P. Rodgers 84

Comdr. Percival Drayton, USN 97

The Generals:

Maj. Gen. David Hunter, Brig. Gen. Henry Benham, and

Brig. Gen. Horatio G. Wright 180

MAPS

Tybee Roads (Savannah) 99

Fernandina, Florida 116

The South Atlantic Coast 146

Charleston, South Carolina 162
PREFACE

Students of the American Civil War, whose ranks are legion,

have paid vigorous attention to the many facets of the Union

blockade of the Southern Confederacy. Questions of its strategic

and economic impact are frequently debated, as are the important

problems of logistics and diplomacy. Relatively little attention,

however, has been paid to the participants themselves. The men

who served on the blockading ships of the U.S. Navy performed

the most tedious, if not the most perilous, task of the war. This

volume is about one of them: Comdr. John Bonnet Marchand,

USN.

In these edited selections from Marchand's sea journals, I have

tried to allow him to speak for himself in the hope of preserving

the freshness of his own narrative. For the reader's convenience,

however, I have corrected Marchand's spelling, punctuation, and

occasionally his syntax. In some cases I have broken unmanageable

sentences into smaller, more concise units, and, in the interest of

clarity, I have paragraphed long entries. Rather than use "sic,"

which has always distracted me in my own reading experience, I have either corrected the error myself or, when it appeared to be

intentional, simply allowed it to stand without editorial comment.

Abbreviations were spelled out. "Lieut. Comdg." has been

translated throughout as "Lieutenant Commander" even though

that rank was not officially established until 16 July 1862.

I gratefully acknowledge the valuable assistance I received in the

preparation of the Marchand journals for publication. The very

existence of the journals was first brought to my attention by

Rear Adm. John D. Hayes, USN (Ret.), and Mr. Anthony S.

Nicolosi, Curator of the Naval War College Naval Historical

Collection. I am indebted to Professor Richard Megargee and my

colleagues in the Strategy Department at the Naval War College;

John Hattendorf of Pembroke College, Oxford; and Russell

Weigley of Temple University for their invaluable comments and

suggestions on the text of the manuscript. Mrs. Ruth Saurette not

only typed the entire manuscript more than once, but saved me

from many embarrassing errors. Mr. Chris Tomer of the Mahan
viii PREFACE

Library staff assisted me in locating research materials. My fondest

thanks go to my wife Marylou for her patience as well as her

invaluable assistance. Finally, my thanks are due the Naval War

College where the work was done and the Naval War College

Foundation which sponsored this project and made publication

possible.

Craig Symonds

Newport, Rhode Island

September 1974
INTRODUCTION

This, in his own words, is the story of Comdr. John Bonnet

Marchand, a story derived from his private sea journal and

numerous official letters. The self-portrait which emerges is that of

a serious man, piously religious, conscientious, dedicated, and

competent. Yet, for all his dedication and competence, he was not

a hero. His was not the stuff of heroes. He had an average intellect,

an unprepossessing appearance, and normal human ambitions and

weaknesses. If he were unique at all, it was in his own unforgiving

sense of personal responsibility. Though he fulfilled a thankless

task— maintaining the lonely vigil of blockade -he never complained except to chastise himself in his journal for his own

unworthiness. When an illicit vessel succeeded in slipping through

the blockade despite his watchfulness, it became the source of

much self-recrimination.

Blockade duty in the Civil War was an assignment which Flag

Officer Samuel F. Du Pont described as "the most onerous service

in the world." 1 Like dozens of other officers in the blockading

squadrons, Marchand served for months on end without setting

foot on land. He drove himself relentlessly, often going without

rest or food in his pursuit of duty. He was not a hero, but he was

typical of hundreds of other professional officers who were also

nonheroes. He did his job to the best of his ability, and one could

hardly ask for more.

John Marchand was born in Greensburg, Pa., on 27 August

1808 and his childhood recollections of the war against Britain in

1812-1815 perhaps led to his lifelong animosity for the British.

When he was not yet 20 years old, he accepted an appointment as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy, beginning a career that spanned

nearly a half century. In the course of that career, Marchand

served in three oceans and fought in two wars—against the

Seminole Indians in 1841-42 and in the war against Mexico,

1847-48. The outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861 provided an

eager Marchand yet another opportunity to serve his country. As

1 Du Pont to Benjamin Gerhard, Port Royal, 27 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 75.
x INTRODUCTION

captain of the U.S.S. James Adger and senior officer of the

blockading squadron off Charleston, he had ample opportunity to

exercise his judgment on questions of strategy and diplomacy,

though his greatest concern was reserved for the blockade itself.

For him, and for all other saltwater officers of the U.S. Navy, the

blockade was the very embodiment of the Civil War.

The decision to impose a naval blockade on the Southern

Confederacy was among the first strategic decisions made by the

North in the Civil War. It was originally proposed by Gen. Winfield

Scott, the 75-year-old head of the Army, who saw it as one part of

a grand scheme for ending the rebellion. Blockade their ports, he

said, maintain a steady military pressure on their armies in

northern Virginia, and send a strong force down the length of the

Mississippi to divide the Confederacy in half. The rebellious states

would thus be weakened economically and Southern leaders might

even come to recognize the extent of their dependence on the

North and rejoin the Union. Such a plan, although strategically

sound, was far too conservative for impatient Union Congressmen

and newspaper editors. They derisively dubbed it the "Anaconda

Plan" after the South American reptile which slowly strangled its

victims, and they insisted upon a more aggressive strategy for

defeating the South. Pressure from such men soon forced General

Scott into retirement, but his scheme remained the foundation

* around which Union plans were made.

On 19 April in his first formal proclamation after calling for

volunteers to defend the Union, President Lincoln declared the

seceded states to be under blockade. 2 Several concerned members

of the Government objected to the use of the term "blockade."

Senator Charles Sumner, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, felt that Lincoln's declaration implied Government recognition of the Confederates as belligerents. A solution to

this dilemma was sought in the statutes for the regulation of trade.

The interdiction of commerce in the Southern ports, said Navy

Secretary Gideon Welles, was a "domestic municipal duty" made

necessary by the fact that Federal duties could not be collected at

those places. While this interpretation allowed the Government to

maintain its claim of the indissolubility of the Union, it made

2 This first proclamation was directed only against those nine states which had

seceded to date. On 27 April another proclamation extended the blockade to the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina, which seceded only after the initiation of hostilities. Lincoln Papers, IV, 338-9, 346-7.
INTRODUCTION xi

enforcement of a blockade an activity of questionable legality. For

example, the mere closing of ports did not justify the search and

seizure of ships bound for those ports even though they might be

loaded to the gunwales with contraband. Eventually the Government had to accept the name as well as the fact of blockade. 3 The goal of the blockade was twofold: to prevent the shipment

of war material to the Southern States, but also to isolate the

Confederacy diplomatically.4 For President Lincoln and his

Cabinet there was no threat which contained greater potential for

disaster than the possibility of European intervention in the war.

Lincoln never forgot that the intervention of France had profoundly affected the course of the American Revolution, fourscore years before, and Confederate politicians were fond of

claiming that the British would have to enter the war sooner or

later because of their dependence on Southern cotton in the

textile mills.

But the decision to impose a naval blockade, once taken, proved

difficult to enforce. The Confederacy possessed over 3,500 miles

of coastline from Alexandria, Va., to Brownsville, Tex., a coastline

pierced by 189 harbors, inlets, and navigable rivers. To blockade

this coast, the U.S. Navy possessed 90 warships, only 42 of which

were in commission at the time of the proclamation, and only 8 of

which were in home waters. The enormity of the Navy's

assignment was obvious.

Euorpean observers scoffed at the effrontery of the blockade

declaration. They pointed out in newspaper editorials that,

according to international law, no blockade need be respected by a neutral power unless it were proven to be effective— that is, unless

there was a naval force physically present offshore to prevent

entry. The United States had insisted on the rule of "effectiveness" during the Napoleonic wars a half century before, and it was

certain that Britain would hold the United States to the same

strict standard. In his proclamation, Lincoln had declared that a

Donald, Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man, 19; Soley, The Blockade and the

Cruisers, 29; Van Deusen, William Henry Seward, 300. Secretary of State Seward held

that the blockade was not at all an admission of belligerency status, but was only a more

effective means of enforcing municipal laws.

Other writers have claimed that in addition to stopping the import of munitions, the

goal of the blockade was to prevent the export of cotton. (See, for example, Soley, op.

cit., 45.) But this was, if anything, a secondary consideration. In fact, the Confederate

government soon embargoed! its own cotton in hopes of pressuring Great Britain into

intervening in the conflict.
xii INTRODUCTION

"competent force will be posted so as to prevent entrance and exit

of vessels from the ports aforesaid." 5 But obviously this could not

be accomplished with only eight warships. In the summer of 1861,

therefore, the Navy began a dramatic program of expansion. Ships

were purchased, armed, and commissioned, sometimes in a matter

of weeks. In 4 months the number of commissioned ships had

doubled, and, at the end of 10 months, the U.S. Navy had

increased more than sixfold. 6 To manage this newly created armada, Secretary of the Navy

Gideon Welles convened a board of naval officers which, for lack

of a better title, became known as the Strategy Board. It was

headed by Capt. Samuel Francis Du Pont, a naval officer who had

led a colorful and at times controversial career, but whose

expertise was unquestioned. In July his committee submitted

three formal reports to the Secretary recommending, first, the

division of the coastline into separate theaters of command (the

North Atlantic, South Atlantic, East Gulf, and West Gulf

squadrons), and second, that in each command theater a naval

base be wrested from the enemy to serve as a headquarters for the

blockading fleets. The advantages of possessing such bases were

obvious. "It will rarely be necessary for the blockading vessels to

leave the coast on account of stress of weather," wrote the

committee. "Though they may be driven from before the ports for a time, it will be easy for them to resume their stations when the

storm has subsided." Furthermore, seizure of these points would

not only provide a friendly haven for Union ships on blockade

duty, it would be a dramatic demonstration to the Governments

of England and France of the ability of the U.S. Navy to control

its own coastline. "You are better aware than ourselves," wrote

the committee, "of the favorable manner in which our foreign

political relations would be affected" by such seizures. 7 Secretary

Welles was convinced. But recognizing the advantages was one

thing, actual possession quite another.

As the principal author of these suggestions, Du Pont was

tabbed by the Department to carry them out. He declined an offer

to command the entire Atlantic Fleet but accepted the post of

5 Lincoln Papers, IV, 339.

There were 82 vessels in commission on 4 July 1861; by December there were 264.

There were 427 in December 1862; 588 in December 1863; and 671 in December 1864.

Of the latter number, 418 were converted merchantmen.

7 Du Pont, et al. to Welles, Washington, 26 July 1861. O.R.N., XII, 202.
INTRODUCTION xiii

commander of the South Atlantic Squadron with the rank of

commodore. On 3 August 1861, Du Pont received orders to

proceed with his planned "invasion and occupation of the

seacoasts of the states in rebellion." 8 But in August of 1861, Du

Pont was still struggling to scrape together enough ships to

comprise a fleet and enough young men to crew them. While

several dozen erstwhile merchant ships underwent conversion at

the New York Navy Yard, thousands of young sailors and

would-be sailors flocked to enlist, some out of patriotism, some

encouraged by recent pay increases voted by an anxious Congress,

and some who hoped to avoid service in the Army where the

chances of personal injury were much greater, but who were too

conscious of the disapproval of their townspeople to simply stay

at home.

To officer this rapidly expanding squadron, the Navy offered

generous monetary incentives to merchant captains, tug masters,

and even ferryboat skippers. Many such men accepted commissions as Volunteer Lieutenants or Acting Masters (ensigns) for the

duration of the war. But the more senior ranks would have to be

filled by experienced naval officers. For many veterans, the

outbreak of war meant a release from the monotonous peacetime

routine of inspection and daily reports. It meant being posted to

command, a chance for active duty and promotion. If the

expanded wartime fleet required an expanded officer corps, those

with many years of dedicated service could rightfully expect to be

elevated to positions of increased responsibility. One man with

such expectations was Comdr. John Bonnet Marchand.

8 Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 3 August 1861. Ibid., 207.
John B. Marchand

Steedman Papers
CHAPTER I

"CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE"

7 September—9 October 1861

In April of 1861, when the Civil War began, Comdr. John B.

Marchand was a lighthouse inspector for the Eleventh Naval

District. After more than 20 years at sea, he found his duty in

Detroit repetitive and tiresome. Upon learning of the Confederate

attack on Fort Sumter and President Lincoln's subsequent call for

volunteers, he began to write letters to Gideon Welles, the new

Secretary of the Navy, requesting "active service." 1 Finally on 7

September 1861 he received the orders he had hoped for. He was

to report to the New York Navy Yard and take command of the

U.S.S. James Adger. That night Marchand wrote again to the

Secretary acknowledging receipt of his orders and claiming that he

would leave "immediately."2

Journal entry: New York Navy Yard, Friday, September 20,

1861.

Being unable to leave Detroit that evening, and no

conveyance available on the next day, Sunday, on Monday

the 9th of September I turned over the official duties to my

Clerk Nathaniel Thorne. The same evening [I] started from

Detroit, left the family in Baltimore on the 11th, and

continued on, reported for the command of the James Adger

at the New York Navy Yard on the 12th.

She appeared a staunch side-wheel Steamer of 1152 tons

with a draft of about 14 feet. The armament is broadside: 32

pounders of 42 cent[imeters] and a . . . gun known as [a]

Parrott; [there is also a] Rifled gun on the Forecastle

Marchand to Welles, Detroit, 4 May 1861. Marchand Papers. Writing directly to the

Secretary of the Navy was proper procedure in the 1860's.

2 Marchand to Welles, Detroit, 7 September 1861. Ibid.
-=a«

o—

o

-=a,Z

C/3 P
CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE 3

throwing a 20 pound projectile (shell or shrapnel). The

complement of officers and crew to number about 145.

Marchand "took up . . . residence" on his ship on 20 September. Immediately he threw himself into the task of making the

James Adger ready for sea. "Yet so much is before us to be done,"

he wrote, "that I cannot see how it can all be accomplished . . .." One of his first official acts in New York had been to call upon

the Commandant of the Yard, Commodore Samuel L. Breese, to

pay his respects, but Marchand soon became a thorn in the side of

the hapless commandant. Almost daily he sent requests to his

seniors complaining of work that had been either improperly

completed or not done at all. On 19 September he wrote

Commodore Breese that the James Adger was "improperly fitted

for want of pumps."3 To Secretary Welles he wrote: "There has

been no permanent Marine Guard detailed for this vessel."4 He

wrote again to Commodore Breese on the 27th: "The launch, or

longest boat belonging to this ship is prepared as a single banked

boat to pull but six oars. I request that she may be fitted as a double banked boat by having fitted six additional rowlocks."5 He

complained about the boilers, the magazine,6 the coal, and the

crew.

7 He even wrote to Flag Officer Du Pont claiming that "the

armament of this vessel is not equal to that of her class under your

command here .... This fact was represented to the ordnance

office at the New York Navy Yard but no change was made to

render this vessel as efficient as the others of her class." 8 His complaints produced results. Work on the James Adger

progressed rapidly. On 27 September, barely 2 weeks after

Marchand had arrived in New York and only a week after he

"took up residence," he received orders to take his ship out of the

yard and anchor in the North River in order to make room for

ships less advanced in their preparation for sea.

3 Marchand to Breese, New York, 19 September 1861. Ibid. 4 Marchand to Welles, New York, 24 September 1861. Ibid. Marchand to Breese, New York, 27 September 1861. Ibid. Marchand to Breese, New York, 27 September 1861. Ibid. One of Marchand's earliest complaints was of a dearth of experienced officers. Only

one commissioned officer, Midshipman Alfred Thayer Mahan, was on board. But he was

soon to leave without betraying any evidence of a future as a prominent strategist and

historian.

Marchand to Du Pont, New York, 11 October 1861, Marchand Papers.
4 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Journal entry: Off Navy Yard and Castle Garden New York,

Saturday, September 28th, 1861.

With exception of some minor joiner work and stores from

the Navy Yard, everything was ready by nine in the morning

to leave the Navy Yard Buoy, but waiting for the mail and

the Commodore, and landing the Mechanics, it was near ten

o'clock before slipping the moorings. Then we steamed down

the East and North Rivers and, wishing to exhaust the steam

produced by the fuel necessary to produce it, ran down to

the Narrows then returned and anchored in the North River

near Castle Garden about 11:30 a.m After mooring [I]

was informed of the probability of fire in the Fore Hold. [I]

had the crew called to quarters without ringing the fire bell

and went below [where I] found much smoke. [I] had the

hose from the steam pump and two hand force pumps led to

the place and then ascertained that it arose from [the]

smoking [of] the fires after being drawn from the furnaces.

To Marchand's dismay he noted that "some confusion existed"

among the crew in their attempts to form a firefighting party. But

he "was glad that the alarm occurred as it gave us experience."

Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Sunday,

September 29, 1861.

The northwest wind has subsided, the past night was cold,

the first I have experienced this season, which was followed

by a clear sunny day. The decks were holystoned this

morning and paint work scrubbed being the first effort

towards cleanliness in appearance as every [previous] effort

has been devoted to gun exercising by the crew and officers.

On the 27th inst. [I had] received instructions from

Commodore Breese to administer the Oath of Allegiance to

the United States of America to the officers separately and

the crew collectively. This morning I done so [and] not a soul on board appeared to hesitate. 9

Q

At this point in his journal, Marchand enclosed the following list of ship's officers: Commander John B. Marchand

Lieutenant James P. Foster Acting Master George B. Upham

Acting Master Samuel Huse

Acting Master John P. Carr

(Continued)
CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE

Even though it was Sunday, Marchand exercised his crew at the

guns in the evening. The men were almost exclusively recruits, and

Marchand feared that the time was not far distant when they

might be called upon to use those guns against an enemy. Their

first reprieve came on Wednesday when Marchand directed that

they scrub clothes and do "an infinity of small work to put the

Steamer in a proper condition . . .." The rapid preparation of the James Adger for sea drew the

admiring attention of Commodore Du Pont. He was anxious to

begin his long-planned expedition and was growing increasingly

concerned about delays in the refitting yard, delays which he felt

were due to the slovenliness of the civilian workers there. Delays

were critical to Du Pont. His orders had insisted that he "lose no

time in getting afloat," and the administration in Washington was

growing impatient. 10 On 18 September he received further

prodding from the President. Lincoln wrote Welles urging that "all

preparations go forward . . .." It was the President's hope that the

expedition "be ready to move by the 1st or very early in

October." 1 1 Du Pont was therefore anxious to seize every

opportunity to augment his meager forces though at the same time

he complained that expectations in Washington were unrealistic.

He knew that the James Adger had been tentatively tabbed for

Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough's squadron at Hampton

Roads, Va., but he had no intention of letting a newly refitted

vessel slip out of his hands.

Du Pont and Marchand first met on 24 September in the Navy

Yard, where the commodore, after informing Marchand of his own

(Continued)

Acting Asst. Paymaster Clerk William W.T. Greenway

Acting Asst. Surgeon Robert N. Atwood

Masters Mate for Temp. Service Frank M. Case

W.W. Reed

George Couch

Acting 1st Asst. Engineer Alexander D. Douglas

Acting 2nd Asst. Engineer William J. Peterson

Acting 3rd Asst. Engineer Charles Kiersted

Acting 3rd Asst. Engineer James Fox

Acting 3rd Asst. Engineer John Carren

Acting 3rd Asst. Engineer Elisha J. Beacham

10

Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 5 August 1861. O.R.N., XII, 207.

1 Lincoln to Welles, Washington, 18 September 1861. Ibid., 208. An identical letter was sent to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

appointment to the command of the South Atlantic Squadron,

also told him that the James Adger was to be made a part of that

squadron. In fact, Du Pont was anticipating events somewhat. The

next day, Du Pont and Marchand met again, and this time the

commodore told Marchand that he had only that day sent a telegram to Washington asking that the James Adger be assigned to

him instead of being sent to Commodore Goldsborough as originally intended.

At lunch, 2 days later, Marchand was told by Commodore

Breese that the James Adger: "was to remain at New York for the

present instead of going to Hampton Roads by which I know

[that] we [now] belong to Commodore Du Pont's Southern

Blockading Squadron . . .." 1

2

Despite his success in obtaining the James Adger, Du Pont had

to report to Secretary Welles on 9 October that only two vessels

were ready for active service, the Florida and the James Adger. 1 3 This, however, obscured the truth. The squadron at New York had

been joined by the steamers Augusta, Unadilla, and Curlew as well

as the Alabama. Despite his intense desire to complete the work of

preparing his ship for sea, Marchand took time to make the

acquaintance of each. of the commanders of these new arrivals. He

became particularly concerned about the well being of Lt. George

H. Cooper of the Curlew. Marchand had been told that "he was

sick, and an officer . . . said he was suffering from the effects of

Isthmus Fever." Much concerned, Marchand sent the Adger's

doctor to attend to the incapacitated lieutenant. But after a personal visit, Marchand's sympathy ended abruptly.

Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Thursday,

October 3, 1861.

This afternoon on going on board the Curlew, the officer

of the deck told me that he [Cooper] was always calling for

liquor, then for the first time had I an idea that he was in the

incipient state of Mania a Potu [insanity caused by drunkenness] .

While Du Pont continued his efforts to increase the size of the

fleet, Marchand struggled to familiarize his almost totally in1 2 From the journal entry of 27 September.

13 Du Pont to Welles, New York, 9 October 1861. O.R.N., XII, 212.
CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE 7

experienced crew with the principles and methods of war at sea. The Adger remained at anchor off Castle Garden, and its

commander watched with some satisfaction as the crew exercised

at the guns.

Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Friday,

October 4, 1861.

Still another clear day. Mainly employed exercising at the

great guns and small arms, indeed not an hour elapsed from

breakfast time 'till sunset that a Division was not so

employed.

[I] heard early in the morning that Flag Officer Du Pont

had arrived in the city. I, at about 10 a.m., pulled alongside

of the Augusta and with Commander [Enoch G.] Parrott

called upon him at the Astor House. It became my painful

duty as senior officer afloat here to report the condition as mentioned yesterday of the Lieutenant commanding the

Curlew to Flag Officer Du Pont ....

Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Sunday,

October 6, 1861.

In the morning in company with Commanders Parrott [of

the Augusta] and [Edmund] Lanier [of the Alabama, I]

went ashore, called at the Astor House upon Flag Officer Du

Pont and received instructions to go to Sandy Hook at the

first possible time and practice at gunnery, these instructions

were given at my urgent request .... Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Sunclay,

October 6, 1861.

The weather still pleasant, the early part of the day very

sultry and later a strong south breeze. About sunset sharp

lightning commenced playing towards the northwest amongst

the clouds in that part of the horizon. At muster in the

forenoon [I] had the Articles of War read, it being the first

Sunday of the month. Although this is the Sabbath, the

clearing of the forward and after orlops was completed for

the accommodation of troops if necessary, and a condenser

fitted in the Engine Rooms for the use of the Firemen and

Coal Heavers to cleanse themselves with fresh water. 1 4 Then

1 4 This was an "evaporator" for the desalinization of seawater, not a "condenser" for the boilers.
8 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

washes were done today with the prospect of going tomorrow to Sandy Hook or to sea to practice gunnery.

The U.S. Steamer Florida, J.R. Goldsborough, Commander, dropped down from the Navy Yard and anchored

near us; she having only finished taking on board her crew

from the Receiving Ship a few minutes before starting. I called and found Goldsborough profoundly engaged in

stationing the crew as his first Lieutenant is not here and as on board this ship all the officers are acting appointments

and ignorant of the duties of a man of war. [I] was also a few

minutes on board the Alabama to ask Lanier [about] the

wording of his written instructions . . . notifying Commodore

Breese of his deficiency in coal, of which I received a verbal

message yesterday. With Lanier [I] went ashore and to the

Astor House and returned the visit of [Commander Daniel

B.] Ridgely who accompanied us at Sunset to the boat at

Castle Garden.

Journal entry: New York and Sandy Hook, Monday, October

7, 1861.

The weather looked doubtful and some hesitation was felt

before ordering steam to be raised and in consequence we did

not leave our anchorage off the Battery 'till seven in the

morning when we steamed down and anchored inside of

Sandy Hook to practice the men at the guns and small arms.

In consequence of the wind springing up quite fresh from a direction not anticipated requiring this ship to change her

berth, it was not 'till after 10 a.m. that firing from the

broadside and pivot guns commenced and, after a hurried

dinner by the crew, small arm exercises by muskets continued 'till nearly 4 p.m. The exercise at target practice was

most satisfactory, never for a moment did I think that

inexperienced hands could do so well. Considerable delay was

also experienced in filling and organizing things, yet as time

and patience was not exhausted, things went on well. When

starting from Sandy Hook to return to the anchorage off

Castle Garden it was desired to stop at Coney Island and take

in sand for cleaning ship 1

5

but rain commenced falling and

No doubt for sanding the decks. Clean white sand was a valued commodity on

ships of war.
CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE

we made the rest of our way up and after once shifting berth

took nearby an old position.

The next day dawned rainy with a freshening wind out of the

north that soon worked up into a gale. The James Adger rode

uneasily and Marchand felt constrained to drop a second anchor.

The wind continued all night, and the current in the bay was so

strong that "the mothers of two men on board were compelled to

remain all night." The following day, however, the weather

moderated and once again Marchand "exercised all the divisions at

the great guns and small arms."

By mid-October, this training was well advanced and Du Pont's

preparations were likewise nearing completion. His squadron now

consisted of 10 ships: the steam frigate Wabash, which he selected

as his flagship, four other steamers, including the James Adger,

three gunboats, and two small steamers, the Mercury and the

Pettit. The target of this growing fleet was kept secret, but

Marchand, in the James Adger, hoped to be in the forefront of the

expedition wherever it was bound.

Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Sunday,

October 13, 1861.

The ship begins to look clean. Several steam transports left

today some filled with troops and others to take troops on

board at Annapolis, all destined for the Southern Expedition

of which the Squadron here is to form a part. The naval part

to be commanded by Flag Officer Du Pont and the Army by

General [Thomas W.] Sherman. 16It is said that all [will]

rendezvous at Hampton Roads and as some of the transports

have started, there is no doubt that the middle of the coming

week will find us all away ....

Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Monday,

October 14, 1861.

In the evening [I] called on Lanier and Parrott in the

Alabama and Augusta and learned that we would in all

probability leave here tomorrow ....

1 Thomas West Sherman (1813-1879) was Commander of the Department of the

South. In deference to the more well-known William T. Sherman, he often called himself

"the other Sherman."
10 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

But as frequently happens in military planning, events stole the

initiative away from the planners. After completing his nightly

journal entry for 15 October, Marchand prepared for bed secure in

the knowledge that the morrow would see the beginning of the

long-awaited expedition. In fact, it was to begin that night.

Journal entry: Off Castle Garden, New York, Tuesday,

October 15, 1861.

It was after 10 o'clock p.m. when the foregoing was

written and I was preparing to retire when at 10:30

Commander Parrott came on board with the information that

Flag Officer Du Pont had just received a telegram from the

Navy Department that the Steamer Nashville had run out of

Charleston and passed the blockading force at midnight on

Saturday, October 12th, having on board Ex-Senators [James

M.] Mason and [John] Slidell as commissioners from the

Confederate States to England and France and that it was the

desire of the Department that the Flag Officer should send a

fast steamer to try and intercept and capture her. It was the

desire of the Flag Officer (said Parrott) that the Gun Boat

Curlew should perform the duty but that she could not carry

sufficient fuel to cross the Atlantic and cruise for a time off

the English Channel; besides which most of her officers were

ashore to make the necessary report to the Flag Officer. I informed him that our 1st Lieutenant and Paymaster was out

of the ship but their absence would not prevent the James

Adger leaving immediately upon receipt of proper orders. As

Parrott [was] going ashore to make [his] report, he landed

our officer from this vessel [in order] to bring a Pilot on

board should the Flag Officer determine I had to leave. On

Parrott 's departure, the fires were lighted to raise steam and I also pulled on shore. It was about midnight when I reached

the Astor House, the headquarters of the Flag Officer. He

was awaiting me in his room. [I] told him the preparations I had unauthorized^ made and he wanted to know if I was

willing to leave without a Lieutenant or Paymaster. He was

informed neither was indispensable . . .

Marchand waited in Du Pont's office at the Astor House while

the Flag Officer retired upstairs to prepare the written orders. The

mission on which he was about to embark was one fraught with
CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE 1

1

difficulties. The most obvious problem was the physical improbability of intercepting at sea a reputedly faster ship whose

destination was unknown. But the even more difficult problem

was determining what action might be taken if and when that ship

was overhauled.

James Murray Mason and John Slidell were the duly appointed

representatives of the Confederate States government to Britain

and France. Their mission was no secret: they were instructed to

bend every effort to bring the two great powers of Europe into the

war on the side of the Confederacy. The U.S. Government placed

a high priority on their capture, perhaps unnecessarily high, for

this sense of urgency would eventually lead to precipitous action

by another naval captain, Charles Wilkes, action that inadvertently

would nearly achieve the goal for which Mason and Slidell were

originally \ dispatched. 1 7 The Trent affair, however, was still a fortnight off, and as Marchand sat in Du Pont's office at the Astor

House, he was the subject of much envious congratulation by

Commanders Parrott and Charles Steedman, both of whom were

anxious to be sent in pursuit of the Nashville, but whose ships had

not the coal capacity for a transatlantic voyage or else were not

ready for sea. At 1:30 in the morning, Du Pont came downstairs

and handed Marchand the following orders:

Letter: Du Pont to Marchand, October 15, 1861 (Midnight) 1 8

Sir, I have received a telegraphic dispatch from the

Honorable Secretary of the Navy giving a report that the

Steamer Nashville has run the blockade of Charleston with

Messers. Mason and Slidell on board-bound, of course, to

England or France, most likely the former.

The Department is anxious to have this vessel intercepted

and taken; the speed of your Steamer and her supply of fuel

and your own intelligence offers the best chance of doing this

of any vessel at my disposal. Although regretting much to

lose you even for a few days from my squadron, for I can ill

See chapter III below. See also Charles F. Adams, "The Trent Affair," A.H.R.

(1912), 540-562; Victor H. Cohen, "Charles Sumner and the Trent Affair," J.S.H. (1956), 205-219? Arnold Whitridge, "The Trent Affair, 1861," History Today (1954),

394-402; and Lynn M. Case and Warren F. Spencer, The United States and France: Civil War Diplomacy (Philadelphia, 1970).

1 8 Du Pont to Marchand. New York, 15 October 1861. Marchand Papers. Also

printed in O.R.N., I, 114.
12 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

spare you from pending service, yet it is very desirable that

an effort should be made to overtake or intercept the

Nashville.

You are therefore charged with this important service, and

I leave to your discretion the best course to steer in order to

effect it. The N[ashville] will probably, after leaving the

coast, steer a direct course, or inclining south of it. You are at liberty to choose as to where you will enter to

coal, either in an English or French port, or at the Western

Islands [the Azores]

.

Some three or four vessels, it is believed, are on their way

to Georgia or South Carolina with military stores or munitions of war from England and you should have an eye

to their going or returning. You will enter the Chesapeake on

your return and report to the Flag Officer present, with

whom I will leave orders for you.

Trusting in your experience, and intelligence, discretion,

and wishing you success. I am,

Respectfully yours,

S.F. Du Pont, Flag Officer

Despite the complimentary tone of this dispatch and the envy

of his peers, Marchand may have been disappointed in the

knowledge that he would be absent from the "pending service" to

which Du Pont referred. But the mission thus tendered to him was

one of obvious importance and of great delicacy, and after a brief

delay to obtain additional charts, Marchand returned to his ship.

Journal entry of October 15, 1861 continued

After the delivery of the Sailing orders I was delayed for

some minutes waiting for Commander [Charles Henry]

Davis, the fleet captain, who had gone in search of charts as none of the squadron had any except coast charts. [I] took

an affectionate leave of all, requested Steedman to write to

[my wife] Maggie, and with Parrott carrying part of the

charts and sailing directions, started for the ship.

On reaching the wharf [I] found the boat crew ready and

was informed that Lieutenant Foster, the Pilot, and the

officer who had gone in search of the latter had all gone on

board. [I first] pulled with Parrott to the Augusta to look for
CHARGED WITH . . . IMPORTANT SERVICE 13

a descriptive account of the Nashville but not finding it,

returned to the James Adger. Soon after leaving the wharf,

my ear was agreeably greeted with the sound of the chain

being hauled in. That indefatigable officer Lieutenant Foster

had immediately on his reaching the deck commenced

preparation for leaving as soon as I returned. But a few

minutes after I had gotten on board the anchor was weighed.

It was then about two in the morning and we started out ....

[I] was much perplexed in the lower harbor between

Staten Island and Sandy Hook by reason of a thick fog which

for a while I was afraid would compel us to anchor, but

partially clearing off [I] saw the lights and at 4:30 a.m.

crossed the Bar and was at sea. Near the Light Ship [I] put

the Pilot on board a tow boat and in the still darkness of the

night stood away from the land and shaped a course the

nearest towards the English Channel.
Rear Admiral Samuel F. DuPont

Du Pont Papers
CHAPTER II

"IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE3 ' 10 October-6 November 1861

Because Marchand had been informed that the Nashville was a

faster steamer than the James Adger, he planned to take the most

direct course to England across the North Atlantic and to

intercept the Nashville upon her arrival in the English Channel

rather than attempt to search for her at sea. This plan, however,

required that the James Adger arrive at the entrance to the

channel first and therefore speed was essential. Luckily, progress

the first day was encouraging, though Marchand suffered somewhat from his lack of sleep the previous night.

Journal entry: North Atlantic bound towards England,

Wednesday, October 16, 1861.

As daylight opened upon us the highlands of Neversink

had disappeared and the only land in sight was Long Island,

but far off. I felt very sleepy and fatigued not having a thought of sleep or being in my stateroom all the night, but

the extreme inexperience of all the officers . . . compelled me

to remain on deck until 9 o'clock in the morning .... [But]

at 10 a.m. I turned in and slept 'till one in the afternoon .... All day the various exercises at the great guns and small

arms were continued and in the evening [we] went to general

quarters but were interrupted by a dense fog suddenly

coming up, wetting the small arms and everyone on deck ....

Journal entry: North Atlantic bound towards England,

Thursday, October 17, 1861.

Yesterday the wind was from about east, directly ahead,

but light. Today it had held from southeast by south

admitting our carrying fore and aft sails and a little fresher

than yesterday. Yesterday there was hardly any sea running,

[but] today a slight swell sets in from the southeast. The
16 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

weather throughout [was] pleasant. Found the guns most

suitable for trimming ship and used them for that purpose . . .. The gun exercises look[ed] great . . ..

Despite the pleasant weather and successful drills, Marchand

experienced all the self-doubts and misgivings of a captain at sea. He worried over the accuracy of his sailing master ("The

inexperience of the master renders this day's position on the chart

still more uncertain than yesterday . . .."), he worried about his

ship's compass ("Another source of disquietude to my

mind . . .."), and he worried about the general lack of experience

among both officers and crew. ("I feel a little heartsick at the

inexperience of the Acting Masters, but keep a smiling face.") But

most of all, he worried about his mission. ("I will risk anything to

reach the English Channel.")

His doubts drove him to appeal for guidance and strength to his

God, always nearer to a sailor when he is out of sight of land:

Journal entry: North Atlantic bound for the English Channel,

Friday, October 18, 1861.

I give thanks to our Heavenly Father for vouchsafing to us

for variable weather, a smooth sea and protection from all

danger since our departure from New York. It has been

through His guidance alone that we have escaped the shoals

and difficulties of the way. Now on board the 1st Lieutenant

who can give me any aid in the performance of duty and that

kind Providence which has ever protected me (unworthy as I know myself to be) I devoutly pray may be still extended

towards me. In the performance of the duty imposed I most

devoutly pray for wisdom to act for from long experience I know that in acting without heartfelt prayer I have ever been

wrong. The duty imposed on me in the present cruise is such

as has never fallen to my lot and oh Holy Father enlighten

and guide me in the performance. Without thy aid I can do

nothing but what is wrong. Help, oh help me, undeservedly as

I feel myself of thy protection, but thy will be done, not

mine for what thou doest is only right. Look, I pray the most

holy one, upon my dear wife and children, protect them

from the evils and dangers of the Civil war now raging over

our land, preserve them in health and in happiness and, oh
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 1

7

God, visit not upon them my sins but let me suffer thy

chastisement. 'Tis their reputation now, oh Father, that I desire to honor.

As if in answer to his prayers, the weather remained calm all

day with light southeasterly breezes. "We are indeed blessed with

good weather," Marchand wrote, "Far beyond our deserts." The

James Adger steamed on throughout the day at "between 10 and

11 miles an hour" mostly against the wind. An occasional sail was

sighted, but with one exception, they were all ignored. Marchand

did not even pause to exchange news with the one ship, an

American merchant vessel, that did pass close by, even though it passed within a half mile of the James Adger.

Journal entry of October 18,1861 continued

I would have ran to and spoken [to] her, but my extreme

desire to reach the English Channel prevented [it] . Even this

anxiety would not have prevented [me] could any information of the whereabouts of the Nashville be procured from

her, but the American ship being in such a high latitude could

not have been in the way of the Nashville.

Though on 19 October Marchand recorded that "a good

Providence has safely brought us to the close of another day," the

good fortune of the James Adger was about to expire.

Journal entry: North Atlantic, hound for the English

Channel, Sunday, October 20, 1861.

During the past night the wind continued hauling slowly

and at six in the morning it was at East. It did not stop then

but continuing to blow stiffly hauled to the south-southeast

about ten a.m. and was a gale. At noon the wind lulled a little

but soon after, recommencing from that quarter, a heavy gale

of wind was upon us. Rain fell all afternoon .... At eight,

when writing, the gale is on the increase with a falling

barometer and we have a bad night in prospect before us. The

prayer of a good wife at home may preserve us from danger,

for mine cannot be heard at the throne of Grace .... The extreme badness of the weather caused me at 8:30 in

the evening to put on my storm clothes and through the rain

and heavy wind [I] remained on deck 'till half past 12 at
18 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

night. During the evening the wind continued slowly hauling

to the west and at 11:30 p.m. it came out from the

northwest, the weather there sometimes was clear and at

others cloudy with rain squalls. Barometer still falling.

Journal entry: On Newfoundland Banks, Monday, October

21, 1861.

The ocean is green in color around us and much troubled

by the gale from the southeast, southwest, and now out [of

the] northwest. All forenoon and 'till 2 or 3 o'clock in the

afternoon the waves crossed each other but after that time

[came] a heavy sea from the northwest. The gale of wind

from the latter direction was the most seriously felt

beginning about 1 1 in the morning in passing clouds with rain

showers or rather squalls towards evening; some hail accompanied the rain. The motion of the ship is much less violent

than I had anticipated, still it is great. The sea in the

afternoon and at present (7 p.m.) is on the quarter causing

heavy lurching. In time of the heavy lurching during the

afternoon the sea carried away a portion of the outward

covering of the lee (Starboard) wheel box, the first accident

since leaving New York.

The gale continued throughout the following day. The green

seas grew increasingly troubled as the gale mounted and boxed the

compass from southeast to northwest. So violent was the storm

that Marchand cancelled the customary inspection at quarters as well as the gun exercises. "The creaking of the cabin and wardroom bulkheads is alarming," he wrote. With some envy he noted

that "the crew are truly comfortable below, the berth deck being

perfectly dry and warm from the furnaces . . . whilst in the

[Captain's] cabin the creaking would induce the belief that the

ship was going to pieces."

Marchand spent a sleepless night, mostly walking the stormtossed decks. The wind blew "fearfully" all night and into the

next morning filling Marchand with anxiety lest the ship break

apart. At 3 in the morning, the storm reached a crescendo

"carrying away portions of the starboard wheelhouse and

lockers . . .." The storm also claimed the "water closet" forward

of the wheelhouse, and part of the forward guards. Giant green

waves broke over the ship, making it impossible to move about to
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 1

9

inspect the damage in the dark. But at sunrise it was discovered

that the damage was indeed extensive. Most serious of all was the

damage to the housing of the massive paddle wheels on the sides

of the ship

:

Journal entry: Bound from New York towards the English

Channel, Tuesday, October 22, 1861.

When daylight was fairly upon us it was discovered that

the frame work ... of the after part of the starboard wheel

box . . . was partially detached [about three feet] from the

outer frame work of the ship, and rising and falling with the

revolutions of the wheel, rendering it likely to be caught in

the wheel and bending the iron arms of the wheel or carrying

away the paddles. To prevent [such a] disaster the engine

was stopped and after much labor in clearing the iron railing

the whole after part of the paddle box was detached and fell

in [to] the sea.

In his subsequent report to the Secretary of the Navy,

Marchand intimated that the damage would not have been so extensive had the ship been properly maintained in the past:

Letter: Marchand to Welles, October 30, 1861. 1 A considerable leak [age] also took place, rendering the

officers' rooms almost uninhabitable, which upon examination was found to proceed from the lower side of the sheer

plank on both sides at the after guards, a portion of which

was reported as never having been calked. That portion of the

wrecked covering of the wheelhouse [which was] saved,

showed that both the battens of the wheelhouse and guards,

the sheathing of the wheelhouse, and bulwarks were in a state

of decay and had been repeatedly nailed. By that accident,

the ship has not otherwise been injured, but the covering of

the wheelhouse being off, sheets of water are flying over the

quarterdeck except when the wind is in a particular direction,

rendering the loading of the after guns almost impossible

without wetting the powder.

Marchand to Welles, Queenstown, Ireland, 30 October 1861. Marchand Papers. Also

printed in O.R.N. , XII, 124-6.
20 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Though rain squalls continued throughout the day, the intensity

of the storm appeared to abate somewhat. At 8 in the morning the

barometer began to rise, and by evening had climbed from 29.47

to 29.97. Marchand, much relieved, went early to bed "trusting to

that good Providence which has ever favored me for the protection

of myself and those under my command from the danger of the

coming night."

Journal entry: New York towards the English Channel,

Wednesday, October 23, 1861.

The northwest gale is still blowing at this time of writing

(7 p.m.). In the early part of the past night the wind

gradually changed to about north to northwest but this

morning it hauled back to northwest. Throughout the whole

time but little variation in the strength of the wind was

perceptible but the slight change in direction reduced the

swell. Still the waves are high and as we have no sails to

steady the ship, she rolls and lunges at a great rate. The

barometer this morning was above 30 and during the early

part of the day reached 30.05 where it has steadily hung. I have to record no accidents today to individual, hull, or

machinery. We are progressing at a fair speed .... After writing the foregoing, I have been thinking of home

and those I love. I most fervently pray the Almighty to take

them in[to] his protection.

Journal entry: New York towards the English Channel,

Thursday, October 24, 1861.

A beneficent Providence is still watching and protecting

and aiding us, unworthy as we are of all His goodness. The

northwest wind still continues blowing fresh but not the gale

we had for the last three days. Slight changes in the direction

of the wind have kept the sea from rising and now only

occasional heavy swells are felt; not that we have not all the

time heavy waves that keeps the ship rolling and creaking but

the tremendous ones are less frequent.

With the easing of both the storm and of his own anxiety for

the safety of the ship, Marchand spent increasingly longer periods

of time trying to plan his course of action upon arrival in the

English Channel. His instructions from Flag Officer Du Pont had
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 21

been vague, leaving much to Marchand's discretion. For example,

in his reference to English shipping laden with munitions, Du Pont

had written that Marchand "should have an eye to their going or

returning."2 But should they merely be watched, or intercepted?

He had to determine, too, the most likely landfall for the Nashville

and hasten to that place if he was to have any hope of seeing her

at all.

Journal entry of October 24, 1861 continued

The discretional authority . . . has been the subject of deep

thought, and after much consideration I have come to the

conclusion that I will run from 20 to 30 miles south of Cape

Clear and keeping good speed, run halfway to the Scilly

Islands, slow down, cross the English Channel, sight the coast

of France to the North of Brest and, as by that time the fuel

will be nearly exhausted, make slow way to Southampton in

England and communicate with our minister in London as regards to the whereabouts of the character or probable

character the Nashville will assume on leaving either England

or France. She may now be carrying the Confederate

commission, be an armed merchantman, a privateer or a commissioned cruiser of war and it is with this view of

ascertaining her character that I wish to put our minister at

London in connection with all the consuls in England and

France ....

That evening Marchand discovered that, once again, circumstances were to render his plans impracticable and would, in fact,

determine his future course of action.

Journal entry of October 24, 1861 continued

This evening I sent for the chief engineer to consult about

the ability to accomplish . . . [my plans] and was startled

with the intelligence that he did not think there was as much

coal on board as [was] represented by the authorities at the

Navy Yard, New York. He said that when the James Adger

was sold to the U.S. the [former owners] sold, and we paid

for, 170 tons of coal on board and that in the Navy Yard

2 See above, chapter I. Du Pont to Marchand, New York, 15 October 1861. Marchand

Papers.
22 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

they put in an [additional] amount to make up 325. That in

addition to our consumption before leaving New York, nine

tons were received a day or two before we left and that now

he thinks there is nothing like this quantity on board, he

supposed and presumed that there was a gross mistake when

it was said that the owner in selling represented that there

was 170 on board. Tomorrow he will make a close

measurement and in the meantime I have instructed him to

reduce materially the quantity to be consumed which will of

course reduce the speed.

Journal entry: New York towards the English Channel,

Friday, October 25, 1861.

This forenoon a critical examination was made of the

quantity of coal in the bunkers and the startling information

was given me by the chief engineer that we were 58 tons

short of the amount we should have by the account given at

the Navy Yard .... This will prevent my doing my duty ....

It requires that we may have to put into Queenstown in the

cove of Cork, Ireland, to obtain 40 or 50 tons of coal to

effect the object in view. In so doing it will delay the ship by

coaling and running out of the way at least 24 to 36 hours, a most important time, as in the interval the Nashville may

have entered the English Channel.

After ordering a further reduction in the consumption of coal

from 18 to 13 tons a day, Marchand retired to his cabin where he

allowed his melancholy to find expression in his journal.

Journal entry of October 25, 1861 continued

My life in this gloomy cabin is a lonely one, the cheerful

sound of voices and singing in the Ward Room sounds most

agreeably upon ears and I wish I was entitled to a berth

amongst them, none of them know my anxiety of mind or

the responsibility else they could not envy my position.

Often I get quite out of temper but instantly I look at

Maggie's [picture] and at our little ones picture and it acts

like oil upon a troubled sea, for I forget my troubles looking

at them. Oh Heavenly [Father] protect and bless them.

His troubles, though, were only beginning. The next day he

learned of another minor disaster which threatened the mission:
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 23

Journal entry: New York towards the English Channel,

Saturday, October 26, 1861.

Soon after 9 o'clock this morning the gunner obtained

from me the key of the Magazine to put therein the rockets,

blue lights, and other fireworks as the armory in which they

were kept was leaking. Soon afterward he returned and

informed me that there was a foot of water in the Magazine

from leakage. Upon this startling intelligence I went there

and found that the leak proceeded from a break in the leaden

pipe which leads from the ship's side through a corner of the

Magazine up on deck to the forward force pump. More than

an hour was consumed before the cock which stops the flow

of water . . . could be turned on account of corrosion. . . . during the long time before the cock could be

turned, buckets had been placed under the leak and three

were run full showing that the leak in the Magazine could not

have been of many hours duration, probably commencing

towards daylight in the morning.

The leak was all the more important as the powder tanks

were made of wood instead of copper, and since there was

not sufficient shelving on which to place them, a great portion had been stowed on the floor. All of the powder thus

stored was rendered totally useless, and it filled Marchand

with anger to watch the bags of spoiled powder being

dumped over the side. He had no doubt as to where the

responsibility for the leak belonged:

Journal entry of October 26, 1861 continued

This disaster arises from wanton carelessness on part of the

officers of the New York Navy Yard when making the

Magazine to allow a lead pipe with an elbow in it to pass

through the Magazine to the force pump on deck without

being boxed off to avoid accidents such as occurred today.

Fifteen minutes additional work at the time the Magazine

was made would have saved the life of the powder and

allowed us the use of the forward force pump in the event of

fire, which now cannot be used .... This instance of

carelessness is in keeping with the recklessness with which the

commission for purchasing vessels and the officers of the

yard received and drive away vessels of this class ....
24 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Oh Lord God, I thank thee that thou hast permitted me to

live through another day.

Journal entry: New York towards the English Channel,

Sunday, October 27, 1861.

This morning when the Magazine was opened it was found

that the bull's eye to give light [to the powder] room was

cracked through its thickness in two places. The thickness of

the glass is about 1-1/2 inches. It may have been occasioned

by the motion of the ship last night aided by the heat from

the lights in the light room which had been kept burning

several hours yesterday and possibly its cooling with the ships

motion may have produced that result. At present there

appears to be no danger from the crack from sparks or fire

from the Light Room as the cracks are closed tightly

together.

As his troubles seemed to multiply, Marchand's despondency

increased:

Journal entry of October 27, 1861 continued

This has been a day of some repentance in the solitude of my dismal cabin and [at] a late hour of the

evening, I feel my heart still unchanged and that my

prayers have not been acceptable at the throne of the

most high. Holy intercession plead for me or I am lost.

My dear wife cease not thy prayers for my soul's salvation.

His despair did not last long. Perhaps this was because the

weather continued to improve and the James Adger was

making a fine run despite the rationing of coal. In the early

afternoon it became clear that they must be approaching

land when a lone canary was sighted from the deck of the

ship. It flew for some time around the ship apparently

afraid to light, but eventually it did so. "The poor little

thing seemed very tired and after resting for a while on a dry part of the deck commenced pecking the caulking from

the seams in hopes of finding something to eat."

That evening, when still some 400 miles from Cape Clear,

Ireland, Marchand had the chief engineer weigh the coal remaining
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 25

on board and discovered that there were only 40 tons, enough for

2 days at full steaming power. 3

Journal entry of October 27, 1861 continued

In consequence of the deficiency of fuel my plan of future

movement is entirely destroyed and instead of running for

the English Channel and Coast of France near Brest I will be

compelled to run for the nearest port where coal can be

readily procured and I find that [is] Queenstown in the

Harbor of Cork, Ireland .... I pray the Almighty that we

may even reach there before the fuel is entirely consumed.

Another little land bird took a rest for a couple of hours in a shelter place on deck and then winged its way off. Poor

little birdie (I think of [my daughter] Kate) was driven from

the land by the strong wind and probably will never be able

to reach it again.

The last few days of the transatlantic crossing were trying. No

new difficulties arose, though Marchand worried constantly that

the James Adger would be unable to reach a port before she

exhausted her fuel. On 28 October the ship logged only 146 miles,

"the shortest run by far since leaving the U.S." The nearest port

was still 240 miles away, and another day's fuel had been used up.

To add to his anxiety, Marchand suffered from the motion of the

ship.

Journal entry: New York towards the English Channel,

Monday, October 28, 1861.

Since the ship has become light from the consumption of

coal she is extremely uncomfortable, pitching, tossing,

creaking and shaking by the working of the paddle wheels to

such a degree as to render it extremely difficult to write. She

is really unpleasant everywhere but particularly in the cabin

at her extremity. My apartment, the cabin, is a dismal hole

and since the destruction of the covering of the paddle box I

"At the Chief Engineer's suggestion, all the coal on board the ship was weighed and

it was found that the computation made on the 26th was erroneous, we having seven tons less than expected. The whole quantity of coal on board at noon today is 40 tons,

whereas if the quantity represented to have been on board on leaving the New York

Navy Yard had been true, we would this day have 105 tons, thus showing that there was

65 tons less than they reported." From the journal entry of 27 October 1861.
26 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

have to keep the hole by which [my cabin] is entered

covered with a tarpaulin to prevent being deluged, therefore

on entering or leaving [I] have almost to crawl on my hands

and knees. The paymaster told me he felt like [he was]

entering a tomb when he crawled into the cabin. To add to

my discomfort my steward was left behind in New York and

I am kept half starved. Today for dinner I had pea soup and a piece of cold salt beef with boiled rice.

No vessel has been in sight today. After night wrote a long

letter to Maggie wherein I complained more than I should,

for a just and forgiving providence has bestowed on me more

blessing than I deserve.

The ordeal was nearly over. The next day dawned clear "with

the sun shining brightly" all day. After some exercises at the guns,

the first since leaving New York, the crew was sent to dinner and

not long afterward, at 3:30 p.m., land was sighted. The Irish coast

remained a misty smudge on the horizon, however, as Marchand

steered the Adger east-southeast "to run parallel with and at a distance of about six miles from the southern coast of Ireland." At

11 p.m. the navigational lights of Kinsale were sighted and

Marchand offered a silent prayer.

At 3 in the morning the Adger lay hove to off Cork Harbor light

waiting for a pilot. The Atlantic crossing had taken exactly 14

days, less the 4 hours difference in longitude. It had been a near

thing, however, as the James Adger had only 7 tons of coal on

board when she arrived at Cork. Marchand, after giving thanks to

"our heavenly preserver," vented his wrath once again on the

officers of the New York Navy Yard:

Journal entry: Queenstown, Cork Harbor, Ireland, Monday,

October 30, 1861.

It would have been considered insanity to have attempted

a passage across the Atlantic in the winter season . . . knowingly to have but 268 tons of coal, but the Chief Engineer as well as myself were deceived by the authorities at New York

who represented that there was 333 tons. The coal had been

put on board before the officers were ordered to the ship and

before leaving an effort was made to see if the bunkers were

properly filled but the scuttles were jammed full and it was

not until we had been out several days that it was discovered
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 27

that they were not filled but the entrance to them artfully

concealed by being heaped with coal.

As soon as the anchor was let go and before daylight the

Paymaster and Chief Engineer were sent on shore to purchase

and send off coal instantly designing to take in 75 tons. They

roused out of bed a sort of agent of the consul, he being

unwell, and [he] erroneously contracted with [a single

supplier] for all the coal instead of going to different coal

agents and each at once sending off portions. The consequence was that it was 7-1/2 o'clock in the evening before

we had taken on board 72 tons, when I had expected we

should have taken 75 tons before 11 o'clock in the forenoon.

This Cove of Cork is a very pretty place, the grounds

around beautifully improved giving me some idea of an

English landscape and the many hedged fields green as the

season of Spring in the latitude of Baltimore. Queenstown

stands on the side of a steep rocky shore and its zigzag straits

look pretty from the anchorage. The entrance and all around

is well fortified. At 11 in the forenoon [I] went on shore and

called upon Patrick J. Devine, U.S. Consul, and on Captain

Seymour, his adviser and assistant, a merchant and general

agent. In Captain Seymour's carriage all three of us drove to

the residence and office of Admiral [Sir Charles] Talbot4

upon whom I called and paid my respects. The Admiral

. . . hints as to our object and my reply was that we were

bound upon a cruise. Late in the day I saw announced in the

Cork Examiner, our afternoon paper of today, the arrival of

this ship at Queenstown short of coals in pursuit of the

Nashville that had run the blockade off Charleston having on

board Messrs. Mason and Slidell, commissioners to Europe.

From whom the information was obtained I do not know for

I had told it to no other than Lieutenant Foster, Paymaster

Greenway and Chief Engineer Douglas and they denied

having given it. These persons had to be informed of the

object of the cruise to facilitate the accomplishment. From

the Admiral down it is the prevailing opinion that U.S.

cruisers are coming into the Irish channel to overhaul all

vessels coming out as it is reported that several vessels are

4 Rear Admiral of the Red Sir Charles Talbot (1801-1876) was Commander in Chief,

Cork, through November 1861.
28 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

being ladened to run the blockade to our southern coast from

the port of Liverpool. 5 In my interview with the Admiral I apologized for not

saluting on account of the small number of guns on board.

About 7 o'clock in the evening Captain Seymour and [his]

son came on board and as soon as the quantity of coal

received was ascertained they were paid . . . and whilst so

doing the chain was hove in and when they left (about 7:45)

our anchor was weighed and we steamed out passing Cork

light and discharging the Pilot at 8:30 p.m. Before leaving I took on board a Channel Pilot at the rate of 10 pounds

Sterling for five days and 2 pounds for every successive day.

One of the most important things I neglected to mention

which is that neither the newspaper nor to the knowledge of

the Consul has the Nashville yet reached a European port

with the Confederate Commission[ers] , consequently there is a possibility of intercepting her.

Intercepting the Nashville was only half of Marchand's problem.

The more perplexing question was what to do with her after

interception. He reminded himself that Mason and Slidell were the

accredited representatives of a nation recognized as a belligerent in

both England and France. Interference with their mission might

raise serious legal questions of international significance. The

Governments of both England and France had shown great

interest in the arrival of the James Adger in a European port—the

nature of her mission had been advertised in European newspapers, much to Marchand's embarrassment—and it was certain

that her subsequent activities would be watched with intense

interest in both London and Paris.

Adding to Marchand's anxiety was the fact that he was almost

totally ignorant of the legal status of the Nashville. Lincoln's

original declaration of blockade had concluded with the warning

that all ships acting "under the pretended authority" of the

Confederacy would be treated as pirates. Justice for pirates had

always been clearly understood: death by hanging, or worse. But

this uncompromising stance had had to be modified because

President Jefferson Davis promised to retaliate life-for-life with

Later in the war this was, in fact, done and the depredations of Union warships in the English Channel severely strained United States- British relations.
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 29

Federal prisoners of war. There was no clear guidance on the

government's new position, and Marchand, never an innovator,

wondered what to do with the Nashville if and when he

intercepted her. Was she to be treated as a passenger ship? Or did

she possess a letter of marque, or perhaps even a Confederate

commission as a warship? He would be unable to answer such

questions until he could talk with the American Consul at

Southampton who would have more intimate knowledge of the

legal status of the Nashville and the general diplomatic situation.

But since time was of the essence, that conversation would have to

be put off until after he inspected the entrance of the English

Channel. The Nashville was reputed to be a fast steamer-faster

than the James Adger—and despite the rapid transatlantic crossing

of the latter, it could be expected that the Nashville would arrive

in European waters very soon. As the James Adger put to sea in

the evening of 30 October, therefore, it was still Marchand's plan

to patrol the narrow entrance to the English Channel hoping to

intercept the Nashville on her arrival. He left with hope that he

still had a fair chance to accomplish his mission.

"On leaving the Cove of Cork, the ship was steered [on] a course to pass the Scilly Islands . . .." Proceeding at a leisurely

speed, the afternoon was spent cruising between those islands and

Ushant, the traditional European landfall for east-bound ships.

Journal entry: Mouth of English Channel, Thursday, October

31, 1861.

We are now especially upon our cruising ground and I have

exacted the utmost vigilance on part of the officer of the

deck and other watch officers to look out for all steamers.

Day and night the officer of the deck will go to Quarters in

the event of seeing a steamer coming from the west or south.

All that I can has been done to effect the object of this

cruise. In mercy, oh Heavenly Father, I pray thee aid me if it

seemeth good to thee.

Meanwhile, the Confederate Commissioners themselves were

relaxing in Cardenas, Cuba. The "urgent" telegram which Du Pont

had received from the Secretary of the Navy and which had sent

the James Adger to sea had been totally in error. The Nashville

was still in Charleston Harbor when the James Adger steamed out

of New York Harbor in the early morning hours of 16 October.
30 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

But the Navy Department was correct in claiming that both Mason

and Slidell had slipped through the blockade. They had taken

passage on the C.S.S. Theodora on 12 October and had landed in

Cuba on the first leg of their voyage to Europe long before

Marchand ever began his futile chase. The irony of Marchand's

mission became even deeper when on 26 October, while Marchand's crew was heaving the bags of spoiled powder over the side,

the Nashville took advantage of a dark night and fled to sea eluding the Charleston blockading squadron, thus beginning an

infamous career of commerce raiding and blockade running.

Mason and Slidell, meanwhile, were making plans in Cardenas for

the second leg of their journey. They hoped, with some

justification, that by taking passage on a British ship they would

be protected against U.S. interference.

Ignorant of these developments, Marchand continued to wait

off the mouth of the English Channel for the arrival of the

Nashville which, so far as he knew, was still bound for the English

Channel with the Confederate commissioners on board. His task

was not an easy one. The channel storms proved to be the equal of

those he had battled in mid-Atlantic. Towards midnight on Friday,

1 November, the wind "freshened up strong and there was every

indication of a gale . . .." The James Adger battled the channel storms for most of the

night and all the next day. Twice Marchand had to run for the

coast of Cornwall in order to get under the lee of the land where

his ship would be protected from the direct force of the wind. The

James Adger, still damaged from her earlier bout with the North

Atlantic storms, began to pitch violently and the "alarming"

creaking became a continuous refrain.

A number of sailing vessels were seen entering the channel

during the day but they were allowed to pass unquestioned.

Marchand would have liked to query their masters regarding the

whereabouts of the Nashville,

Journal entry of October 31, 1861 continued

. . . but the wind was too powerful to hear what would be

said and I had no wish forcibly to stop any as it might be

offensive to the English Government, and none were sus- picious, all seemed [to be] hurrying for a shelter.

The storm continued to grow in ferocity throughout the night

of 2 November. Flashes of lightning punctuated the rain and hail
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 3

1

as the James Adger rode uneasily on the heavy seas. The channel

pilot whom Marchand had retained became agitated and insisted

that Marchand order the ship into port, but he refused to do so.

Journal entry: Falmouth, England, Saturday, November 2,

1861.

The ship [is] lying with her lee wheel two thirds under

water in consequence of having no ballast except 50 tons of

coal, and that [we are] consuming; and from the wheel being

so much submerged, would occasionally stop turning. Still

my duty was to watch the entrance to the English Channel . . ..

Marchand persisted in keeping the James Adger on station until

about 10 in the evening when he was told by his chief engineer

that "the shaft bearings would no longer bear the strain," and

"reluctantly" he headed the ship into the wind and steamed

toward Falmouth Harbor. He did not enter the harbor immediately, however, wishing to keep to sea as long as possible lest the

Nashville take advantage of the storm to run for a channel port.

Journal entry of November 2, 1861 continued

At various times during the night the Pilot warned me to

run into Falmouth but knowing him to be frightened with an

unballasted ship no attention was paid to his remonstrances.

As daylight made its appearance and being aware that we

were totally unable to pursue effectively any vessel not either

before the wind or head to it, I determined to run and anchor

at the entrance of Falmouth Harbor. A pilot boat came

across us for which a Pilot was obtained and about 8 o'clock

in the morning we anchored at the entrance of Falmouth

Harbor.

Immediately I dispatched a message to the Consul [Alfred

Fox] about having coal sent on board to act as ballast for the

ship providing it came before 11 o'clock in the forenoon as there was some appearance of the gale abating yet at the

same time sent word that I would go to sea as soon as it

moderated. At nine the agent came off and said that he could

not have the coal put in lighters and sent under those

conditions, but if the ship was run into the inner harbor

alongside of his coal ship, he would put 25 tons on board
32 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

immediately. I could not consent as my determination was to

go to sea as soon as the wind moderated and he went in

shore.

In expectation of a change of weather we remained at

anchor at the entrance of the harbor until 2 p.m. and then I found the gale as violent as ever with heavy hail squalls. Not

wishing to remain in this state and feeling that I was not

doing all my duty to my country, I determined to run into

the inner harbor alongside of the coal ship, take in coal

sufficient to ballast the ship under any circumstances and go

to sea during the night. It was not however until 4 p.m. that

we succeeded in getting alongside of the coal ship and not'till

an hour after before commencing to receive coal.

[The] way into the inner harbor was amongst a multitude

of small craft as large ones lie outside. And when I discovered

the impossibility of leaving the inner harbor during the night,

therefore I determined to continue taking fuel on board all

night with the belief that by daylight we would have from

100 to 125 tons additional to the 45 or 48 on board.

Marchand's hopes were not fulfilled. After working all night

through the continuing storm, the crew succeeded in taking on

board only 58 tons of coal. Nevertheless, at daybreak, Marchand

made ready to go out to sea again.

Journal entry: Falmouth, England and off Ushant, Sunday,

November 3, 1861.

We were lying amongst a crowd of small fishing smacks

and coasters all of which by regulation were moored and

it was doubtful if a soul was on board any. The harbor

Pilot became alarmed on account of the size of our ship

and did not know what to do. I told him to point out

how near we could approach the shore and I took the

ship (under Divine Providence) safely through the crowd

of vessels, and the Pilot carried her out of port at a little

before 8 o'clock in the morning. Again we were upon our

cruising ground having abandoned it for 24 hours sorely

against my will .... I would have given all I am worth to

have been able to keep the sea for during the time we

were in Falmouth, the Nashville may have passed and if

so, no explanation will save my reputation.
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 33

The next 3 days were difficult and frustrating. The James

Adger "ran backward and forward in the squally darkness . . ."

between Ushant and Cornwall. Several steamers were sighted

and a few were chased, but all proved to be innocent. Only

one vessel eluded examination. On the evening of 4 November,

Journal entry: Entrance to English Channel, Monday,

November 4, 1861.

. . . just at dusk a steamer was made out by its smoke for to

the Eastward we increased our speed and stood for her. In

the darkness of the evening and through the mist she could

only be seen occasionally and then much to the south of

where we expected. She had the greater speed and when last

seen by the glimmer of her top light was a long way from us.

I concluded it useless to further continue the chase as it was a steamer outward bound and not the Nashville coming in,

when again I changed our course. About the time that I ceased chasing I was informed that the Pilot had said she had

two masts and a black smoke stack. How he made that

discovery was a mystery as he had no spy glass and in the

mist and darkness nothing could be made out by any other

person with a glass. This has been the only steamer that has

thus far escaped in the rain and mist of the dark night.

The storm continued throughout the night but moderated with

the approaching dawn. The barometer, which had dropped to

29.65 during the night, began to rise, and the prospects were good

for a clear and sunny day. But Marchand's prospects of intercepting the Nashville seemed to be diminishing. The report of the

Nashville's escape, if correct, was now 23 days old, a remarkably

slow passage for a fast steamer, and Marchand wrote, "I am

satisfied she has either reached a European port, broken down on

the way, or did not leave Charleston."

Journal entry: English Channel, Tuesday, November 5, 1861.

These considerations induced me at 9 o'clock in the

morning to change our course and run slowly up the Channel

towards Southampton to watch for the Nashville higher up

until tomorrow morning and then run into that port for fuel,

repairs and consultation with our minister in London as to

my future course.
34 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

During the afternoon the weather was much better than

any we had experienced at sea since leaving the U.S. and we

availed ourselves of it by exercising for the first time at

general quarters since leaving New York.

Journal entry: Southampton (England), Wednesday, November 6, 1861.

In the mist, squalls, and gales, no land was visible for a time [but] at length it was seen three or four miles off, and

finding that no Pilot would venture outside of the Needles

when we proposed entering, the ship was kept for the eastern

side of the Isle of Wight. About eight in the morning a Pilot

came on board, we passed Portsmouth, Ryde, the Royal

residence on the Isle of Osborn, [and] Spithead, and stood

onward to Southampton where we anchored one and a half

miles below the town at 1 1 in the forenoon.

Marchand immediately went ashore to arrange for the coaling of

the James Adger. The American Consul there, Capt. John Britton,

could give him no information about the Nashville but Marchand

must have been a little surprised (and perhaps somewhat relieved)

when he examined that morning's London Times. There were only

two brief items listed under the heading of "Latest News" from

America, but both were of vital importance to Marchand. He

noted first that "a naval expedition, composed of 80 vessels,

carrying 500 guns, and between 30,000 and 40,000 men will sail

from Hampton [Roads] tomorrow." This was, of course, Flag

Officer Du Pont's expedition, and Marchand may have experienced some regret that he would not be present. But the second

item was even more significant: "It is reported that Messrs. Mason

and Slidell, the Confederate Commissioners to England and

France, have arrived at Cardenas."6 Marchand did not record his emotions on making this discovery,

but he wrote tersely in his journal that "Consequently the whole

object of this ship's visit is accomplished. Now I am preparing to

return to the U.S." He might have been even more terse had he

known that on that very day, Du Pont was leading his squadron

into Port Royal Sound and the next morning would inflict a

decisive defeat on the Confederate defenders. This first great naval

London Times, 6 November 1861.
IN SEARCH OF THE STEAMER NASHVILLE 35

victory of the war brought fame to Du Pont, as a nation eager for

victory celebrated the event in its newspapers. Also on that same

day, Mason and Slidell left Cardenas on board the H.M.S. Trent

bound for England on a voyage that was to have considerable

consequences.

Marchand, meanwhile, having been denied participation in

either incident, made preparations to return to the United States.

In his journal he thanked the "God of mercy . . . that hast brought

us safely to our desired haven." But so far, that kind Providence

had also delivered him from success.
CHAPTER III

TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER"

7 November—2 December 1861

Having failed to intercept the Nashville, Marchand was anxious

to return to the United States and rejoin Flag Officer Du Pont's

squadron. Though he began immediately to prepare the James

Adger for the transatlantic crossing, he estimated in a letter to

Secretary Welles that it would require at least 4 days to complete

the necessary repairs. 1 Meanwhile, it was incumbent upon him to

make a formal report to the senior American diplomats in

London. Such a report was customary for naval officers visiting

foreign ports, but Marchand had refrained from doing so earlier

because of the urgency of his mission. His reticence had been

noticed at the Embassy. The American Consul at London,

Freeman H. Morse, had already written with a touch of pique to

Secretary of State William H. Seward that "Marchand . . . has not

been in communication with anyone here."2 Coincidentally, the very day that letter was posted, Marchand

was preparing for a trip to London to report to Morse and to the

American Minister, Charles Francis Adams. The next morning, he

breakfasted on board the James Adger at 7, then immediately

went ashore intending to take the first available train to London.

He boarded the train at 8:40 and as he watched the dreary gray

countryside flow by his window, he may have glanced at the

morning edition of the London Times. The featured article would

have helped him evaluate British opinion regarding the American

Civil War:

We are very sorry for it, but we honestly confess [that] for a great many years we have been convinced, and that by proofs

far too strong to admit of doubt, that we stand very low in

Marchand to Welles, Southampton, England, 6 November 1861. Marchand Papers.

Morse to Seward, London, England, 6 November 1861. O.R.N., VI, 455.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 37

the good graces of the multitudinous monarch of the United

States. The hearty sympathy and assistance lent by American

citizens to the rebellion of the French Canadians in Lower

Canada, the violent language held with regard to the disputed

boundary of Oregon, the refusal to allow the right of search,

which has almost defeated our well-meant efforts to repress

the slave trade, and the seizure of the island of St. Juan by an

armed force while the dispute as to its ownership was

pending between the two Governments have long convinced

us that peace between England and the United States is only

to be maintained by submission to many violations of the

comity and way of the rights of nations .... In acts we have been neutral and impartial, but we have

had the presumption to form an opinion, and, having formed

it, to publish it . . .. We do believe, and shall continue to do so, that the

Secession of the South has destroyed the Federal Union

. . . the contest is really for empire on the side of the North,

and for independence on that of the South, and in this

respect we recognize an exact analogy between the North and

the Government of George III, and the South and the

Thirteen Revolted Provinces .... [these] are the general

opinions of the English nation. 3

In reality, it is extremely doubtful that these were the "general

opinions of the English nation." Throughout the war, the Times

was more outspoken in its sympathy for the Confederacy than was

either British public opinion or the British Government. Nevertheless, British authorities were likely to be circumspect and cautious

in their dealings with U.S. representatives, and Marchand could

expect no deference from the British in his efforts to interdict

Confederate shipping. Lord Palmerston, in fact, suggested

pointedly to Adams that should Marchand commit any act

offensive to the British flag while in British waters, such an act

"would be regarded . . . very unpleasantly." In his zeal, Palmerston

even went so far as to suggest that Marchand "had got very drunk

on brandy" while in port and that it would hardly be proper for

him to seek to harm British interests while full of British brandy.

Adams, of course, discounted both Palmerston's threats and his

3 London Times, 7 November 1861.
38 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

accusations. Nevertheless, Marchand found himself the uncomfortable center of a delicate diplomatic situation.4 American diplomats in London were concerned about the

preparation of a particular British ship, the Gladiator, for sea. The

reason for their interest was the unusual cargo she was to carry:

Letter: Morse to Seward, November 6, 1861. 5 The Confederate [sic] steamer Gladiator . . . has in her

cargo 1,112 cases of Enfield rifles, containing 20 rifles each

(22,240). She is about one year old and a very fine vessel.

Captain [Daniel] Bird, of the steamer Adelaide is to

command her on leaving, and she will be clear in his name,

but another man (perhaps [Raphael] Semmes of the Sumter)

is to take charge when she gets to sea.

6

I have good reasons for believing that the Gladiator is in

reality Southern property, or will be on her arrival in some

Southern port. But she leaves here under the protection of

the English flag ....

Faced with this dilemma, the American authorities in

London were most anxious to contact Marchand as the

Commander of the only American ship of war then in British

waters and to familiarize him with the designs of the owners of

the Gladiator. They were anxious for Marchand to capture the

vessel or otherwise prevent its departure but were unwilling to

assume the responsibility for ordering him to do so. Over the

next several days, the delicate neutrality of Great Britain served

as a backdrop for a diplomatic drama with a cast which

included spies, diplomats, adventurers, and mysterious midnight

visitors, dramatis personae more appropriate to a revolutionary

conspiracy than to wartime diplomacy.

Marchand arrived in London at 11 and drove "at once" to

the American Legation.

Journal entry: London, Thursday, November 7, 1861.

On entering the house, Mr. Wilson, Secretary of [the]

Legation, seemed particularly pleased at my arrival and not

4 Adams to Seward, London, 15 November 1861. O.R.A., II, 1078-9.

Morse to Seward, London, England, 6 November 1861. O.R.N., VI, 455.

Capt. D.T. Bisbie took command of the Gladiator on 6 November.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 39

until being with Mr. [Charles Francis] Adams did I know the

cause. The latter informed me that the Gladiator, an English

propeller, was fitting out in the Thames with munitions of

war destined, doubtlessly, for the Confederate states but

under English colors, officers and papers and clearing for an

English port in the West Indies [Nassau] . Being fully satisfied

myself that were I to capture her in the English Channel or any place this side [of the Atlantic] in a direct line to her

reputed destination it would be an illegal act and might

embroil our government with England, I asked him the

question if I had a right to capture her, he emphatically said

no. [He] then told me I had better see Mr. Morse, the U.S.

Consul in London, who he thought had evidence that the

Gladiator belonged to individuals in the Confederate states.

Immediately I drove to Mr. Morse's office and had more

than an hour interview. He seemed desirous that the

Gladiator should be captured, but could adduce no evidence,

only his conviction, that the propeller really belonged to

people of the southern Confederacy.

It was about 3 p.m before I reached Marley's Hotel from

the American Consulate where I found awaiting me Mr.

George Francis Train, 7 an ardent Union American, who had

been watching the movements of the Gladiator and who had

a spy or detective doing the same. Mr. Train gave me much

information as regards the lading and shifting berths of the

propeller but his advice was too violent for me to follow in

capturing that vessel even had the James Adger been at the

mouth of the Thames. He argued that war between the U.S.

and England was evident and the sooner the better. In

[rejecting] his advice I suggested that some evidence should

be afforded me that the propeller possibly belonged to the

southern Confederacy before I would be authorized to

capture her unless near the Confederate coast. Several times

during the afternoon he called [on me] and handed me

letters only urging me to have the James Adger prepared for

sea immediately. My reply was that I had telegraphed to

Southampton to Mr. Foster, the 1st Lieutenant, to urge

7 Scion of a prominent Massachusetts shipbuilding family, Train was in England to promote investment in American railroads though in the process he earned a reputation

as "a half-lunatic, half-genius" by "building street-railroads and by denouncing the

aristocracy." Donald, Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man, 83.
40 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

[the] work [forward and be] ready to go to sea on Saturday

morning. At last interview he said he would find me evidence

that the propeller was really owned by people of the

southern confederacy.

In the evening after dark [I] walked around for a couple

of hours looking at sights in the West End of London and

retired much fatigued to my bed at 9 o'clock. An hour later I was awakened by a rap at the door and a stranger was

ushered in who announced himself as Captain De Rohan

[but] whose real name is [William] Dahlgren, brother of

Captain [John A.] Dahlgren. 8 He frankly told me he was

esteemed an [adventurer] , that last year he aided Garibaldi

by smuggling from England a large quantity of arms for

Garibaldi and [by] hoisting American colors, took from

Genoa and elsewhere a small fleet to Sicily and [he also]

imparted [to me] an interesting interview he had with

Commander [James S.] Palmer of the Iroquois in the

Mediterranean.9 He further added that beside myself and Mr.

Train no human being in England knew who he was or to

what nation he belonged. He said that the Mr. Campbell of

the house of Traci Campbell & Co. had offered him the

command of the Gladiator [to] run the blockade of the

southern ports knowing his filibustering character, [but] that

he declined it (being Union in feeling) on the ground that his

engagement with Garibaldi would not allow his acceptance.

He further said that . . . joint stock companies were forming

upon the principle of sending three vessels [at a time, for] if

only one was to enter a blockaded port and the remaining

two captured, it would [still] be a profitable business.

Captain De Rohan added that daily he was at the counting

house of Traci Campbell & Co., that ... he had been

consulted about charts and sailing directions for the southern

coast of the United States, as they had no specific ones, and

o William De Rohan Dahlgren (1819-1891) never used his family name because of a feud with his brother John. He left America in his early adulthood and served in the

naval forces of Turkey, Argentina, Chile, Italy, and Britain. Though he supported the

Union cause, he did not enroll in the U.S. Navy for fear of being required to serve under

his brother.

9 The Iroquois, Commander James S. Palmer, had been part of the American

Mediterranean squadron through May 14, 1861, when she was recalled by Secretary

Welles. See O.R.N., I, 20-1.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 41

that the firm had told him they were going to clear the

propellers for Nassau, and Honduras. He had advised [them]

that the better plan would be not to mention the latter place

but that the voyage terminate at Nassau, an English port. He

added that the Company designed landing the munitions of

war at Nassau and trans-ship [ping] them by small vessels into

the southern ports. All this was communicated with the

assurance of profound secrecy as his reputation would be

entirely destroyed were it known that he was acting the

character of a spy. He said he was actuated entirely by

fidelity to the North and that no mercenary object prompted

him, that Mr. Train had desired him to make the visit to

convince me that the vessel was a proper subject of capture

anywhere but more especially to dog her and make a seizure

near our coast. His suggestion was to steer a course so as to

intercept her near the Bahamas ....

The next morning, Marchand took the train back to Southampton still rather puzzled about the course of action he should

adopt regarding the Gladiator. Precipitate action on his part could

lead to dire consequences for both himself and his nation. The

uneasy neutrality of Britain could suddenly change to open

hostility if a ship of the U.S. Navy committed an act at sea that

could be construed by the British as an insult to national honor.

Though Palmerston was sympathetic to the Union predicament, he

would not stand by while Americans attacked a British registered

ship at sea. Evidence of the tenuousness of British neutrality

would be given soon, though Marchand could not have known it,

in the aftermath of the Trent affair. Even while Marchand was

mulling over alternative courses of action on his trip back to

Southampton, 2,000 miles away Capt. Charles Wilkes of the U.S.S.

San Jacinto was forcibly removing Mason and Slidell from H.M.S.

Trent, initiating an international incident of nearly catastrophic

proportions. The legality of Wilkes' act would be debated bitterly

in both capitals leading finally to the surrender of the commissioners to British custody and the renewal of an uneasy peace, but

not before military preparations had been made in England and

Canada. All this was in the future, though, as Marchand traveled

south. For his part no action would be possible until the James

Adger was made ready for sea. When Marchand returned to the

ship in the afternoon, he noted resignedly that though "things
42 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

[were] progressing rapidly," he was "still without a hope of

getting to sea before Saturday night, even if then."

Marchand kept his crew at their labors throughout the

afternoon. The James Adger received 250 tons of coal and by 1 in

the morning the bunkers were full. 10 The ship joiners were also

kept busy repairing the bulwarks and paddlewheel boxes which

had been damaged by the storm off the Newfoundland Banks.

They, too, worked until well past dark. In the afternoon,

Marchand went ashore to conclude his business with the American

Consulate.

Journal entry: Southampton, Saturday, November 9, 1861.

Whilst at the Consulate [I] received letters from the

Consul at London [Morse] giving advice and sending description of the Gladiator but no evidence that that propeller

belonged to other than English subjects. 1

!

Also letters from

Mr. Train urging the capture irrespective of the consequences

and including his detective's (Captain De Rohan) description

of the lading of the Gladiator.

While ashore, Marchand wrote letters of thanks to Adams,

Morse, and Train but without committing himself to a specific

course of action. He said only that he would keep "an eye upon

the Gladiator . . .." 1

2

After dining with the consul, he returned to

the ship.

Once again, however, the weather kept him from putting to sea immediately. The barometer dropped to 29.2, and a heavy gale

came up out of the southwest. It could be seen, wrote Marchand,

over the Isle of Wight, as a "dense black cloud careening up the

Channel." Even after the storm abated the next morning, he was

delayed by the information that more work was required on the

engines.

In addition to the 250 tons taken on board 9 November, 50 tons were already on

board, which, with the 79 tons stored in bags, made a total of 379 tons. Morse, however, pointedly reminded Marchand that the Gladiator's "cargo is just

what the rebels now most need, and to them it will be of very great value." Morse to Marchand, London, 8 November 1861. O.R.N., I, 227.

1 2 Copies of these letters have not been found, but Marchand made this notation in

his journal regarding their contents.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 43

Journal entry: Southampton, Sunday, November 10, 1861.

I was all day chafing at the delay but could not help it as it

would be the utmost imprudence to start across the Atlantic

with a partially defective engine particularly in this ship

which has but one [engine] and no sails to manage her in the

event of injury to the machinery. 1

3

I was anxious to get away as last night I received a telegram from Mr. Train in London that the Gladiator had

cleared at the London custom house on Saturday afternoon

for Tenerife [in the Canary Islands] with a crew of 27 men

and 10 passengers. I am fully satisfied that if the Gladiator

left the Thames on Saturday night she would have been

compelled to anchor at Gravesend [at the mouth of the

Thames] or some other place near there as she could not

contend against the gale from the southwest which sat in

during that night as she is a propeller whose speed under

favorable circumstances does not exceed ten miles an hour

and this conviction was my only consolation at being

delayed.

Marchand knew that the Gladiator had left her berth alongside

the quay in London and had slipped down the Thames River to

Gravesend. He did not know, however, that on the morning of 10

November, after the night's storm had moderated and while

Marchand's crew labored on the engines of the James Adger, she

steamed slowly out of the mouth of the Thames and into the

North Sea. Meanwhile, Marchand continued to receive visits from

patriotic well-wishers.

Journal entry of November 10, 1861 continued.

About 3 p.m. it was announced that a gentleman had come

off in a shore boat and wished to see me. He entered the

cabin and announced himself as Captain [Zebina] Eastman 1

4

and I recollected that in my interview with Mr. Adams, our

Minister, and Mr. Morse, our Consul, when in London, both

1 3 Presumably Marchand meant no sails capable of maneuvering the ship competently

in poor weather. The James Adger did carry sails though her design limited their efficient

utilization unaided by the steam engine.

Formerly a Chicago publisher and a fervid abolitionist, Eastman was appointed

U.S. consul at Bristol by President Lincoln in August 1861.
44 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

[had] informed me that Captain Eastman had been dispatched to Queenstown to meet me with information about

the Gladiator and that he had not yet returned. Captain

Eastman told me that he was in Brussels and learned that

rifles were being shipped from that place to London to be

sent to the Confederate states, that he watched the boxes

until their shipment and that he and others tried to devise

some plan to capture the vessel in which they would be sent

from London but could not hit upon any plan and that the

arrival of the James Adger at Queenstown altered their plans

and offered the only means of preventing the arms being sent

to the Confederate states. Captain Eastman then handed me a

letter from the Honorable H[enry] S. Sanford, our Minister

at Brussels, dated 3rd inst. [and] another from Mr. Adams,

Minister of London dated 5th inst. 1

5

all breathing a desire

for the capture of the Gladiator if I thought the evidence to

be given me by Captain Eastman would justify my so doing.

The latter gentleman on delivering the letters mentioned that

they were the same that he had taken for delivery to me in

Queenstown, since the date which the letters bear I have seen

Messrs. Adams and Morse neither of which could show

anything like evidence but that the Gladiator was a legitimate

English trader and might be bound for Honduras or to

Mexico particularly the latter as the French and English are about sending a blockading squadron there, nor could

Captain Eastman give any evidence other than his conviction

that the munitions of war were destined for the Confederate

states.

I expressed to Captain Eastman the difficulty in which I am placed if I should succeed in capturing the Gladiator

when on a direct course where her official papers state she

should go. It would be a violation of international law. If I did not do so I would be blamed by our people at home and

that the first course might embroil our government in a war

with England. In either event I will be sacrificed upon

returning to the United States. He agreed that the only safe

course to pursue was to try and find the Gladiator out of her

direct course to Tenerife and then capture her. I told him my

Adams wrote: "Much must be left to your own discretion, so that I do not tie your hands." Adams to Marchand, London, 5 November 1861. O.R.N., I, 226.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 45

plan was to be in the Western Islands [the Azores] where

probably she would be compelled to coal and that her going

to Tenerife was but a fiction as it was so far out of the way.

On Captain Eastman's leaving I told him that I would

sacrifice everything to make the capture, if possible, provided

it was not within three leagues of a neutral shore. This latter

determination I devoutly hope to carry out.

Marchand had grown overly suspicious. The Gladiator's listed

destination, though curiously well advertised, was anything but a

fiction. Had he been less clever, Marchand might have yet been

able to overtake the slow-steaming Gladiator on her leisurely way

to Tenerife. But having decided that the Confederate owners and

their British friends were practicing duplicity, he planned to head

the James Adger on a direct course for the Azores.

Journal entry: Attempting to get to Sea from Southampton,

Monday, November 11, 1861.

At 3:40 this morning I was informed that the engineer had

reported that the engine and its dependencies were all

overhauled and that it was ready for sea service. I went on

deck [where] the Pilot told me, and I could see for myself,

that the southwest gale was still blowing and too hard to

make anything against it, and the sea running in the channel.

I told them to wait two hours before starting the fires. At 6

a.m. there was some appearance of a lull but the Pilot told

me it was deception and that it was blowing as hard as ever

outside of the River in which we were at anchor. But I could

not bear the idea of remaining at anchor when there was a

possibility of the Gladiator keeping the sea so I ordered the

fires started and at 9-1/2 steam was up, our anchor weighed

and we made a start.

In the Southampton waters the wind was not very strong

but the moment we entered the more open water between

the Isle of Wight and the mainland it swept powerfully from

the southwest causing even in the confined waters quite a sea. The Pilot told me he would take me to sea through the

Needles but from the extreme roughness of the channel

outside we could make nothing to the westward. Several

vessels passed us from sea under the closest reefed sails for a

shelter in C[owes] Roads and many others had already
46 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

anchored there, off Spithead, and in Yarmouth Roads. I persisted in going onward and if nothing better also to anchor

in the latter place. We reached there but the great strength of

the wind and swell compelled me to acknowledge the danger

of anchoring in Yarmouth Roads with the lightness of our

anchor and the strong tides without keeping the engine going

at the expense of consuming fuel. It was with the utmost

reluctance that I agreed to the Pilot's wishes, turned around,

ran about ten miles back and again anchored at the entrance

to the Southampton waters six miles below the city. I felt

mortified at having to do so, only a sense of duty compelled

me for had we gone to sea or anchored at Yarmouth Roads

the consumption of (to us valued) coal would not have

recompensed.

I chafed all afternoon and done little else than run on deck

to ascertain if a change of wind had taken place. After night a small steamer, tender to the frigate Dauntless came down

from Southampton and anchored near, no doubt watching

what we were about. On retiring at night I only took off my

peajacket and shoes ready for a call if the weather moderated. At midnight I was again on deck, but the favorable

change had taken place and I told the Pilot that we must be

away before daylight.

Journal entry: English Channel, Tuesday, November 12,

1861.

At 2 o'clock in the morning the wind died away, steam

was nearly up and the anchor was weighed. The Pilot tried to

persuade me that the sea was still running too high in the

channel to go out. We did, however, go out passing the

Needles at 5 o'clock in the morning with everything in

perfect darkness around except the lights from the Light

House. Just after passing the Needles [I] discharged the Pilot.

We found some swell in the English Channel but not as much

as I had expected, the strong ebb tide having broken down in a great measure.

A little after meridian when off Start Point a steam

propeller was observed standing nearly the same course with

ourselves but closely hugging the land. She was a three

masted vessel and I had a strong impression that it was the

Gladiator. From the course she was going to shave Start
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 47

Point, ours would intercept her a mile or less from the land

and within the jurisdiction of Great Britain. I altered our

course so as to pass within good view of her that I might

make her properly out, at the same time give the impression

that she was not recognized intending to draw her off the

land that I might capture her not within three marine leagues

(the verbal advice of Mr. Adams) of a neutral land. Our

respective courses brought us near enough to her to find that

she did not in any respect answer the description of the

Gladiator.

By evening the James Adger had run the length of the English

Channel and Marchand set a southwesterly course to make a

landfall in the Azores where he hoped to intercept the Gladiator.

Journal entry of November 12, 1861 continued

'Tis said that she cleared at the London Customs House for

Tenerife but so much deception has been practiced by the

Confederates and their instruments that I have no faith in

them or their acts and clearing for Tenerife was only a ruse to

get me to go there whilst the Gladiator would take the most

direct route and if necessary coal at the Western Islands

[Azores]

.

Though he was at sea again, under a fair sky and homeward

bound, Marchand was once again in a melancholy mood. The

delays and bad weather had sapped his optimism and he found

much in his present situation to pity. His major concern was still

what to do about the Gladiator if and when he encountered her at

sea.

Journal entry of November 12, 1861 continued

It is my intention (God willing) to capture her if I can. [But] should I do so and not be able to prove her a proper

subject for capture (for I have not an iota of evidence to

prove that she belongs to the Southern Confederate States or

that she is anything else than a legitimately bound merchantman), I know that I will be dismissed from the Navy and be

mulct into damages far beyond my means of payment. But it

may have the effect of stopping the formation of other joint

stock companies in Great Britain to aid the south by

endeavoring to run the blockade.
48 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Should I be able to find the Gladiator and take her,

another subject presents itself that gives me concern. She is said to have passengers amongst which [is] a British Vice

Consul. What disposition to make of them has occupied my

attention. At first I thought of landing them in the James

Adger at the place of destination but that would conflict

with the "Act for the better government of the Navy" which

requires all papers found on board a captured vessel to be

sent for adjudication, therefore, I have come to the conclusion (if it should become my fortune to capture the

Gladiator) to send everybody found on board to the U.S. As

I said the consequence may be my total sacrifice but I will

alone assume this responsibility. The government can avoid

difficulties with England by releasing the vessel, assuming the

damages, disavowing the legality of my act, and of course

sacrificing me. I will have the consolation of knowing that

what I intend doing will be with the view of benefitting my

Country. Upon giving a course to steer at 11 o'clock at night,

I took a last look at the dim outline of the English coast and

retired to the privacy of my room and fervently prayed for

wisdom in action, the preservation of the ship's company and

our country and for the welfare of my family and friends.

For the next 6 days, the officers and men of the James Adger

steamed southward through gray seas. They experienced another

northwest gale on the evening of the 13th. Marchand did not sleep

that night as he "sat up and lay down" in his bed, but "without

closing my eyes." The gale continued for most of the night but

moderated in the morning. On inspection Marchand discovered

that the storm had once again washed the forward water closets

over the side, and the newly replaced port-side wheelhouse was

also washed away. Even more important, it was discovered that

"the lead suction pipe through the magazine . . . was again slightly

leaking creating a further dampness in the magazine."

Journal entry: North Atlantic, Thursday, November 14,

1861.

The sea and spray flying over kept the deck and every

person on it wet which together with the dust from the

bituminous coal . . . kept the officers, crew, and everything

black with dirt.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 49

The next day, though, Marchand noted that the "strength of

the heavy wind and rain squalls seemed to have exhausted

themselves . . .." For the next 4 days, in fact, the weather

continued to improve and though the seas remained rough, the

weather ceased to be a source of anxiety.

His greatest source of apprehension was now the dampness in

the magazine. On the 15th, he found that "the whole magazine

was damp and that, the ceiling was covered with drops of water

from condensation." He began to fear that all of the powder in the

magazine might be injured, and his apprehension was increased

because the condition of the sea prevented its testing. The next

day, however, the ceiling of the magazine was found to be dry.

Nevertheless, Marchand ordered the charcoal air filters to be dried

by the fires in the galley in hopes of making them more effective.

Monday, 18 November, finally saw the fulfillment of Marchand's prayers for good weather. "This has been the only truly

pleasant day we have experienced at sea since leaving the United

States," he wrote. The James Adger made 240 miles that day, and

Marchand took advantage of the good weather to exercise the men

at the guns finding that some of the powder, at least, was still

serviceable. In the afternoon, the island of St. Michael was sighted

to the south, being the northernmost of the Azores, and by

nightfall, the islands themselves were visible from the deck.

Journal entry: Horta, Island of Fayal, Tuesday, November

19, 1861.

At various times during the night I was up being in sight of

the Azore Islands. At 1:30 a.m. I went on deck to remain. At

that time we had the Island of Pico a little west of north

from us and by the light of the full moon it and the Island of

St. George were in full sight. The Peak of Pico was

occasionally obscured by passing clouds, still it served as a landmark. The course steering carried us five or six miles

from the land and our steam was so regulated at low speed as to be at the west end of the Island of Pico at daylight. At

seven it was daylight and we were off the channel between

that island and Fayal and at eight anchored off the town of

Horta, Island of Fayal, and sent a boat on shore to ascertain

privately if the Gladiator had been here and to procure from

60 to 90 tons of coal to carry us to the U.S. if nothing of her

had been heard. Three American vessels were at anchor which
50 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

showed their colors and four foreign ones who did not

exhibit them. Subsequently [we] learned that all the

American vessels were whalers. No steamers were in port and

on the return of the boat learned that no steamers had been

here for some weeks and no information could be obtained

about the steamer Gladiator.

After shifting berth twice, and nearly colliding with another

vessel, the James Adger finally came to anchor off a lee shore in

the crowded harbor. "It was mentally an uncomfortable place" for

Marchand "with a fresh wind and squalls and a lee shore so near at

hand," but it was adjacent to the coal depot and so Marchand

"determined to hold on," although "at the expense of much,

indeed intense, uneasiness of mind . . .."

Journal entry of November 19, 1861 continued

My intention was to have gone ashore (to which effect I sent word to the Vice Consul) 1

6

to call at the Consulate and

upon the proper civil and military authorities, but the

uncertain and precarious condition of the ship prevented;

Lieutenant Foster having in the morning told the Vice Consul

that should I not come ashore it would be owing to my

anxiety in getting away and the Vice Consul told him that he

would see the proper authorities and make the necessary

explanation.

Not until the afternoon did the crew start to take coal on board

because "baskets had to be rigged for whipping it in . . .." But by

evening coaling was completed and the James Adger once again

had a full complement (333 tons) of fuel. 1

7

Marchand spent part of his evening describing the beauties of

Fayal and dwelling at some length upon his own situation.

Journal entry of November 19, 1861 continued

The island of Fayal is picturesque and cultivated to its

greatest ability, but the lower class are impoverished and

The American consul, a Mr. Dabney, was absent in Boston and his son was acting

as vice consul.

1 7 The James Adger took aboard 38 tons of bituminous coal and 36 tons of

anthracite coal for which Marchand paid $1 1 a ton.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 51

almost in a state of want from the failure of the grape crops

for several years, the labor upon the vine being in a great

measure their means of support. Begging therefore is prevalent. Six miles across is the Island of Pico with the Peak so

near that it seems a short walk, but a day's labor on donkey

'tis said only will accomplish it. That Island is equally well

cultivated but the lower classes in the same condition there as Fayal. But little time had I to look with a curious eye upon

things around, my mind was too intensely engaged on the

work going on, being anxious to reach the U.S. to give

information of the Gladiator which now I am satisfied has

gone as claimed at the London Custom House, to

Tenerife .... Also to give the aid of the James Adger whether

for blockading or fighting purposes. It has been a subject of

much dissatisfaction that I have not been able to participate

in the landing of the troops on the southern coast and the

difficulties and dangers, my brother officers have done so,

and although this ship was the first assigned for that purpose,

she is necessarily absent and the other officers commanding

steamers may have gained renown, I have done nothing and

am lost to history. Not that I wish eclat for myself so much

as for my family, but my Heavenly Father who is ever watching over me for my good, undeservedly as I am, has

ordered everything for the best and I bow to His decree.

It was 8:30 p.m. before the coal was stowed, the ship's

bills paid, and the guns secured, when all hands were called

[to] "up anchor." Some delay was experienced in clearing a

line used for a lighter from one of the wheels and in heaving

up the anchor, but about 9 p.m. we were under full headway

standing out of the harbor of Horta. Half an hour after, we

were clear of the land and I gave a course for the Chesapeake

Bay. It was then only that I felt the fatigue, having been 20

consecutive hours on my feet on deck except for a few

minutes for my breakfast at ten in the morning and at dinner

at seven in the evening and probably half an hour with my

visitors in the middle of the day. The excitement being over

when I returned to my cabin I could scarcely stand on my

feet they were so sore and swollen and being enveloped in

coal dust .... Not hearing anything of the Gladiator was

mortifying as I had strong hopes of finding her here, but

divine providence willing it otherwise I bow to the decree and
52 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

hope my government will sanction my actions. For thy

manifold blessings and protection I thank thee my God.

• Three days after the James Adger arrived at Fayal, the Gladiator

steamed slowly into the harbor at Tenerife. She was delayed there

for several days while coaling and then put to sea again, arriving at

Nassau in the Bahamas, her listed and legal destination, on 9

December. At Nassau her valuable cargo was transferred to several

smaller and faster steamers for the short run into a southern

port. 1

8

For the crew of the James Adger, the next week passed without

incident. The skies were for the most part clear, the seas smooth,

and aside from the regular musket and gunnery drills, the most

notable event was the sighting of some flying fish. The ship's crew

took advantage of this time to put the ship in order after its bout

with the storm and the process of recoaling. Marchand set them to

"cleaning paint work, guns, [and] deck of the coal dust . . .." On

Sunday Marchand held inspection in quarters as usual and gave

thanks at night for the gentle seas and steady progress.

Progress was indeed rapid. The James Adger averaged nearly

220 miles per day during this week of calm. At the end of 7 days,

however, the Atlantic, as if to prove that it was not to be

conquered so easily, once again blew up into a gale.

Journal entry: From the Azores towards the Chesapeake,

Wednesday, November 27, 1861.

A [gale] sat in about 9 o'clock last night . . . and has

continued 'till the present time (8 p.m.) without diminution

accompanied at long intervals by rain and heavy wind squalls.

The ugly cross sea caused the ship to plunge so as to be

dangerous and steam was reduced giving only headway of

from 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 miles an hour. These heavy cross seas continued all day and some of the plunges were dreadful, but

altogether the ship rode the seas beautifully scarcely

dampening the deck except in the plunges when a whole sea would come over her forecastle and deluge the deck as our

course was head to it, nor could we keep away without

running far off our course as the swell came upon both bows.

1 8 See the report of the Gladiator's captain, D.T. Bisbie, to Confederate Secretary of

War Judah P. Benjamin, O.R.N., XII, 835-6.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 53

The gale moderated in the evening "and the sea immediately

went down." The weather once again became "clear and warm

with frequent passing clouds .... A very little gulfweed and

nothing else seen." But Marchand's mind was still troubled, not

about the weather, not even about the Gladiator which he now

realized had eluded him, but because of his own ignorance about

the progress of events in America.

Journal entry: From the Azores towards the Chesapeake,

Friday, November 29, 1861.

The last information we received from the U.S. was in

England and of the date 26th October, over a month ago.

What changes have taken place within that time I shudder to

think of. I may now have no country. Our destination is

Fortress Monroe but does it still belong to the U.S. or has it

fallen? Again where is the fleet of the Chesapeake? By some

fiendish devices of the enemy it may have been destroyed.

We have to pass within gun shot of Cape Henry, what

preparations may not have been made to fortify it to

endeavor to prevent entrance, what devices may not the

enemy adopt to entrap us who are in total ignorance of

affairs? Then again where is my family, but the thought is

too heartrending. My only hope for them and myself is that

merciful God who has ever protected us.

Journal entry: From the Azores towards the Chesapeake,

Saturday, November 30, 1861.

The remarks of yesterday were written towards 8 o'clock

in the evening. At that time it was blowing strong and soon

after it freshened to a heavy gale from the southwest. All

evening lightning was frequent from northwest to northnortheast and I anticipated bad weather but it came on

sooner than expected. The squalls of wind and rain were

dreadful and the sea during the night caused much pitching,

bumping and rolling. The consequence was that I was either

up or awake the whole of the night. At 4:30 in the morning I permanently took my place on deck and was there nearly all

the time 'till eight in the evening.

At five in the morning I went for Mr. Douglas, Chief

Engineer, to ascertain if additional speed could be made

without injury to the machinery as the wheels were only kept
54 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

revolving during the night, then for the first time he told me

that he had made a critical examination of the bunkers and

gave me the startling intelligence that there was only 100

tons of coal on board when I thought from his representatives the previous day that we had 140. It alarmed me as we

were in a southwest gale and not knowing how long the bad

weather would last and if it should continue we might have

to put back to Bermuda or run the risk of being lost.

Knowing the crankiness of the ship and her tendency to an

improper trim by the head where the coal is nearly out I had

219 round shot taken from the shot locker forward and all

the shot except one from each gun on deck stowed in the

after hold and spirit room and 50 grape and 45 canisters

taken from the forward to the after orlop. The weight of all

those were five tons, 965 pounds. This removal of weight was

to keep the ship by the stern as she pitched heavily and rolled

much. As far as possible to keep her stiff I had all the empty

water tanks and empty barrels filled with salt water to act as

ballast. The entrance to the Chesapeake is 300 miles off.

Journal entry: From the Azores towards the Chesapeake,

Sunday, December 1, 1861.

The northwest gale that sat upon us yesterday afternoon

moderated about midnight and this forenoon was perfectly

clear with light variable airs. About noon a breeze sprung up

from nearly south and continued freshening so that at the

present time (7 p.m.) it is blowing strong with cloudy

weather with the prospect of a bad night. We were still in the

Gulf Stream, the surface temperature has been running all the

time 73°. Not a solitary sail was seen all day. [Today we]

logged 160 miles but made good only 136, by far the shortest

run we have ever made. The entrance to the Chesapeake is still 180 miles off.

The ship is now light and has a natural list to port, in order

to remedy it, if possible, [I] shifted the kedge from the port

to the starboard guard and as many things in the hold as possible. Today sent up the fore yard and set foresail topsail

and fore and aft sails being the first time any sail had been set

since last week .... I thank my God that he has permitted

me, unworthy as I am, to see another holy day.
TO FIND THE GLADIATOR AND TAKE HER 55

Journal entry: Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay, Monday, December 2, 1861.

Last night was truly a bad one, it was blowing a gale from

the southwest, and a heavy gale too. I lay with my clothes on

in my bed for half an hour before 10 o'clock when I was sent

for to come on deck where I remained 'till 7:30 o'clock this

morning. Between 11 and 12 o'clock last night the temperature of the water fell six or seven degrees showing that we

had left the Gulf Stream. Ineffectual efforts were made to get

bottom with the lead until four this morning where it was

obtained at 25 fathoms. There was much lightning after

midnight to the south which indicated strong northerly winds

to follow and caused me to be anxious to get into port. The

brightest lookout for land was kept and before nine in the

morning the trees to the south of Cape Henry showed

themselves about the water.

I was not certain of the position of the ship and did not

recognize the land until the lighthouse on Cape Henry

loomed up. No pilot boats were outside and I piloted the ship

to the tail of the horseshoe where one boarded us and carried

us to the anchorage in Hampton Roads where lay Flag

Officer Goldsborough's squadron.

The long chase was over; an even longer vigil was about to

begin.
CHAPTER IV

"HEARTSICK AND TIRED"

3 December 1861-19 January 1862

The long pursuit across the Atlantic and back had yielded

nothing. In search of glory Marchand found only frustration and

disappointment. Yet he did not allow his ill luck to dampen his

enthusiasm. He was still anxious to make an important contribution to the war. Accordingly, he reported his arrival in Hampton

Roads to the commander of the North Atlantic Blockading

Squadron, Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough, almost as soon as the James Adger dropped anchor. But though ready himself for

immediate service, his ship would require extensive repairs. With

perhaps a touch of bitterness he wrote:

I have the honor to report the arrival of this vessel from

the English Channel after a fruitless search for the Confederate Steamer Nashville. The engines and dependencies require

considerable repairs before the vessel will be ready to keep

the sea, and the magazine is not in a condition to preserve the

powder. 1

Goldsborough responded that such extensive repairs could not

be completed in Hampton Roads. He ordered Marchand to

proceed to Baltimore where the navy yard was better equipped to

handle the work and where Marchand could report directly to

Secretary Welles. Marchand was at first loath to do so, fearing that

Du Pont would believe he had used his influence to have himself

sent to Baltimore because his family was there. But Goldsborough

was adamant, and so less than 2 hours after dropping anchor, the

James Adger was again underway, steaming north up the Chesapeake into the teeth of an "exceedingly cold" wind.

Marchand to Goldsborough, Hampton Roads, 2 December 1861. Marchand Papers.
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 57

Journal entry: Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay, Monday, December 2, 1861.

By seven in the evening the wind had gotten to north by

northeast and it commenced snowing and by eight it was so

thick that we were compelled to anchor having run [only]

about 60 miles from Hampton Roads.

They lay hove to for about 8 hours unable to see the

navigational lights for the snow, but at 4 o'clock in the morning,

though the wind continued to blow cold out of the northeast, the

snow finally stopped. The James Adger once again got underway

and all that day the crew battled headwinds and rough seas. It was

already dark on the evening of 3 December before they reached

Baltimore where "after a little trouble" they anchored off Fall's

Point. 2 After securing the ship, Marchand had himself rowed ashore and

by 8 o'clock was reunited with his family. His joyful reception was

partially marred by the illness of his son. "Poor little Frank," he

wrote, "was more sick than I expected." Nevertheless, he

immediately penned a letter to the Secretary of the Navy asking

for orders back to sea. "I most respectfully request that

instructions may be sent as soon as possible that I may be enabled

to join Flag Officer Du Pont's squadron to which this vessel is

attached."3 In order to make it possible for the James Adger to return to

active duty, repairs were begun immediately. From 4 December to

the 13th, the entire crew was "engaged in repairing the engine and

boilers and repairing ship." On 5 December, Marchand made an

effort to renew his crew as well as his engines. He wrote to

Secretary Welles for permission to replace sick members of his

crew with new recruits from the receiving ship Allegheny. 4

Marchand also had the powder which was left in the magazine

checked for potency by Army specialists at Fort McHenry. To his

great relief, it was found to be uninjured. 5 By the evening of the

2 From the journal entry of 2 December.

3 Marchand to Welles, Baltimore, 3 December 1861. Marchand Papers.

4 Marchand to Welles, Baltimore, 5 December 1861. Ibid. Marchand to Capt. A. A. Harwood (Chief of Bureau of Ordnance), Baltimore, 10

December 1861. Ibid.
58 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

12th, the James Adger was again ready for sea and Marchand so

informed the Secretary. 6 During this ten day period at anchor off Baltimore, Marchand

had occasion to demonstrate outward signs of a very characteristic

intolerance of drunkenness. Liquor, of course, was one of the few

pleasures accessible to the hands of the "lower deck," and during

the tedious days of blockading that were to follow, it would

provide the only break from the drudgery of shipboard life. But

Marchand, who did not drink himself, could not tolerate drunkenness in others, particularly in naval officers.

Marchand was not atypical in his opposition to alcoholic spirits.

Since the early 1840's the temperance movement in the U.S. Navy

had been gaining ground rapidly especially among the officer

corps. In 1842, Congress, on the suggestion of Secretary Abel P.

Upshur, passed legislation which halved the traditional rum ration

for sailors and eliminated it for persons under 21. By 1861 there

was strong pressure, both political and professional, to put an end

to this disgraceful tradition altogether. The next year, in fact,

would see the successful passage of a bill which would do exactly

that. 7 Nevertheless, during the week-long interlude at Baltimore "five cases of drunkenness amongst the crew took place and were

instantly and severely dealt with." That these cases were the result

of drinking while ashore and off duty did not moderate the

offense in Marchand's eyes. On 9 December, he reported Master's

Mate Frank M. Case to Secretary Welles for drunkenness and

recommended his dismissal. Marchand cited Case for "insubordination, and unfitness for service on account of indolence and

indifference in the performance of his duty for which he has been

repeatedly admonished." A terse postcript to this report records

that "the above has been shown to Mr. Case who remarked that he

had nothing to say."8 Unfortunately, Case's replacement did not fare any better. In a

letter to Secretary Welles dated only 4 days later, Marchand

reported that:

Marchand to Welles, Baltimore, 12 December 1861. Ibid.

7 A law banning the sailor's rum ration was passed on 14 July 1862. See Langley,

Social Reform in the United States Navy, 209-69.

o Marchand to Welles, Baltimore, 9 December 1861. Marchand Papers.
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 59

Letter: Marchand to Welles, December 13, 1861. 9 Three days ago George M. Rice came on board and

represented that he had been appointed as Acting Master's

Mate and ordered by the Department to this Steamer.

At that time he was drunk and did not bring his

appointment or orders. Since then he has not made his

appearance.

On one occasion, Marchand was so completely outraged and

mortified by the behavior of one of his officers that he felt

constrained to describe the debauchery to Du Pont:

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, March 7, 1862} °

I have to report Acting Master William R. Clark, attached

to this ship, for intemperance.

Yesterday evening when ashore on liberty he was in such

an utterly drunken condition that he had to be carried out of

the mud and into the boat by her crew, in presence of

officers and soldiers of the Army [italics added] , and on

arrival alongside of the ship had to be helped out of the boat

in presence of the ship's company.

I most earnestly request that he may instantly be

detached, as by seniority, he takes rank and command next

after the executive officer and his habits and inexperience

renders him unfit to fill that position, should circumstances

require his so doing.

Marchand was not always critical of his officers, nor was he

averse to recommending them for promotion if they displayed

competence, intelligence, and sobriety. During this same period,

Marchand sent the following recommendation to Secretary

WeUes:

Letter: Marchand to Welles, December 11, 1861. l

l

In the event of promotions being made among'st the

Acting Assistant Engineers for temporary service, I respectfully solicit the promotion of Acting Third Assistant

9 Marchand to Welles, Baltimore, 13 December 1861. Ibid. 10 Marchand to Du Pont, Femandina, 7 March 1862. Ibid.

1 1 Marchand to Welles, Baltimore, 11 December 1861. Ibid.
60 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Engineer Charles Kiersted and James Fox, now on board this

steamer.

Both are practical machinists, capable Engineers, and

faithful in the performance of duty. They have seen

considerable sea service; the former especially and fully able

to perform the duty of Engineer in Charge.

Even this handsome letter of recommendation, however, was to

have a tragi-comic sequel. Three months later, Marchand was

writing:

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, March 7, 1862.' 2

I respectfully report . . . Acting Assistant Engineers Charles

Kiersted and James Fox for being drunk on shore yesterday

evening.

Having finally completed the repairs on the James Adger,

replaced the sick members of the crew with recruits, and disposed

of the intemperate Mr. Case, Marchand informed Secretary Welles

that he planned to leave Baltimore on the morning of 13

December to join Flag Officer Du Pont's squadron at Port Royal.

Soon after steam was raised, however, Marchand "was informed

that a leak had taken place in the boiler."

Journal entry: Baltimore, Friday, December 13, 1861.

It required all the night of the 13th to cool and repair the

boiler. This delay was a great annoyance to me, although I was at home, as I wished to be rendering some service to my

country and twice I had taken leave of my family expecting

to be started for the southern coast.

It was on the morning of the 14th, therefore, that Marchand

and the James Adger departed Baltimore to begin what would

eventually stretch out to 3 years of blockade duty. Generally he

would find it less exciting than his transoceanic chase of the

Nashville. Oftentimes, in fact, he would feel that the monotony of

the blockade was even more frustrating than inspecting lighthouses. There would be dramatic interludes of action—at

Fernandina, at Charleston, and in Mobile Bay-but mostly there

1 2 Marchand to Du Pont, Fernandina, 7 March 1862. Ibid.
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 6

1

would be long tiresome days of lying at anchor watching a distant

shoreline. Nevertheless, Marchand was most anxious to embark,

and he rose early the next morning to rejoin his ship.

Journal entry: Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay, Saturday,

December 14, 1861.

At the dawn of day left Maggie, family, and Bolton

Mansion with the hope of riding in the cars [by train] to

Fall's Point but it was too early and had to walk all the way.

At 7:30 a.m. [I] was on board. Some delay occurred as an

officer had gone to the Post Office for letters and it was half

past eight before the anchor was weighed and we had started.

The Pilot had trouble in passing the small vessels at anchor

but without accident we passed Fort McHenry and about

noon were off Annapolis.

A little tug boat coming out of Annapolis sounded her

steam whistle for a lengthless time and we stopped. On her

reaching us, an Army officer informed me that the two large

steamers ahead were aground having run ashore on the night

of the 12th. I was compelled to decline giving assistance as I had dispatches for the Army and Navy at Port Royal. Besides

which they had made but little effort themselves in getting

off and had sufficient time to have telegraphed to Baltimore

for more tug boats if they had thought proper. No effort had

been made in lightening the vessels and my own impression

was that the captains of the steam boats did not care about

getting afloat.

We continued down the Bay under low steam as it was

useless to get to Hampton Roads before daylight for I could

not then see Flag Officer Goldsborough to report my arrival.

Journal entry: Hampton Roads and Atlantic Ocean, Sunday,

December 15, 1861.

Towards three in the morning it became thick and foggy.

We were then off Back River above the Horse Shoe in the

Chesapeake and at the Pilot's desire we anchored, nor did it

clear sufficiently 'till 7 a.m. when we started [up again] and

a little after nine anchored in Hampton Roads. I immediately

called on Flag Officer Goldsborough and finding that he had

nothing to send to Port Royal other than a letter bag I returned to the James Adger and dispatched a boat to the
62 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Post Office at Fortress Monroe for the mail which brought

back six large mail bags for the Post Office at Port Royal.

The officer of the boat informed me that he called upon

General [John E.] Wool who had no dispatches to send. 1

3

I informed Flag Officer Goldsborough of my action with

regard to the two steam boats aground near Annapolis, he

said I acted properly.

Soon after 11 o'clock in the forenoon our anchor was

again weighed and we stood seaward. At half past one in the

afternoon we had passed Cape Henry and shaped a course

along the land to pass clear of the Hatteras Shoals on our way

to Port Royal, South Carolina, to join Flag Officer Du Pont's

South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Father of all mercies

have compassion upon us.

Journal entry: From Hampton Roads towards Port Royal,

Monday, December 16, 1861.

At all hours during the past night I was called and

frequently on deck .... At [three in the morning] the

temperature of the water indicated that we had entered the

Gulf Stream and knowing that we must be off Cape Hatteras

I changed the course to southwest by west in hope of getting

out of the Gulf waters soon. But in [doing] it I was

mistaken, for it was 9 o'clock before our striking green and

cold water and then we were to the south and west of Cape

Hatteras. Hourly we sounded without getting bottom, the

ship being under full steam and therefore only about 25

fathoms line could run out. At noon with the lead got

bottom in ten fathoms water. Immediately referring to the

chart, which was a very old and imperfect one, [I] found we

were almost on Cape Lookout shoal. I was startled, had the

course changed to south and on sounding found nine

fathoms, and being impressed with the belief that we were

nearly on the shoal, changed the course at once to east and

soon after to southeast and then south. Less than half an

hour after changing to the latter course again sounded in ten

fathoms, a tide rip was ahead and on passing it [we] found

ourselves again in the Gulf Stream and on sounding had 45

1 3 John E. Wool, USA (1784rl869) was the Commander, Department of Virginia.
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 63

fathoms. Immediately [we] stood in on course towards Port

Royal.

The sudden changing of the depth of water convinced me

that the chart was incorrect or that the chronometer was

wrong.

Despite this near disaster, Marchand arrived off Charleston at 3

in the afternoon of 17 December. There he renewed his

acquaintance with Commander Parrott of the Augusta. "The

extreme smokiness of the weather" prevented Marchand from

sighting the city then known as the "Athens of the South," but he

found the stop a pleasant and informative one as he passed the

evening exchanging information with Parrott.

Before dawn the next morning, Marchand got the James Adger

underway again, intending to make the last 50 miles to Port Royal

in the predawn darkness in order to arrive just after daylight.

Journal entry: At Sea and in Port Royal, Wednesday,

December 18, 1861.

Directions had been given to the officer of the deck to call

me if we struck under six fathoms water and at all events to

call me at 5:30 as then we would be approaching the shoals

off St. Helena. About that time the water shoaled suddenly

to five fathoms and the officer of the deck called me, but I had not time to reach the deck before the ship grounded. The

wheels were backed, the men made to run across the deck to

give motion to the ship and in about half an hour we

gradually slid off into deeper water. The ship was aground

amidship upon a lump as we had plenty of water at the bow

and stern.

Luckily there was no damage to the James Adger as a result of

the mishap, and Marchand headed his ship to the south at reduced

speed. "About 9 o'clock" he sighted a most unusual fleet of ships:

"... we passed a fleet of vessels [about] 27 in number, ladened

with stone to obstruct the entrance of Charleston Harbor." The

brainchild of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Vasa Fox,

the "Stone Fleet" was designed to turn harbors into landlocked

seas by blocking the narrow ship channels. Though an imaginative

innovation, it was to prove a disastrous failure. Underwater
64 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

currents disturbed the sunken rockpiles, and the only strategic

fallout to the endeavor was the elimination of 27 ships. 1 4

Journal entry of December 18, 1861 continued

At 1 1 we reached the entrance to Port Royal and anchored

having neither a Pilot nor reliable chart. At 11:30 [I] sent

Mr. Foster in the Gig for a Pilot from the Squadron at anchor

in Port Royal distance about eight miles and at 4 p.m. he

returned in a tug boat when we started and reached the

anchorage off Hilton Head after Sunset. The Wabash, Sabine,

and St. Lawrence with a hundred other vessels were at

anchor.

Despite the impressive armada anchored in Port Royal Sound,

Du Pont was hard pressed to cover the entire South Atlantic

coastline with the ships at his disposal and he was pleased to add

the James Adger to his list of available vessels. "I have spread my

squadron to its utmost capabilities," he wrote to a friend, "and

sigh for more gunboats." He was also full of praise for the

converted merchantmen, like the James Adger, claiming that they

had "worked out remarkably well." 1

5

Consequently, Du Pont was eager to dispatch the James Adger

to immediate blockade duty. Early the next afternoon, Du Pont

informed Marchand that he was being sent to assume the blockade

of Georgetown, S.C., in place of the frigate Sabine which was

being sent north for repairs. In his written orders, Du Pont left

Marchand a great deal of discretion:

Letter: Du Pont to Marchand, December 19, 1861. l6

Sir, You will please proceed with the James Adger and

assume the blockade of Georgetown, S.C., from which

station I have had to withdraw the Sabine.

The bark Gem of the Sea will be under your orders ....

14 See Arthur Gorden, "The Great Stone Fleet: Calculated Catastrophe," United

States Naval Institute Proceedings, December 1968, 72-82; Howard P. Nash, "The

Ignominious Stone Fleet," Civil War Times Illustrated, June 1964, 44-49; and John E. Woodman, Jr., "The Stone Fleet," American Neptune, October 1961, 233-259.

Du Pont to George Denison Morgen, Port Royal, 24 December 1861. Du Pont

Papers, I, 285.

1 6 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 19 December 1861. O.R.N., XII, 41 1.
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 65

I leave to your discretion the best manner of covering the

port. You may sometimes, by leaving the Gem of the Sea for

a short time to watch it, extend a little your circuit to the

southward or chase a vessel in the offing.

Du Pont also requested that Marchand use the James Adger to

tow the disabled Sabine out to open sea from where she could

presumably make her own way north.

Journal entry: Port Royal and Charleston, Friday, December

20, 1861.

At the break of day we were prepared to leave but were

delayed a short time waiting for a coast pilot which I engaged

yesterday and for the pilot to take the Sabine to sea. By 8

o'clock the James Adger had run down about four miles to

where the U.S. Frigate Sabine, Captain [Cadwalader] Ringgold, was at anchor and [we] had her in tow. About ten we

were all safely outside .... [We] cast off and received three

cheers from the Frigate which was bound for New York for

repairs.

We steamed away, spoke to vessels bound into Port Royal,

and at 3 p.m. saw some steamers and other vessels at anchor,

we supposed, off Stono Inlet. We were going to Charleston to

deliver the letter bag and stood on. It was 4 1/2 o'clock p.m.

when we discovered that we had missed the reckoning and

passed Charleston. Stono Inlet was a mistake, it was

Charleston where we saw the vessels! We stood back and by

the light of the vessels anchored off Charleston.

The U.S. Steamer Augusta soon approached us and

Commander Parrott came on board. He informed me that a number of the Stone vessels had been sunk on the outer bar

of the main ship channel and that yesterday the secessionists

had blown up the Lighthouse. Upon delivery of the letter bag

I should have gone on towards Georgetown, S.C., but

Lieutenant Foster had left his pea jacket on board the

steamer Florida and as we could not find her position in the

darkness, I concluded to wait 'till morning.

Journal entry: Charleston and off Georgetown, Saturday,

December 21, 1861.

At daylight we started, ran alongside of the steamer

Florida and got Mr. Foster's pea jacket and then under low
66 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

steam stood towards Georgetown, South Carolina. We could

see the sunken stone ships on the bar, but could not make

out the ruin and the Lighthouse.

As the sun rose a breeze sat in from the northeast and

continued freshening and at 11 it was a stiff gale causing a

considerable swell. Until this time (9 p.m.) it has continued

with the prospect of bad weather for some time. I have been

informed that since the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron

has been on the station, that is from the latter part of

October, the weather has been almost calm and the sea

smooth as a mill pond. Since we passed Cape Hatteras we

have found it so.

I had supposed that the Lighthouse at Cape Romain had

also been destroyed by the Confederates and was agreeably

disappointed in finding it still standing which enabled us to

pass the shoal off it and shape a course towards Georgetown.

But Marchand had great difficulty in finding his station-indeed,

in finding Georgetown at all! The gale that blew up on 21

December lasted until the morning of the 24th and brought with it

a heavy rain which obscured visibility. Fearful of the treacherous

shoals, Marchand steered his ship away from the shore and for 2

days ran back and forth waiting for the weather to clear. He

lamented that it was "monotonous and comfortless ... to all on

board except myself who had the responsibility as I was on deck

nearly all the time, and when not there felt great uneasiness."

At about 9 o'clock in the morning of the 23rd, "a sail was

reported in the mist nearly ahead . . .." It was the Gem of the Sea,

acting Lt. Comdr. Irving B. Baxter, who graciously informed a

disoriented Marchand that Georgetown bore west by southwest.

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Monday, December

23, 1861.

We steered in that direction for a half hour and a

lighthouse was seen: dark, thin, and high like a minaret. All

about, particularly the coast Pilot, thought it was the

Georgetown lighthouse and we stood for it upon the proper

bearings. Land was seen from deck to the north and a white

object like a sail. I would have given chase to the latter but

saw that the Gem of the Sea was doing so and we continued

on our course. The dark, high lighthouse was visible but not
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 67

the land upon which it is built and the latter should [have

been] for at least four or five miles, but as we stood on, the

water shoaled more than the chart indicated and we got

almost on the shoal before I hauled off and then was

informed by the coast Pilot at my own suggestion that it was

Cape Romain. The Pilot then said that this white thing

thought to have been a sail was the Georgetown lighthouse.

We stood around the shoals and made the rest of our way

towards the white Georgetown lighthouse but was anticipated by the Gem of the Sea for she was off that place before

our reaching there and we ran around her and Captain Baxter

came on board. Merciful Father, I thank Thee for our

preservation and all Thy goodness towards us.

Journal entry: Blockade of Georgetown, Tuesday, December

24,1861.

This has been a busy day to us. The scrubbing of

hammocks took place but long before it was completed our

consort, the Gem of the Sea, was reported as a strange sail

and we prepared for following her. On discovery of the

mistake, preparations ceased but not long afterward another

vessel appeared in sight and we weighed our anchor and stood

for her. The stranger and Gem of the Sea were not far

apart . . . and [we] soon ascertained that the latter was in

chase of the former which proved to our sight a schooner.

The latter seemed ahead and running for the northern

entrance and we ran towards the lighthouse to prevent her

getting through that passage. The Gem of the Sea opened fire

upon her but the schooner succeeded in getting into North

Inlet and grounded. Her crew abandoned her and in a boat

succeeded in getting ashore not, however, before setting her

on fire. A boat from the Gem of the Sea went around the

Island to her and found no papers as the cabin was in flames.

On her stern was "Prince of Wales, Nassau, N.P." and as far as

could be ascertained was ladened with salt and oranges.

1 7

Not wishing to interfere with the Gem of the Sea in the

capture, we did not run close in as I could not then keep a

lookout to prevent the entrance or departure of vessels to

Georgetown but seeing boats going ashore from the Gem we

1 7

See Baxter's official report, O.R.N., XII, 428-30.
68 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

ran to where she was hove to and a boat came from her to

ask assistance in going in and destroying the schooner and

scouting the Island. I was perfectly willing to do the former

but at that instant a steamer was seen coming out of

Georgetown harbor and not having time to lower and man

boats, I stood at once for the steamer under heavy steam

which was about nine miles off. After running up that

distance, the strange steamer proved a tug boat and seeing us

in pursuit put back again and ran up the river. We then

turned and stood for the Gem of the Sea which had

anchored, and passed her stood in towards the Inlet and

anchored in 15 feet water, the James Adger drawing 14 feet 4

inches. We were then about one mile from the schooner and a

little less from North Island. I went on board the Gem of the

Sea and was informed by Captain Baxter that after our

leaving in chase of the tug boat he sent in a couple of boats

which got the schooner off shore and towed her to the

entrance of the inlet where she grounded. In the meantime a company of cavalry and one of footmen appeared on the

northern point of the Inlet and a number of armed men on

the southern point and [they] commenced firing minnie balls

at where the schooner then was aground about 100 yards

from the southern point. Finding the shots whizzing too

rapidly about them and not able to get her off, and she still

burning, [he] then fired her in other places and returned. He

(Captain Baxter) suggested sending in boats to destroy the

schooner thoroughly and as the same [suggestion] had been

made by Lieutenant Foster and thoroughly agreeing with

them (as I had made up my mind to do so before either had

spoken to me), I returned to the James Adger, had three

boats lowered and armed under Lieutenant Foster's command, and as we were ready for shoving off two [more]

armed boats came from the Gem of the Sea.

The sun had set sometime [previous] but in the twilight I could see that all the boats grounded, it being low tide, and

as darkness spread over they returned and reported that the

boats could not be dragged over the bar, they having gotten

within about 300 yards of the schooner and that there was

some deeper water between them and her preventing them

wading. The schooner was now in flames all over, her

quarters had burned down to the water's edge having been on
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 69

fire from 8 o'clock in the morning. The rise of the tide would

dissolve the salt and at least injure any arms which might be

stowed under it. It was sometime after dark when our boats

were hoisted and we hurried away to watch the entrance of

Georgetown harbor .... I should have mentioned that whilst

the boats were aground, armed men came from the houses

and sand banks and fired a shot or two, they were so near

that their voices were heard crying "there they come."

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Wednesday, Christmas Day of 1861.

As usual we were underway as soon as objects could be

distinguished in the morning. We ran to the northern

entrance of Georgetown harbor off which the Gem of the Sea

was cruising, spoke and told her that we would anchor in 7 or

8 fathoms water off the entrance and try fishing. We did so

but no fish were caught.

In the light air the Gem ran for us and as a boat from her

came alongside for fresh water, a sail was reported to the

south. Doubting if it was a sail or Romain lighthouse, I consulted the officer from the Gem who said it was a sail.

The water boats returned to the Gem and we stood for the

supposed sail. Half an hour after found the object to be the

Romain lighthouse and we returned to the Gem and sent her

600 gallons of water. It was sunset when the last boat with

water left us and waiting for dark we stood into shoal water

and anchored between the two entrances.

The bell was not to be struck during the night and the air

ports darkened to prevent our being seen as a couple of small

steam tug boats were in the channel below the lighthouse and

we were watching them. I thank Thee Heavenly Parent for

Thy protection, Thou has tempered the wind and the sea for

our especial benefit, and to thank Thee as I should I feel my

unworthiness. I feel that the prayer of my innocent wife is

heard at the throne of graces for our protection.

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Thursday, December

26,1861.

At daylight we were again away. The past night was calm

and did not permit the Gem of the Sea to take her station at

the northern entrance, consequently we ran toward the
70 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

lighthouse to prevent any entrance from the north as the

light air was from that direction. About 8 a.m. the mist

disappeared and we had a good horizon. The Gem of the Sea

was some distance to the south and east. Nothing was coming

out nor was anything approaching. We anchored about three

miles east by north from the lighthouse.

The day was employed in exercising the men at Great Gun,

small arms, single sticks and getting the boats prepared for

service. The object I had in anchoring was to await the

coming in of the Gem of the Sea to look out for vessels

coming from Georgetown, whilst we could run to the

northern part of North Island and take a look at the schooner

burned and sunk by the Gem two days ago [and] at the same

time to inform her commander, Acting Lieutenant Baxter, of

my intention to run to the south of Cape Romain tomorrow

to examfine] things there agreeable to the Flag Officer's

orders. The Gem was in sight all day but at a great distance

on account of the light wind and I waited 'till three in the

afternoon when we commenced weighing the anchor to take

a look at the burned schooner but its ground was not broken

when the smoke of a steamer coming down the river from

Georgetown was seen and we veered chain to wait for her.

The smoke of the steamer inside was vacillating and as the

evening advanced another steamer's smoke came down from

the direction of Georgetown. We weighed anchor ready for

them and lay without headway except occasionally for

steerage and just before dark placed the ship's head in a direction to induce the insurgents that we had anchored at

the Bottle or northern channel but after dark steered to the

south and anchored between that and the southern channel

to guard both entrances ....

The next morning, however, Marchand discovered that he had

dropped anchor much nearer shoal water than he had realized.

Not far away, in fact, was the hull of a sunken ship driven onto

the rocks by some forgotten storm. Marchand was filled with

curiosity about the wrecked ship and gave orders that the

Adger's boats be lifted out so that it might be explored. But

before it could be done, the two steam tugs which he had been

watching the day before began belching black smoke and

"showed a disposition to come out," while at the same time a
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 7

1

schooner came down the channel of the Santee River several

miles to the south.

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Friday, December

27, 1861.

I was in a dilemma, should I run round the shoals to catch

the schooner, the two masted steamers might run to sea and

as the wind had been light during the night the Gem of the

Sea was only [just] visible, and could of course, being a

sailing bark, render no assistance either in pursuit of the

schooner or by her guns prevent the egress of the two masted

steamers. We, however, got underway and lay without the

wheels turning ready for either emergency. About that time

the schooner anchored on the mud flats two or three miles

inside of where we could go and the two steamers were inside

of the Island on which the lighthouse stands. The wind about

1 1 in the forenoon breezed up from the westward. The Gem

of the Sea came within a reasonable distance of the entrance

to Georgetown and the two steamers got underway and stood

up towards Georgetown out of our sight. I then put a good

steam and stood towards the anchored schooner at the

entrance of the Santee River.

When rounding the shoals she was seen close under the

land on the flats running for Georgetown. We could not

approach her within three or four miles and contented

ourselves with turning round and following parallel with her

course. I saw her go towards Georgetown and as we were in

nearly eight fathoms water where fish might be caught

stopped the engine and as we drifted by the increased breeze,

anchored. An hour was consumed in fishing and only one

[was] caught ....

The next few days were marked by tedium. The only

excitement was provided by occasional sighting of sails in the

distance which proved with embarrassing frequency to be the Gem

of the Sea.

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Saturday, December

28, 1861.

All night and 'till well in the afternoon the northeast

. . . heavy wind prevailed creating a considerable sea. During
72 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

the night, after gaining an offing from the land, we stood up

and down parallel with the coast in about nine fathoms water

and about eight or nine miles from the land. At 2-1/2 in the

morning a sail was reported close by and we went to quarters.

So near was the vessel that we passed her before being ready

for action that we had to stop headway and after a few

moments ran alongside and found her to be the Gem of the

Sea, our consort in the blockade.

After breakfast a strange sail was reported as being in sight

close under the land to the north. Steam was raised and we

approached the land to prevent her entering Georgetown.

The crew was summoned to quarters and so certain was I of

her becoming our prize that I had arranged in my mind the

prize master and the crew to be sent, but we were doomed to

disappointment as on approaching found her to be the Gem

of the Sea.

In the afternoon the wind materially moderated and the

sea decreased. And we ran pretty close into the land above

the lighthouse to discover if possible if any forts had been

constructed by the Confederates and at the same time to

ascertain, if possible by vision, the cause of the numerous

fires burning along the coast and inland. No discovery was

made of any batteries nor could we ascertain the cause of the

numerous fires.

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Sunday, December

29, 1861.

A very pleasant day and weather for which I feel thankful

to the Great Disposer. It being the Sabbath Day I did not get

the steamer underway but let her lay at anchor all day. There

was no excitement; three false alarms of strange sails gave a

little change in the monotony of things. In the afternoon [I]

permitted the officers to take a boat to pull more seaward

into deeper water to fish, but they returned unsuccessful.

The Gem of the Sea was as usual far out seaward and only

stood in about dark.

On 30 December Marchand cruised south to Cape Romain light

searching the horizon for strange sails. Rounding the shoals off the

Cape, he spotted the masts of another vessel and gave chase. It was

the U.S.S. Augusta, commanded by his friend Commander Parrott,
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 73

who had been sent by Du Pont to commence the blockade of

Bull's Bay, a part of the coast which previously had been assigned

to Marchand. Du Pont's blockading force was increasing in

strength almost daily and Du Pont utilized that strength by

narrowing the areas of responsibility of individual ships. 1

8

The weather continued to be "smoky," making visibility

difficult, and so the James Adger anchored off Georgetown and

remained at anchor there for several days. During these several

days of inactivity, Marchand informed Lieutenant Baxter that he

should make ready to depart the blockade station and take the

Gem of the Sea into Port Royal to replenish her stores. Du Pont

had ordered Marchand to dispatch the Gem of the Sea on 1

January, but Baxter postponed his departure by 1 day because of

unfavorable winds. Marchand used the opportunity to write a formal report to Du Pont:

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, January 2, 1862. 1

9

I have the honor to inform you that on the 24th ultimo,

the Gem of the Sea, Lieutenant Commanding Baxter most

creditably chased, ran on shore, and burned the British

Schooner Prince of Wales of Nassau, New Providence, laden

with salt and oranges, at North Inlet, nine miles to the

northward of the entrance to Georgetown. A detailed report

will be made to you by the Commander of the Gem of the

Sea.

A small steam tug, or a two masted side wheel steamer of

apparently 400 tons burden, comes down daily from the

direction of Georgetown, keeping within the shoal water, and

generally inside of the long sand point, on which the

lighthouse still stands, and apparently looking around,

immediately returns. Whether they are armed or not, cannot

be ascertained, as they keep at too great a distance within the

shoals.

Apparently no batteries have been erected at the entrance

to Georgetown, but the depth of water is not sufficient for

this ship to make satisfactory observations, or to draw a fire

from the enemy.

1 8 Ironically, Parrott in the Augusta captured the blockade runner Island Bell in

Bull's Bay on the very next day, New Year's Eve, 1861.

1 9 Marchand to Du Pont, off Georgetown, 2 January 1862. Marchand Papers.
74 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

There is no battery at North Inlet, where the English

Schooner, Prince of Wales, was burned by the Gem of the

Sea.

The discharge of heavy guns, far off on shore, are sometimes heard as if at target practice, but so distant that it cannot be ascertained whether [they are] on the Santee

River or at Georgetown.

The position of the Augusta, Commander Parrott, blockading Bull's Bay, commands a view of Cape Romain

lighthouse and the coast south of it, and this steamer off

Georgetown, having in view the same lighthouse, makes the

blockade effectual between the North Inlet northward of

Georgetown and Bull's Bay.

On 3 January, the Adger "went slowly up and down before the

entrance of Georgetown." Marchand noted disgustedly that "the

only thing that affected the monotony was a small sloop-rigged

craft that came out of Georgetown and ran into the Santee

[River] over the sound . . .." The fog resettled over the James

Adger and two more monotonous days passed at anchor. On 6

January, however, the fog lifted and Marchand had his first look at

the fortifications which the Confederates were building.

Journal entry: Blockade of Georgetown, Monday, January 6,

1862.

At daylight we had westerly winds which remained all day

and rendered the atmosphere peculiarly clear, being in reality

the only clear day since reaching this place. Heretofore it has

been hazy and smoky although clear weather. At daylight we

stood in having the land in sight when the fog lifted and [we]

anchored northeast of the lighthouse. The Pilot thought he

saw something like tents (when aloft) across North Island on

South Island, upon which we ran into 3-1/4 fathoms water

1-1/2 miles above the lighthouse as near the shore of North

Island as possible and anchored. From aloft, a fort or battery

[could be seen] of a large size apparently constructed of

timber filled with earth from the fact of its walls being high

and perpendicular and alongside of it an encampment of 40

or 50 tents placed in three rows. A pile driver was also seen at

work and five piles were observed to have been driven and a boat rowing between it and the shore but no soldiers were
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 75

seen nor could cannons be seen in the fort or battery. Upon

completing the observation, we ran out to an old berth and

after dark again shifted position.

The ships in the squadron kept their deck lanterns shuttered at

night to make them less visible. In addition, Marchand made it a habit to shift the James Adger's berth after nightfall so that

potential blockade runners could never be sure where their jailer

might be anchored.

The next day, though again clear, the James Adger remained at

anchor and the crew spent the entire day polishing the guns. A few

small craft were seen within the sound, but "with those

exceptions, all was monotony." For the next week, in fact, the

James Adger ran up and down off the entrance to Georgetown

without sighting another ship. By 10 January, Marchand's monotony had become nearly intolerable.

Journal entry: Blockade of Georgetown, Friday, January 10,

1862.

The southwest wind continued all day but not very fresh

and we remained at the anchorage we had taken yesterday

morning. Nothing broke the monotony and I became

heartsick and tired. I paced the deck 'till tired, then tired

myself doing nothing in the cabin. This continued until 15

minutes before four in the afternoon, then we were at fire

quarters, when a steamer appeared in the offing. Our anchor

was weighed and we stood towards her. It was the U.S.

Steamer Connecticut, Commander [Maxwell] Woodhull,

going the rounds with supplies to the various squadrons. We

received fresh provisions for the crew and papers of the 7th. I received a letter from Maggie dated 15th October last.

Marchand also penned another official report to Du Pont which

testified to his growing boredom:

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, January 10, 1862. 20

I have the honor to inform you that nothing has transpired

here since my last communication ....

I also forward a weekly report of vessels boarded and

spoken [to] . None pass here.

20 Marchand to Du Pont, off Georgetown, 10 January 1862. Ibid.
76 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

We have fuel for about one week, at the expiration of

which term, all the coal remaining will be required for ballast.

Journal entry: Blockade of Georgetown, Saturday, January

11,1862.

The steamer James Adger is blockaded today or rather so

thoroughly enveloped in fog that cruising is impossible. In

consequence she remained at anchor at the same place she

came to last night after the departure of the steamer

Connecticut. We had not even a glimpse of the land and for

all I know vessels may have ran out of Georgetown, if any are there to go, and we saw nothing of them, but vessels could

not find their way in, which is a great consolation.

On Sunday, the Articles of War were read as they were every

Sunday when the weather permitted. In the early afternoon a sail

was sighted through the heavy fog and the James Adger gave

chase. Marchand was about to give up when the chase turned

towards him. It was the U.S.S. Keystone State. Her captain,

Comdr. William E. LeRoy, came on board the James Adger and

told Marchand that he was bound from Hampton Roads to Port

Royal. He had looked for the James Adger off Georgetown, had

missed seeing it, and was on his way to report to Du Pont that

there had been no ship off Georgetown when the James Adger was

finally sighted.

The next day the Gem of the Sea returned from Port Royal.

Marchand had expected that her commander would bring with

him orders from Du Pont for the James Adger to return to Port

Royal to recoal. But Baxter brought no orders at all. He did,

however, bring two letters for Marchand from his wife which

served to alleviate his melancholy, at least temporarily.

On 14 and 15 January, the Adger continued to run "up and

down in front of Georgetown." The fog, as always, was a serious

problem. Marchand was also concerned over the sickness that had

broken out on board, no doubt due to the continual dampness

from the fog. But mostly, he worried over his diminishing supply

of fuel. On 16 January, he signaled Lieutenant Baxter to come on

board and Marchand told him that unless he were relieved by

another ship very soon, he would have to take the James Adger

into Port Royal without orders. He supplemented these comments
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 77

by an official letter in which he stated the imperatives which

caused him to abandon his station.

Letter: Marchand to Baxter, January 16, 1862. 2 l

Sir, Our coal is nearly consumed and it will be necessary

for this Steamer to return soon to Port Royal for fuel.

I regret having to leave without a relief Steamer being here.

Some days ago I informed Flag Officer Du Pont that we

had but one week's fuel remaining, and expected a relief by

this, but as none has come, I will be compelled to leave

tomorrow evening or the day after for Port Royal.

You will be pleased to take charge of the blockade of this

place on the departure of this Steamer.

Marchand also wrote a private letter along with this official one

explaining more fully his dilemma and "perplexity at leaving

without being relieved." He reiterated the dilemma in his journal:

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Thursday, January

16, 1862.

I feel much perplexed with regard to the quantity of coal

on board. I am aware there is not much from the draft of

water which is only 11-1/2 feet aft and much less forward.

The chief engineer told me last night there was 74 tons of

coal on board by his personal estimation yet he could not say

positively there was so much. His assistants could not be

relied upon in [their estimates of] the consumption daily.

They entered upon their log slate the quantity used, but

heretofore their entries have been materially in error. From

New York to Queenstown, 65 tons were used above the

amount supposed to have been on board upon leaving the

former place, and I (most probably erroneously) charged it in a communication to the Secretary of the Navy to neglect on

the part of the selling of this steamer and the officer of the

New York Navy Yard. 22 Nor was I convinced of their

innocence until our return and saw 400 miles from Hampton

2 1 Marchand to Baxter, off Georgetown, 16 January 1862. Ibid. Also in O.R.N. , XII,

485.

22

See chapter II above, Letter of Marchand to Welles, Queenstown, Ireland, 30

October 1861. Marchand Papers. Also printed in O.R.N., I, 124-6.
78 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Roads where it was discovered that by neglect and inattention of [the] watch engineer we had consumed nearly 90

tons of coal after leaving Southampton without [its] being

logged. Since leaving Port Royal on the 20th ultimo, a deficiency of at least 19 tons (how much more I cannot

certainly determine, but it may be double that amount) has

occurred by neglect of the engineers which reduces the fuel

considerably and I know not what confidence to place upon

their representations .... The first thing I may hear is that we

are nearly out of coal and it is impossible with my other

duties to know the quantity in the bunkers and the

consuming quantity. After consultation with the chief

engineer, I had all the assistants summoned to the cabin and

they promised a strict adherence to weight in consumption of

fuel.

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, S.C., Friday, January

17,1862.

Up and down, up and down before Georgetown we ran all

night and until 2 o'clock in the afternoon with a heavier

northeast gale than we have hitherto experienced here and its

accompaniment, a heavier sea. Mist was falling all the time

with a heavy fog preventing anything being visible at even a short distance. This state of the weather was varied at short

intervals by rain and wind squalls rendering everyone on deck

extremely uncomfortable. Still I thank the Dispenser of all

good that it was not as uncomfortable as we have frequently

experienced here for it was not cold [but] rather comfortably

warm. In the mist and rain several reports of sail and land were

erroneously made from the mast head and which only served to

destroy the monotony of the day. On account of the gale, mist

and rain there was no exercise of the crew at any kind of

arms. About 2 p.m., after a particularly heavy rain squall, the

mist and fog drove off and with the hope of seeing the land

we stood in, nor were we disappointed for soon after 3 p.m.

the land to the north of Georgetown entrance loomed up in

the haze and not long afterwards the lighthouse was visible.

As we stood in, the wind gradually hauled to north by northwest and moderated and we came to anchor some distance to

the north of the lighthouse so as to be under shelter of the

land which then sweeps a little to the eastward.
HEARTSICK AND TIRED 79

In the evening after anchoring I found myself worn out,

my knees shaking and on sitting down could with difficulty

rise again, having been up nearly all the past night and on

deck nearly the whole of this day. I thank thee merciful God

that Thou hast not forgotten us unworthy as we know

ourselves to be.

Journal entry: Blockading Georgetown, Saturday, January

18, 1862.

We have been at anchor all day. The weather has proved

unfavorable to our running close to the land on account of

the fog. Nothing could be seen much beyond the ship until

this afternoon and then [only] faintly 'till nearly five in the

evening. At that time, our anchor was about being weighed to

change our berth more southerly off the Georgetown

lighthouse when a sail was seen in the offing which was

known as the Gem of the Sea. Our anchor was simply sighted

and again dropped and I went on board the Bark returning

Captain Baxter's call. It was then dark and I remained a couple of hours before returning to the steamer bringing the

Bark's letter bag for Port Royal.

Journal entry: Returning to Port Royal from off Georgetown, Sunday, January 19, 1862.

The face of the deep was covered with a dense fog until

late in the afternoon and only a glimpse of the Gem of the

Sea was had in the morning although she was at anchor not

over 200 yards off. At 9:30 a.m. we got underway for Port

Royal. It seemed a source of much joy to all on board except

myself. I was leaving my station before being regularly

relieved and I know not what the Commander in Chief or the

government may think of my ac[tion] . I have no instruction

from the Commodore although nine days ago I wrote to him

by the Connecticut, Captain Woodhull, that we had coal for

only one week's consumption, the balance would be required

for ballast to the ship. I had in Port Royal last month

informed the Commodore that there was not a pound of

ballast on board and that we were wholly dependent upon

coal as a substitute and that our experience in the English

Channel showed that 50 tons would not keep the ship

upright in bad weather and that I would deem the vessel as
80 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

being without coal if less than 75 tons was on hand. For

some days we have been without the latter quantity and in

the northeast blow of day before yesterday the ship listed

with a side wind so as almost to render the guns useless

should their services have been required. Last night the

Engineer in Chief reported our having 48 tons on board but

the gross error here before committed by his assistants in

keeping count of the expenditure causes much doubt in my

mind that so great a quantity remains and particularly as we

are so light .... Besides the condition of the fuel, the engine is in a rather

bad way, as one of the valves . . . will not work unless at low

speed, which should a steamer or fast sailing vessel appear we

would be helpless of overtaking. The crosshead2 3 has also a crack as mentioned some days ago, of which I do not

apprehend much, still the chief engineer thinks is worthy of

being thoroughly examined. Finally, there is a slight leak in

some of the boilers that requires calking and cannot be done

without being emptied which of course can only be done in

port. Yet with all these reasons I feel mortified at having to

leave my station without orders, doing so has been compulsory and I hope that my course of action will be

approved.

The fog was so dense that no land or anything else about

Georgetown was seen nor even Cape Romain lighthouse. It was my intention when starting this morning to have doubled

around Cape Romain, looked into Bull's Bay, and communicated with the blockading squadron off Charleston, but the

fog prevented nor did it clear up 'till we had passed the latter

place. Darkness overtook us before we had run the distance

to Port Royal's entrance and about 9 p.m., supposing we had

done so, we stood directly west and soon after made the light

in the ligthship anchored since our departure off this

entrance. We ran 'till three or four miles from it, then

dropped our anchor and wished for day. It was nearly

midnight before the chain was veered and I turned into my

berth but as usual undressing by taking off coat and shoes

only.

23 The bar joining the connecting rod with the piston.
CHAPTER V

"I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT"

20 January-27 February 1862

It was a tired arid apprehensive Marchand who took the James

Adger into Port Royal Sound on 20 January 1862. A thick fog lay

over the sound making visibility difficult and Marchand could not

sight the channel buoys. Deciding that conditions were dangerous,

he anchored, though his timidity elicited a disparaging remark

from Lieutenant Foster. Marchand kept the ship at anchor until

after 10 o'clock when the fog lifted somewhat and he spotted the

striped buoy at the entrance to the channel. Even so he was still

apprehensive because the buoy was not where it had been when he

was last in Port Royal. Though the pilot assured him that he knew

the way, Marchand was dubious.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Monday, January 20, 1862.

. . . the responsibility being on my shoulders, I hesitated

about entering and finally let go the anchor, being in deeper

water than we had been before and within 3 or 400 yards of

the striped buoy. The anchor was scarcely down when the

Pilot attracted my attention to the regular line of buoys up

the entrance and which had been shifted to another

place .... [Finally] we anchored after passing through the

regular channel, outside of the Wabash off Hilton Head in

Port Royal Sound. Mr. Foster made a sarcastic remark about

our distance from the other ships which was instantly

rebuked and I went on board of the flagship to report to the

Commander in Chief.

To Marchand's great relief, Du Pont approved of his bringing

the James Adger into port. They talked at length about inconsequential topics, and then Marchand excused himself to read his

mail which contained more good news: His son Frank was restored

to good health. That night his evening prayers were especially

fervent.
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I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 83

During the next week, Marchand renewed friendships with

several of his fellow officers whose ships were also in Port Royal

either for repair or as part of Du Pont's permanent squadron. He

visited Capt. Sylvanus Godon of the Mohican on the morning of

the 21st and received a visit from Lt. Comdr. George A. Stevens of

the Ottawa the same afternoon. Nevertheless he was anxious to get

back to sea. All that night he heard sounds "like the discharge of

cannons to the south."

Journal entry: Port Royal, Wednesday, January 22, 1862.

I felt that if anything was going on it was not proper to lie

here although our engine was apart and but a few tons of coal

on board with a dark drizzling night rendering it difficult to

get to sea. I consulted with the Chief Engineer who said he

could put the engine together and be ready to go out in four

hours. The longer that I listened to the sounds the more I was

convinced it was the discharge of cannons. So about 10 p.m.

I had a boat lowered and manned and started for the flagship

to represent to the Commander in Chief our willingness to go

out. Soon after starting, the sounds came from the east and I became satisfied [that] it was thunder and [as] it would

place me in a ridiculous light to go to the flagship, [I]

therefore returned to the James Adger.

For Marchand the camaraderie in Port Royal became almost

joyful the next day when Marchand's "ancient friend" Comdr.

Charles Steedman brought his ship, the Bienville, into the sound.

Marchand spent the afternoon and evening on the Bienville only

returning to his own ship sometime after 7 o'clock. "The night

was then so dark and misty that there was much difficulty in

finding the way back. ..." Marchand would doubtless have gone

visiting again the next day except that a heavy northeast gale set

in, "without doubt . . . the worst since leaving Baltimore," which

prevented him from leaving the ship. He was glad to be inside the

sound on such a day.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Thursday, January 23, 1862.

Those vessels out on the blockade are doubtlessly suffering

and if we were outside in our light condition I should feel

some apprehension of capsizing for as it is, in the smooth

place, we have an alarming list when the wind is even
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I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 85

partially on either side. So much do we careen that the

weather wheel barely touches the water and in the squalls of

wind and rain it is above the surface.

Aside from the weather, Marchand's greatest concern was that

he was being ignored by the Commodore in the assignment of

ships to expeditions.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Friday, January 24, 1862.

The northeast gale has continued throughout today. It has

been damp, rainy and uncomfortable and to me unpleasantly

cold. Everyone on board wears their pea jackets for comfort.

It was too rough to leave the ship upon a pleasurable

excursion and I have been brooding over my neglect of

activity by partiality of Commodore Du Pont for others. He

has three favorites: Captain Charles H. Davis, Commander

John Rodgers, and Commander Raymond Rodgers. They

have by regular turn been sent on such expeditions as to have

their reports ... in all the newspapers. Some months have

lapsed since their last and now some expedition is fitting out

and all three are going. I have not been even told that

anything is going on by the Flag Officer or any of his

satellites. The selfishness of the whole party to monopolize

all the honor has given me a most thorough disgust for

Commodore Du Pont's administration of affairs here. 1 I feel

sick that nothing in the way of action duty is awarded us. Lieutenant Commander [Daniel] Ammen of the Seneca came

on board and only inflamed my ill humor towards the selfish

advisor [Davis] of the Commander in Chief.

Marchand did not keep his feelings to himself. Two days later

when he was aboard the flagship on other business he emphasized

his great eagerness not to be excluded from any impending

expeditions. Though Marchand remained convinced that the Flag

Officer's "favoritism is injurious to me," he hoped that his

remarks had "made Du Pont aware of this fact." Meanwhile

pleasant weather returned.

Marchand was not alone in this opinion. On 2 October 1862, Secretary of the Navy

Gideon Welles wrote in his diary: "Admiral Du Pont . . . like many naval officers, is given

to cliques—personal naval clanship. This evil I have striven to break up, . . . but there are symptoms of it in the South Atlantic Squadron, though I hope it is not serious." Welles

Diary, I, 160.
86 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Journal entry: Port Royal, Saturday, January 25, 1862.

The gale from the northeast broke during the past night

and today the weather has been pleasant. This has been the

only truly satisfactory day (and might call it happy one)

since joining the ship in September last with exception of the

few days I spent in Baltimore. I almost abandoned myself to

enjoyment, throwing off as far as possible responsibility and

thought of the ship. The whole is owing to my friend

Steedman. For soon after breakfast he came on board and in

his gig pulled alongside of the Seneca, Lieutenant Commander Ammen, where we had not been long when [Captain] Godon of the Mohican was seen passing on his way to

the James Adger to call on me. On seeing us he also went on

board the Seneca and together with Ammen, Lieutenant

Commander [John P.] Bankhead and Lieutenant Commander [George A.] Stevens [we] spent an hour. Then

Godon, Steedman and myself in the gig of the former pulled

to some vessel which had private stores for sale. Then [we]

landed on Hilton Head Island [where we] examined and [I]

had explained to me Fort Walker and the attack and taking

of it, then returned with Steedman to the Bienville where we

dined and agreeably spent the time 'till 11 o'clock at night.

Altogether it was amongst the happy days of my life as for so

long a period I have been isolated and living gloomily in my

solitary cabin.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Sunday, January 26, 1862.

A pleasant day with a cool north easterly wind. This has

been another day of satisfaction to me, it was spent from 11

in the morning to 6-1/2 p.m. with my two friends Steedman

and Godon.

Godon, Steedman and myself pulled on shore to Bay

Point, the opposite side of the entrance from Hilton Head

Island; examined the Fort which played upon our attacking

fleet on taking this place; witnessed the inspection of the

Battalion of Marines composed of four companies, commanded by Major [John G.] Reynolds; went to the Major's

quarters, saw him; returned to the Mohican, dined with

Godon, and at 8-1/2 p.m. have finished [writing] this.

While on board the Mohican, Marchand learned that Capt. John

S. Missroon of the Savannah had been detached from the South
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 87

Atlantic Squadron and ordered north. Du Pont suggested that he

leave behind any armaments that would be useful to the ships

remaining on station. On hearing of this, Marchand asked about

the possibility of obtaining a heavy caliber howitzer and some

shells. He had long been concerned about the lightness of the

battery on the James Adger and saw this as a splendid opportunity

to improve it. 2 Du Pont approved the transfer but the deed proved

unexpectedly difficult. The James Adger's yardarm was too weak

to hoist the large howitzer, and a gunnery officer from the

Savannah suggested that the James Adger's gunports and structural

support were not suited to such a large gun. So Marchand had to

be content with a new 12-pound howitzer for his ship's launch.

Resignedly he wrote: "We will be compelled to continue with our

light battery."

Another disappointment during this otherwise pleasant interlude in blockade duty was the discovery of yet another inebriated

officer on board the James Adger. When Paymaster William

Greenway was asked to make up transfer papers for two of the

crew, he was found to be "so drunk that he could not make out

the accounts." But the Savannah, on which the two detached

crewmen were to sail, would not leave until the next day and

Marchand was hopeful that "the paymaster will be sober enough

to make [their papers] out tonight or tomorrow morning."

Journal entry: Port Royal, Tuesday, January 28, 1862.

SorA after daylight this morning the Paymaster sent for

my signature on the transfer accounts of Mr. [Samuel] Huse

and a seaman to the Savannah, mentioned yesterday. I turned

out and found them erroneous, sent them back, and in half

an hour they were returned. I approved them. I was really

glad that those papers were prepared or it would have

prevented those two sick persons from returning to the north

as the Savannah sailed soon after noon. This morning after

breakfast I had the paymaster summoned to the cabin and

read to him the form of a pledge to abstain from drink to be

witnessed by his messmates who were told in the pledge that

it was their duty to report a violation of its spirit. The

preamble to the pledge recited that through intemperance he

2 See above, chapter I. Marchand to Du Pont, New York Navy Yard, 11 October

1861. Marchand Papers.
88 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

had for three or four days when the ship was in Baltimore,

been incapacitated from duty and that yesterday from the

same cause he was incapable of making the transfer accounts

of the two persons mentioned in the beginning of the day's

remarks. I showed him an enveloped letter to the Flag Officer

and told him it was a report of his conduct, that it was left

with him to write, sign and have the witnesses signatures to

the pledge above mentioned, delivered to me before 10

o'clock as then I was going to the flagship. That did I not

receive the written pledge before starting, I would give the

Flag Officer my report of his condition yesterday and that if

his pledge was received by that time, it was my duty to show

it to the Commodore as his condition yesterday was

notorious in the squadron. I further stated that it was my

imperative duty under ordinary circumstances to report to

the Commander in Chief the facts but in so doing it would

cause delay in having a board of surveyors to examine

everything in the paymaster department preparatory to their

transfer to another person, and the interests of the government requires that the ship should go on blockading duty

without delay. He most willingly accepted the pledge and

before 10 a.m. it was delivered to me.

In the afternoon, Marchand allowed himself to forget about heavy

caliber howitzers and intemperate paymasters and the rest of his

day was again spent visiting. Marchand had himself rowed over to

the Mohican to see Godon, but finding him ill, he went instead to

the Bienville to visit Steedman. In the evening he received a visit

from Comdr. Edmund Lanier of the Alabama.

Despite the holiday atmosphere, the mission of the South

Atlantic Blockading Squadron was as pressing as ever; indeed in

many ways it was more pressing than ever before. Throughout the

month of January, Flag Officer Du Pont received urgent letters

from Secretary Welles repeatedly stressing the importance of

maintaining a tight blockade. Welles' greatest concern was not that

supplies might slip through to the Confederacy, but that European

governments would interpret a leak in the blockade as proof that

the United States could not control the coastline, a state of affairs

which might encourage them to intervene in the war. Only by

making the blockade thoroughly effective, he felt, could such

charges be disproved. "By cutting off all communication," he
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 89

wrote on the 25th, "we destroy any excuse or pretext on the part

of foreign governments to aid and relieve those who are waging

war upon the [Federal] government."3 The blockading force had

done a magnificent job to date, he wrote, but it was absolutely

essential that the entire coast be secured, that victories continue.

Letter: Welles to Du Pont, January 20, 1862. 4 Your reconnaissances and demonstrations have given great

satisfaction. We are all proud of our arm of the service, which

has certainly struck effective blows when it has made the

attempt. This is important in the war we are waging. There

should be no defeats. Let us have success whenever we do

move, and the country will forget its impatience.

Du Pont described the predicament to his wife a week later. In

order to prevent the British and French from attempting to break

the blockade, he wrote, "we should be able to prove to unwilling

ears that the whole of this 1,500 miles of coast is almost

hermetically sealed: From Fortress Monroe to the Rio Grande."5 Welles took the opportunity at one point to suggest to Du Pont

how he might accomplish such a difficult assignment: "There

should not be a concentration of vessels at any given point,

but . . . they should be spread so as to make the blockade effective

throughout the whole extent of coast under your supervision."6 But this directive offered no real solution. Du Pont's theater

extended from Key West to the border of North Carolina, and his

two greatest concerns were the cities of Charleston and Savannah.

Some concentration at those points was therefore essential. Both

cities were protected by strong fortifications which guarded the

main ship channels. Though both cities were blockaded, no

blockade was entirely secure, as Du Pont was learning, unless the

blockading force had possession of those fortifications. On dark

nights or in foggy weather, swift blockade runners could, and did,

run into or out from either of these cities by one of several ship

3 Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 25 January 1862. O.R.N., XII, 522.

4 Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 20 January 1862. Du Pont Papers, I, 317.

5 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 17 February 1862. Ibid., 326.

6 Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 25 January 1862. O.R.N., XII, 522.
90 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

channels. Occasionally they were captured by ships of the

blockading squadron, but not often enough to discourage further

attempts.

The "stone fleet" sunk in the main ship channel at Charleston

was one attempt to make the blockade more secure; but at

Savannah, Du Pont decided to try a different approach. There

Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island in the Savannah River commanded the narrow ship channel into the harbor. Unlike Port

Royal, where Du Pont's fleet had been able to maneuver in the

spacious waters of Port Royal Sound, keeping Forts Walker and

Beauregard under a constant fire, there was not room in the

Savannah River for an entire fleet to maneuver, and once having

passed the fort, they would be trapped. To attempt a direct naval

assault on the fort itself, therefore, would be to invite a repulse,

and Secretary Welles had already warned Du Pont that "There

should be no defeats." Du Pont, therefore, sought some means of

bypassing the main channel. He sent his "favorites," Capt. C.H.

Davis and Comdrs. Raymond Rodgers and John Rodgers, to

attempt a passage through the marshy inlets north and south of

the city. This was, in fact, the expedition Marchand had heard

about on 24 January, but about which he had been told nothing.

Du Pont sent Davis to Wassaw Sound, south of Savannah, with

the larger force: six gunboats, two armed launches, and three

troop transports. He was accompanied by Comdr. Raymond

Rodgers and Gen. Horatio G. Wright, in charge of the embarked

troops. This force was to make a demonstration in Wassaw and to

conduct a reconnaissance to determine if either the Wilmington or

the Tybee Rivers could be made navigable. They could not. (See p.

99.)

Comdr. John Rodgers was charged with a similar task for the

river inlets north of the Savannah River. With a smaller force he

succeeded in passing through Wall's Cut into Wright's River, but

became bogged down in attempting to navigate the aptly named

Mud River through to the main ship channel. 7 Nevertheless, he

continued trying to find a passage. During high tide a few of the

gunboats could make a little progress, but they became stranded at

Rodgers' failure to pass beyond Wall's Cut was a great relief to the Confederate

defenders. Gen. Robert E. Lee, in charge of the coastal defense, had written, "If the

enemy succeed in removing the obstacles in Wall's Cut and Wilmington Narrows, there is nothing to prevent their reaching the Savannah River, and we have nothing afloat that can contend against them." Lee to General Thomas Cooper, Savannah, 29 January 1862.

Ibid., 504-5.
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 9

1

low tide, helpless, immobile targets to the guns of Fort Pulaski.

Perhaps prompted by Welles' latest letter, Du Pont advised caution

and decided to send another officer to determine the feasibility of

continuing the attempt. The officer he chose was Marchand.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Wednesday, January 29, 1862.

In the morning Lanier stopped alongside and together

[we] went and saw the Flag Officer on business intending

afterward to cross over to near Hilton Head to procure mess

stores, but immediately on seeing [us] he directed me to take

the steam tug Hale and go to the assistance of John Rodgers

on the north side of the Savannah River. [I was] to start as soon as the Hale came in from relieving the Savannah which

had grounded on the bar outside. Expecting her every

moment, I did not go after mess stores but returned to the

James Adger and made preparations for starting on the

expedition. In vain I waited. The Savannah sloop still

remained aground and the tug Hale alongside. In the

meantime the Flag Officer in company with General

[Thomas W.] Sherman started in a steamer for the Savannah

River and its surroundings to know the action of the

combined Naval and Military expedition to penetrate the

Savannah River from both sides above Fort Pulaski, but

before leaving, [he] sent word that the Hale would be

employed all day and to go tomorrow morning. This I understood to be virtual abandonment of the contemplated

expedition of the Hale and therein I was not disappointed for

in the evening Commanders Davis and Raymond Rodgers,

amateur leaders, returned with the information that the

expedition had not succeeded in getting into the Savannah

River above Pulaski but [had come] so near that they were

enabled to shell the passing vessels. 8 In the evening Steedman also returned and after night I called upon him having in the afternoon spent an hour with

Godon who is still sick. During the day received a letter from

Maggie, all the family were well except Frank and he is

improving. It was a gloomy one in consequence of the ill results of my most happy ten days visit to Baltimore the

See Davis' official report, ibid., 523-6. According to at least one participant,

Lieutenant Commander Ammen of the Seneca, who later described the action, the

vessels withdrew "having accomplished fully the intended object, which was to frighten

the enemy." Ammen, The Atlantic Coast, 47.
92 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

beginning of last month. I had brooded over her suffering and

could not make up my mind to do even writing but went to

bed at nine and was not yet warm when a communication

was received from Captain [Hugh Y.] Purviance [of the St.

Lawrence], the senior officer, stating that the sloop Savannah was in a most dangerous condition owing to the strong

wind and sea and that the James Adger had to go to her

assistance. The fires were kindled in the furnaces, the Pilots

sent for, and at 10-1/2 [I] went on board the St. Lawrence

to report this ship ready whence the steam was raised. From

that time 'till midnight I was on deck superintending things

as the habits of the executive officer have recently rendered

it necessary.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Thursday, January 30, 1862.

Quite a strong south wind blowing. It was about two in the

morning before steam was raised and our anchor weighed.

The night was dark and not a buoy on our way down was

seen except the one on Fishing Rip Shoal. The Pilot was a good one and I had confidence in his judgment; he felt his

way down by soundings. At one time [he] turned back a couple of miles having gotten out of the proper .channel as the difficulty with both him and myself [was that] neither

[of us] knew in what channel the sloop Savannah was

grounded. The light boat outside was visible as well as the

lights of the sloop and three steamers rendering assistance.

Yet all the array of lights but added to the difficulties. I confess uneasiness yet infinitely less than I would under

other circumstances as we were going to the relief of the

distressed when danger was imminent from the heavy running

sea and strong wind.

It was about five in the morning and before daylight that

we reached the place when indistinctly we could see her

masts and hull, probably 100 yards off from her, where we

anchored and a Pilot was sent to sound and go on board and

say to Captain [John S.] Missroon that the James Adger was

here for his relief. On return of the boat I was informed that

whilst our boat was there the Savannah slipped off [the bar]

on which she was aground and was at her anchor and that

Captain Missroon would signal us if our assistance was

required.
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 93

Daylight only brought more confusion as the steam tug Marion

came out of Port Royal and attempted to pass a hawser line to the

no longer aground Savannah. Meanwhile, Marchand got the James

Adger underway and tried to come alongside the Savannah to hail

Captain Missroon. In the midst of this confusion, the Savannah

suddenly slipped her cable and made sail heading back into Port

Royal. The James Adger and the Marion followed lamely in her

wake.

Journal entry of January 30, 1862 continued

On our anchoring I reported [these] proceeding[s] to

Captain Purviance, the senior officer, and had scarcely done

so when the Commander in Chief's flag was hoisted on board

the Wabash, showing that he had returned from yesterday's

reconnaissance and a signal for a boat to be sent to him from

his ship. The return boat gave information that we were to

tow the sloop Savannah to sea at six o'clock tomorrow

morning.

Du Pont's message implied that after towing the Savannah to

sea, the James Adger would then be sent out on blockade duty.

Marchand therefore spent the afternoon supervising the loading of

215 tons of coal to top off the bunkers and by evening was

exhaustedJournal entry of January 30, 1862 continued

I am a worn out man, not having closed my eyes for 38

hours, so I will soon go to bed as I have to get ready for

towing the Savannah at five o'clock tomorrow morning.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Friday, January 31, 1862.

Was up at four in the morning and at five the anchor was

being weighed. The night (for still it was darkness) was thick

and foggy and as the promised Pilot had not come on board I had much trouble in finding the way to the Savannah sloop

to take her tow. Some difficulties occurred such as after

getting into position the anchor would not reach the bottom

as the chain was jammed in the hawsehole, then after

steaming a little ahead to heave it up, got too far off for the

hawser to reach (on account of the darkness) when another

anchor was let go, then again after getting into position the
94 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

line for hauling the hawser from the Savannah parted .... The Savannah, Captain Missroon, however, was safely towed

to sea and we cast her off outside of the lightship.

I had expected that orders would have been given by the

Flag Officer for our going on blockading duty but was

disappointed and returned ... to our old berth. Steedman in

the Bienville returned about one and promised to dine with

me. [I] went to ask Lanier to do the same, [but] he had

dined upon a leg of lamb [and] I had the uneaten part sent

into my boat as the only fresh meat for my dinner.

Lieutenant Commander [George A.] Stevens was with Lanier

and he joined Steedman and myself at three p.m. and we sat

at table 'till eight p.m.

That evening Marchand formally reported to Flag Officer Du

Pont that the James Adger was ready for sea, probably as a gentle

reminder of his eagerness to be sent on some expedition. To

reinforce his reminder, he had himself rowed to the Wabash the

next morning. His excuse for making the trip was "to explain

more fully [his] need for additional coal to serve as ballast." Du

Pont, however, was not aboard and Marchand talked with C.H.

Davis, who promised that the James Adger would get 50 tons of

additional coal. In the afternoon, Marchand went aboard the

Alabama at Lanier's invitation and was "in agreeable anticipation

of" a turkey dinner when he received an order from the flagship to

take the James Adger "some distance down the harbor to a coal

ship."

Journal entry: Port Royal, Saturday, February 1, 1862.

I was hungry but returned to the James Adger, got

underway, stood down and ran alongside making fast, but

not without a little trouble owing to not reversing the engine

in time to prevent our shooting some 10 to 12 feet too far

ahead and by carelessness a boatswain mate fell overboard

but soon was picked up. That was the exception to our

successfully working a large ship in a strong tideway.

Immediately our fasts were secured, the coal brig's anchor

weighed and we were standing back towards our old

anchorage. In the meantime the rain commenced falling and

it fell with violence. For a time it was doubtful if we could

find the way to our old anchorage on account of the heavy
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 95

mist and rain but partially clearing, we anchored not very far

from the desired place.

By the time Marchand got back to the Alabama, dinner was

over, but he stayed on board anyway and joined the general

conversation over coffee.

All the next day Marchand waited in vain for orders from Du

Pont. Once, in fact, he ordered preparations for getting underway

when a messenger from the flagship came aboard with a sealed

envelope, but the contents proved to be only a copy of General

Order Number One "relative to intercourse with the shore and

contrabands." Towards afternoon, the weather turned ugly with a northeast gale blowing most of the day and so Marchand curtailed

his visiting and remained on board ship. The next few days,

however, were once again filled by the exchange of visits and

convivial conversations.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Monday, February 3, 1862.

A pleasant day. Called on board the flagship on duty, then

on Steedman in the Bienville and accepted an invitation from

him to dine. In the evening he and I called upon Captain

Lardner of the Susquehanna and with Steedman spent the

evening with Lanier on board the Alabama.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Tuesday, February 4, 1862.

Another rather pleasant day. After quarters [I] pulled over

to Hilton Head, met Steedman, strolled around, and returned

to the ship at half past 12 stopping on the way and

purchasing clothing and mess stores from a private ship.

Steedman dined with me and we together spent the evening

with Godon in the Mohican.

On the afternoon of the fourth, the U.S.S. Hartford with Flag

Officer Farragut on board dropped anchor in Port Royal and

received a 15-gun salute from Du Pont. The next day, Marchand

finally received orders to sea.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Wednesday, February 5, 1862.

Yesterday [I] had arranged with Steedman to ride to the

south end of Hilton Head Island today and wrote to the

Captain of the Fleet to that effect. After eight last evening a
96 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

tug came alongside and said to send a boat to the flagship. On

its return, information was given that I could leave but to

stop at the flag[ship] on my way. After quarters in the

morning, [I] pulled to the Bienville, engaged to meet

Steedman on board the U.S. Steam Sloop Hartford, and I went on board the Wabash seeing Flag Officer Du Pont. He

told me that it would be necessary that the ship [James

Adger] should tomorrow go to Tybee to keep up an efficient

steam vessel [there] whilst the Pawnee, Commander [Percival] Drayton, was overhauling a portion of its engine.

That evening Marchand spent one more enjoyable dinner on

board the Alabama with Commander Lanier before making

preparations to leave the next morning.

Journal entry: Port Royal and Tybee Roads, Thursday,

February 6, 1862.

As soon as there was sufficient light in the morning, [I]

made signal for permission to shift berth to be near the

flagship for the facility of communicating and before eight it

was effected. Before nine, boats passed between the two

ships, and twice I attempted to start but was prevented by

signal as more communications were to be sent. At 9-1/2 we

started and I gave directions to our coast pilot to take the

ship out of Port Royal. [But] soon I discovered that he was

drunk or stupid and undertook the pilotage myself sending

him below. Some distance down [the harbor we] met a pilot

boat coming up and, availing myself of an order from the

Flag Captain, anchored and took a Tybee Pilot from the

boat.

In coming out [we] met the Steamer Atlantic with large

mails from New York and late newspapers and [I] regretted

[that] we could not get our portion. After getting out of

Port Royal entrance, the Pilot obtained from the pilot boat

carried the ship towards Tybee Island. The low coast of

South Carolina and Georgia was in sight but it was by the

masts of the blockading vessels that we saw where Tybee

Roads lay long before the lighthouse on Tybee Island was

seen. The Pilot found some trouble in sighting the entrance

buoy, but when found had no difficulty in running into

Tybee Roads. It was high water and we carried 20 feet at the
Comdr. Percival Drayton, USN

U.S. Navy Photograph
98 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

shoaled place. I do not think I will go to sea at low water as there is only 14 feet and we draw that amount of water.

[We] found at anchor the U.S. Steam Sloop Pawnee,

Commander P. Drayton, the Steam Wyandotte, Lieutenant

Commanding William D. Whiting and the sailing sloop of war

Vandalia Commander [Francis S.] Haggerty. Immediately on

anchoring, boats came from the two latter for their mails and

I was happy in being able to deliver large ones to each.

Upon anchoring, I called upon Commander Drayton and

remained but a few minutes to give him a chance of reading

his letter. The U.S. flag is flying upon the ruined lighthouse

and the fort in construction upon Tybee Island and the

Confederate flag on Fort Pulaski, Cockspur Island, just

without gun shot of our anchorage.

The daily routine in Tybee Road, however, was nearly as leisurely as that in Port Royal Sound. Marchand spent his first day

on station familiarizing himself with the defenses, but the

excursion took on the atmosphere of a sightseeing expedition.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Friday, February 7, 1862.

This has been represented to have been the best day as regards the weather that has been experienced here for many

weeks. Each good day at this season is called the weather

breeder and of course we must expect bad weather before

midnight.

Since returning from the blockade of Georgetown I like to

lay in bed in the morning and being at anchor rarely rise

before 8-1/2 in the morning. Such was the case today and

after breakfasting, [I] pulled to the Pawnee and with

Drayton went ashore on Tybee Island. It is lumped with sand

hills of 15 or 20 feet elevation on the northern side, along

which is the entrance channel to the Savannah River.

Amongst the sand hills stands a Martello tower compound[ed] of shells and cement 8 or 10 feet in thickness

towards the base erected during the Revolutionary War.

Around this tower the Confederates had commenced the

erection of a fort or battery which was abandoned when

Hilton Head was taken. Since its occupation by our forces

(one Regiment and a half) the fort has been completed and

with the exception of three or four large guns, field pieces are mounted upon it. Two other masked batteries have been

100 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

constructed looking towards approaches by sea from the

direction of Fort Pulaski. The Fort as well as the batteries are within range of the guns of Pulaski and occasionally a shot is

fired which falls near but the sand hills and pine bushes

prevent the enemy from seeing the effects of their shot. We

have no guns mounted or [present] at Tybee that can throw

a shot as far as Pulaski, consequently [they] do all the firing.

After the enemy abandoned Tybee Island they returned

one night before its occupation by our troops set fire [to]

and burned the wood work inside of the lighthouse, which

house is of great elevation and the conflagration cracked the

wall towards the top so as to almost render it tottering. On

our soldiers occupying the Island, they constructed a series of

ladders inside and now the top of the lighthouse is used as a place for hoisting our flag and a lookout upon the enemy.

Whilst today drinking lager beer in the Colonel Commandant's quarters almost under the lighthouse, he received

reports by the holloing of the lookout aloft of a rebel

steamer having passed our gunboats and reached Fort Pulaski,

also the approach of the steamers and transports. We

witnessed a parade and then returned to the ship.

At 1 p.m. we went to general quarters and had a searching

exercise which was less satisfactory than I had hoped, not

that it was materially defective, but errors were corrected. At

three [I] went on board the Pawnee and dined with Drayton,

returning home at sunset.

For the next few days Marchand and Drayton, from their

offshore anchorages, watched the efforts of the small Confederate

flotilla to keep Pulaski supplied and the efforts of Rodgers'

squadron in the Mud River to prevent them.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Saturday, February 8, 1862.

We could see a movement amongst [our] gunboats

towards evening showing either a return to Port Royal, or the

opening or discovery of a passage into the Savannah River.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Sunday, February 9, 1862.

Some rebel steamers were in sight above Pulaski. They

were not troubled by our gunboats in the creeks north of the

Savannah River; probably their projectiles could not reach.
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 101

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Monday, February 10, 1862.

Much activity is shown today by the Confederates in

supplying Fort Pulaski. With the aid of a glass I could see a steamer landing articles at a wharf a short distance this side

of the Fort (2-1/2 miles from us) the men putting them on

carts and the carts driving to the Fort. Our gunboats in the

creeks north of the Savannah River progressed a little nearer

the River but not near enough to intercept communications.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Tuesday, February 11, 1862.

A very clear day with westerly winds blowing quite stiff.

About ten in the morning [I] took the gig and in company

with Acting Master [John P.] Carr pulled to the south end of

Daufaskie Island through a creek and Wall's Cut to the place

where our gunboats are lying north of the Savannah River.

The gunboats are the Unadilla, Ottawa, Seneca, Pembina,

E.B. Hale and Western World, all under command of John

Rodgers. They were trying to effect an entrance into the

Savannah River by Mud Creek, which has 18 inches water at

low tide and some feet there [of] mud. [The] tide rises from

seven to eight feet and the largest of the gunboats draws nine.

It was low tide when I reached them, then the six foot draft,

Hale was a quarter of a mile up Mud River and the Pembina,

nine foot draft, a hundred yards up so deeply in the mud that

the bow of my boat could with difficulty get to the gangway.

They were waiting for the highest of the flood tide to worry

their way through Mud Creek. The Ottawa was at the mouth

of Mud Creek astern of the Unadilla and also aground. The

remaining gunboats were afloat in the Creek astern. Rodgers

said he hoped to get into the Savannah River tonight which I think is utterly impossible as the vessels have to go a mile and

a half. Two or three of the officers commanding the gunboats

were on board the Unadilla and generally united in thinking

that mode of entering the Savannah impracticable. Confidentially, Rodgers told me to the same effect but said it was Flag

Officer Du Pont's orders and he would do every thing to

effect it. Yet I thought from his remarks that he had

suggested the possibility to the Flag Officer and now could

not avoid trying to carry it out.

On board the Unadilla I met General [Thomas W.]

Sherman commanding the whole southern army. Major
102 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Gilman, chief of engineers, 9 informed me that he had erected

a battery on Venus Point, Jones Island, about 1000 yards

from the position of the Unadilla which was worked upon

only at night and that last night it was completed and the six

guns of nine inchfes] were upon Jones to arm the battery

but that the men were worked so hard they [the guns] could

not be transported over the plank road covering the

. . . Island before daylight and that he had them covered

with grass to screen observation from the rebel steamers

passing up and down the Savannah River; that the site of the

battery was also masked; that yesterday Commodore

[Josiah] Tatnall in his flagboat passed within a 100 yards of

it, eye glass in hand examining everything, but it escaped his

observation. This battery is erecting under protection of the

gunboats and the presence of the gunboats attracts the

attention of the passing rebel boats from anything else. The

guns will, it is expected, be mounted on the battery tonight

and as they are but a few yards off the Savannah River, the

communications by this route to Fort Pulaski will be entirely

cut off.

To comprehend the topography it must be understood

that these various creeks and the Savannah River here is

bordered by marshes, floods almost at high water, and that

the Island grows nothing but long grass like reeds, and [is]

totally unfit for human habitation. The nearest firm land is

Daufaskie Island, three miles off, and the soldiers, to make

and work the battery, have to be transported that distance in

light draft steamers. Could they form an encampment on

Jones Island upon which the battery is erected, little

difficulty would be experienced in the army holding the

place, but as it is, gunboats of light draft must remain for

their protection to prevent their being cut off from the

supplies and daily relief. So marshy is the ground that the

soldiers will be wading in mud to service the guns. Some

other combination must be in view for as things seem the

whole thing is ridiculous to prevent by this battery communication with Fort Pulaski when another deep creek running

parallel with and south of the Savannah River is open to the

Probably Quincy Adams Gillmore soon to be promoted to Major General of

Volunteers.
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 103

rebels, and as far as I can learn no effort on our part is making to intercept that channel when it is evident to every

one that it should be done and that before the enemy knows

of the battery being erected on the north side of the

Savannah River.

Marchand's pessimistic predictions went unheeded. During the

week that followed, he watched with increasing skepticism the

efforts of Davis to the south of the Savannah River and those of

John Rodgers to the north. For the next week, while the

Commodore's "favorites" struggled through the muddy inlets in

an attempt to circumvent Pulaski's guns, Marchand and Drayton

undertook several tours of Tybee Island, including one fairly

close-range reconnaissance of Fort Pulaski.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Wednesday, February 12, 1862.

No rebel steamers came down from Savannah to Pulaski

today, I am apprehensive they have discovered our musket

battery at Venus Point on Jones Island near which our

gunboats lay in Mud Creek. [I] observed that some progress

was made by the gunboats through Mud Creek towards the

Savannah River. Rowboats sent by our gunboats to sound the

passage between Jones and Turtle Islands into the Savannah

River were seen from this ship for two or three hours whilst

the tide was low and during that time the heavy rifled cannon

on Fort Pulaski was playing upon them, but no attention was

bestowed upon the shots as they appeared to work until their

object was accomplished which with our glasses seemed to be

staking ... a passage for the gunboats through a different

passage into the Savannah River than by the way of Mud

Creek. This passage today sounded has sufficient depth of

water at high tide but is within range of the guns of Pulaski

and the only danger to be apprehended is the grounding of

the gunboats subjecting them to nearly 12 hours [as a] target

to the guns of that Fort which, as a matter of course, would

utterly destroy them.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Thursday, February 13, 1862.

Today [I] sent ashore on Tybee Island all the musket men

and the Howitzer with its crew. The whole were exercised by

Mr. Foster 'till half past 12 meridian. I also went on shore to
104 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

see the drill and, meeting Drayton, we inspected it, then

passed along the beach within range of the guns of Fort

Pulaski. [We] diverged amongst the sand hills and went to a masked battery of three 8-inch columbiads erected by this

part of our army in Tybee Island one and a half miles from

Pulaski. With our glasses we peered through the bushes [and]

saw men working around the Fort at ordinary occupations,

the lookout on the walls watching closely everything and

sometime seeming to look directly at us. Where the masked

battery is located is one mile within range of the guns of the

enemy's fort.

While Marchand and Drayton explored Tybee Island, the

gunboats in Wright's River discovered what at first appeared to be

"empty tin cans," floating on the water but on closer examination

proved to be what the Confederates called torpedoes and what the

Federals called "infernal machines." According to Lieutenant

Commander Bankhead, who first spotted them, they

Letter: Bankhead to Rodgers, February 19, 1862} °

. . . were placed several yards apart at right angles to the

shore immediately in the channel leading from Wright's River

and only visible at low water. They were connected by a

spiral wire, the end of the wire entering an orifice in the

upper ends of the buoys, and they were also secured by wires

to what we presumed to be weights at the bottom, but which

further examination led us to believe were vessels containing

explosive matter.

Bankhead succeeded in detaching one such device, but found it so

difficult that he determined to destroy the rest by rifle fire. While

he was thus engaged, the other gunboats of the squadron

continued to sound the inlet between Jones and Turtle Islands

seeking an exit to the Savannah River. Marchand watched their

efforts.

Journal entry of February 1 9, 1862 continued

The fort did not open fire upon them as yesterday. One of

the gunboats seemed to have made considerable progress in

10 Bankhead to Rodgers, Wright's River, S.C., 19 February 1862. O.R.N. , XII, 504.
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 105

Mud Creek towards the Savannah, the others remaining

stationary. I doubt more the possibility of a passage through

Mud Creek and the continuous soundings satisfy me that if

our entrance at all is effected into the Savannah it must be

between Turtle and Jones Islands and under fire of the guns

of Pulaski. In the evening Captains Drayton and Whiting and

Mr. Foster dined with me.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Friday, February 14, 1862.

Another very pleasant day until dark when it became quite

cloudy, the barometer low and wind moderate from the

south. Providence has favored us with good weather since

being here and I thank the Heavenly Parent that Thou has

deemed us worthy of it and Thy protection.

Sent a company ashore to exercise with muskets as had

been done for the two preceding days. The Howitzers were

also placed in its boat and sent to practice afloat under the

Gunner's charge.

In the afternoon [I] went ashore on Tybee Island to see our men cutting firewood from drifted wrecks. The place

they were sent to work was within range of the guns of

Pulaski and I wished to show them that I would not send

them where I would not go myself.

After eight this morning a small steamer came down the

river hugging the southern shore. The army's masked battery

on Jones Island fired six shots at her but she escaped and

anchored under the protection of Fort Pulaski. She seemed

afraid to return and at dark was still there. An hour before

sunset [I] saw the black smoke of a Confederate steamer

passing up Tybee Creek. When she came down from

Savannah I know not, evidently they are trying a way to

preserve communications with Pulaski, either through Lazaretto Creek or across the marsh on the south side of the

Savannah River. I am determined if possible to find out what

they are doing.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Saturday, February 15, 1862.

Immediately after breakfast went on board the Pawnee

and had a consultation with Drayton about a night reconnaissance of Tybee River to ascertain if the enemy was doing

anything there in consequence of the Army battery
106 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

obstructing communication between Pulaski and Savannah,

which battery as mentioned yesterday from Jones Island

opened fire upon a small steamer passing down. Drayton did

not deem it necessary, but at my suggestion, we went on

Tybee Island to the headquarters of [the] Colonel commanding the detachment of the Army, who we knew had

returned after two days reconnoitering. The Colonel informed us that he was preparing boats for the purpose I had

proposed, but that he wanted to go in force with at least 100

men and wished the aid of the navy. If I am here and can

obtain permission I will go.

The Colonel proposed taking a little excursion in a boat in

the creeks in the interior of Tybee Island. We found them

curious; they were narrow across and the sea running in all

directions, never entirely passing through the Island except

when artificial cuts had been made. The middle of the Island

is a marsh but all around the sea has washed up a wide

sandbank except at the entrance to the creek. Occasionally

there are long spaces of hard ground (that is, not a perfect

marsh) which is covered with live oak, palmettos and other

trees and shrubbery of dense growth. The banks of these

creeks are garnished with oyster beds, of the racoon kind,

small but well tasted.

Becoming tired of the boat, at the first "fast" ground we

left it at a place that had been a house with some cultivated

ground, but which house and improvements had been burned

by the Confederates upon their abandonment of the Island.

From there we walked to [a] beach on the west side of the

Island where [there] were other ruins of summer dwellings

also burned to the ground. Continuing along the beach within

range of the guns of Fort Pulaski we reached the nearest part

of the Island to Fort Pulaski which is distant, something less

than a mile, from which we had a good view of the fort and

everything around. Nothing was going on. The lookouts from

the parapet had their eyes, I hope, seemingly in our direction

but no shot was fired. At half a mile distance alongside of the

fortf's] wharf was the steamer that had escaped down from

Savannah, passed the battery on Jones Island yesterday, and

has been afraid to return. ... I could see her name Ida on the

paddle box. The Colonel informed us that at the place we

then were, which was also the ruins of an extensively burned
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 107

summer residence, one of his soldiers some days ago was

gesticulating and shaking his fists towards Pulaski, [when] a shot was fired from that fort which killed him on the spot.

Our party also approached that place with caution as our

army pickets only occupy it at night and are withdrawn at

daylight, whilst it has been known that the enemy's pickets

have been there during the daytime yet closely watched.

We returned on foot, mostly along the beach, but had to

diverge into the Island and every few minutes had to pass the

picket guards concealed amongst the palmettos [until we]

reached the nearest masked battery mentioned a few days

ago (nearest to the enemy) and amongst the dense shrubbery

and sand banks, [we] suffered from the great heat of the sun,

reaching the Colonel's headquarters at 2 p.m. Then getting

some refreshments . . . took my gig and returned to the ship.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Sunday, February 16, 1862.

This morning the rebel steamer Ida, mentioned yesterday,

left the wharf at Fort Pulaski, passed through Lazaretto

Creek thence into Tybee River and escaped to Savannah. It was in relation to this passage that I had the interview with

Drayton and [the] Colonel yesterday, now the former must

be convinced of the propriety of my suggestion and

propositions. Yesterday we were at Lazaretto Creek by which

the Ida escaped today.

The weather has been so thick that we could not tell if the

gunboats in Mud Creek and its neighborhood had changed

positions. If Rodgers intends an onward movement it should

be effected now, during Spring tides. A day or two hereafter

will be too late.

As if to lend support to Marchand's warning, the northeast

winds waxed into a gale that evening and blew forcefully all day

on the 17th. The James Adger began to drag her anchor, a cause of

much anxiety for Marchand because he considered the anchorage

"unsafe" bounded as it was by a sandy beach on one side and by

shoal water on the other. 1

' But after dropping a second anchor

the James Adger safely rode out the storm and in the late

afternoon the winds moderated.

From the journal entry of 26 February 1862.
108 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Marchand continued to drill his crew both in small arms and in

the "great guns." They were less proficient than he had expected

in preparing to fire, though the exercises themselves were

satisfactory. Marchand hoped that these exercises would soon be

put to the test. Though not displeased with his assignment at

Tybee, he still chafed for an opportunity to take part in an

expedition against the enemy, an expedition like the attack on

Port Royal which he had missed. On 19 February, he heard a rumor that such an attack might be imminent.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Wednesday, February 19, 1862.

Drayton sent me a late paper and in the evening [I] called

upon him and was informed that all the gunboats with

exception of the Unadilla, Hale, and Western World had left

the vicinity of Jones Island and had returned to Port Royal,

so that John Rodgers' expedition to get through Mud Creek

into the Savannah River was a failure.

Everything indicates that an expedition south, of which we

will doubtlessly join, soon will start, probably tomorrow.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Thursday, February 20, 1862.

A cannon was fired by our army on Tybee Island which

was responded to by one from Fort Pulaski. The natural

inference was that our fleet or detachment of the army was

about being assaulted by the enemy .... For nearly an hour

we were in suspense but as no movement was visible I settled

down to our usual state of indifference but from the

condition of the weather did not throw myself on the couch

'till two in the morning and even then felt no inclination nor

did I sleep 'till daylight.

Though Marchand knew that an expedition was in the offing, he

did not know its intended destination. Had Du Pont decided to

assault Fort Pulaski after all? Rumor had it that Fernandina,

Florida, might be the target. Marchand waited impatiently for the

appearance of Du Pont's squadron. On the afternoon of the 20th,

he sighted six ships heading out of Port Royal (less than 1 5 miles

away) and he was certain that this was the van of the expected

armada. But they did not put in at Tybee and he concluded

regretfully that they must have had some other mission. The fog

settled in over the blockading squadron once again and Marchand

chafed at his confinement.
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 109

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Friday, February 21, 1862.

The thickness of the weather prevented seeing far therefore could not distinguish a fleet if any were outside and I am

glad that no orders came for our going to sea as in the present

state of the weather nothing could be gained by being

outside.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Saturday, February 22, 1862.

By eight o'clock last night the northeast gale had blown

itself out, but the wind, though light, remained from that

quarter. Today there is a moderately fresh breeze from the

south and until noon a dense fog. This being the anniversary

of the birthday of Washington, all the ships were decorated

with flags and at noon the senior officer ship Pawnee fired a salute of 21 guns. Our army on Tybee also saluted. At Fort

Pulaski the enemy ignored the anniversary, no notice of the

day was taken by them. Drayton sent me a paper of the

eighth with the account of [Andrew H.] Foote's success in

the Tennessee River. At sunset our army battery on Jones

Island fired a salute of 34 guns.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Sunday, February 23, 1862.

We had inspection at quarters but it was of short duration

as at that moment a cloud passed over dropping some rain,

which would spoil gold lace and Sunday clothes.

In the early part of the afternoon, a rebel steamer came

down from towards Savannah and threw several shells

towards our army battery on Jones Island, [but] the vessel

was so distant that the shells burst in the air a long distance

from the battery. It was the general impression on board the

ship that but one shot was fired from the battery in return.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Monday, February 24, 1862.

Commander Haggerty of the Vandalia called on me and

said that Commander Drayton had just informed him that

today he expected the expedition from Port Royal would

leave for a southern place and that as it passed all the

squadron here except the Vandalia would go out and join it. The U.S. Steamer Wyandotte, Lieutenant Commander W.D.

Whiting, which has been lying here, left this afternoon for

Wassaw Sound, doubtless to blockade that place whilst the
110 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

squadron there also joins the contemplated expedition.

Haggerty told me of a reported victory by our forces in the

west and the capture of 13,000 of the enemy but without

destruction of Foote's Flotilla. I entertain no faith in the

report.

1 2 Everything has been quiet up the river except one

shot fired from Pulaski, but in what direction I could not

learn.

Anticipating the momentary arrival of the expeditionary force,

Marchand was disappointed when on the morning of the 25th, yet

another gale blew up out of the northeast. So strong was it,

"greater . . . than we have experienced since being here," that Du

Pont's flagship, the Wabash, could not get out of port. The wind

moderated a little around midnight, and Marchand went to bed

convinced that the dawn would bring delightful weather, "instead

of which a fresh wind sat in from the southeast, the most exposed

quarter, with every indication of a gale from that quarter." The

expedition was postponed again. Finally on the morning of the

27th, the weather moderated.

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Thursday, February 27, 1862.

We have had a pleasant day, for which I am thankful, and I fervently pray that it may continue. The gun exercises were

as usual continued today, varied by General Quarters in the

afternoon. About 4 p.m. a revenue cutter arrived from Port

Royal which on being hailed reported no news or letters but

was in search of the Army Steamer McClellan .... Soon after,

several vessels were seen off the entrance to Port Royal and

made out to be as supposed the Wabash, Susquehanna, and

others of the fleet. I became satisfied that the long projected

expedition somewhere down the coast was about starting.

Immediately after, the express gunboat Isaac M. Smith

came out of Calliboque Sound and at dusk ran alongside of

the Pawnee. I at once went on board the latter and, as expected, a dispatch from the Flag Officer came notifying us

that the Wabash and remainder of the fleet at Port Royal

would pass this place tonight or tomorrow morning and that

the Pawnee, James Adger, Pocahontas and Potomska were to

I 2 The report was quite true. On 6 February, Foote's flotilla forced the capitulation

of Fort Henry. The Confederates surrendered over 12,000 men and 40 pieces of artillery.
I ALMOST ABANDONED MYSELF TO ENJOYMENT 1 1

1

go out and join company leaving only the Vandalia to keep

up the sea blockade. The battery on Tybee Island and the

one on Jones Island will doubtless be able to prevent the

passage of vessels aided by the Vandalia. ' 3 Father we are in

Thy hands, protect us if it seems good to Thee, but Thy will

be done for what Thou doest is only right.

1 3 Even though Fort Pulaski remained a formidable obstacle, Gen. T.W. Sherman

wrote "The Savannah River is closed as tight as a bottle . . .." Sherman to the Adjutant

General, U.S. Army, off Tybee Roads, 27 February 1862. O.R.A., VI, 235-6.
CHAPTER VI

'ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY"

28 February- 1 1 March 1862

A key element in the Federal Government's overall strategy for

securing the blockade was the occupation of several deep water

ports along the Confederate coastline. The seizure of ports had

been described as "indispensable" by Du Pont's Strategy Board

back in July 1861. In the 7 months since then, the wisdom of that

recommendation had been dramatically proven by the obvious

value of the naval base at Port Royal. The blockading squadrons in

Tybee Roads and off Charleston had less than a full day's steaming

to make a friendly port for resupply. But Port Royal was still the

only friendly port south of Hampton Roads, and the Board had

insisted on "the necessity of occupying two or more points" on

the coast. 1 Another such haven, further south, would greatly

enhance the effectiveness of the blockade off the coast of Florida.

With large squadrons off Savannah and Charleston, many blockade

runners sailed into one of the numerous inlets along the coast of

Florida and used the inland waterways to transship their cargoes

north where rail lines led to the interior. The center for this trade

was Fernandina, on the Florida-Georgia border. From there, an

intracoastal waterway allowed uninterrupted communications

between that city and Savannah 90 miles to the north. Fernandina

was also the eastern terminus for the cross- Florida railroad to

Cedar Key. This road, plus Fernandina's other natural advantages,

its location on an island and its deep and commodious anchorage,

made it an extremely desirable port city. In its first report to

Secretary Welles, the Strategy Board had referred to Fernandina as "obviously the most desirable point for a place of deposit."2 In

February 1862, Du Pont began planning for its capture. This time,

Marchand and the James Adger were to play a role.

1 Du Pont, et al., to Welles, Washington, 5 July 1861. O.R.N., XII, 195-6.

2

Ibid.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 113

Marchand had already written to Du Pont on 5 February in a

letter marked "Private," expressing his desire to be included in any

future attack. Having missed out on the Port Royal expedition, he

wanted to ensure that his orders to the blockade of Tybee Roads

would not prevent his participation in future offensive operations.

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, February 5, 1862}

I most respectfully request and beg that our present orders

to proceed to Tybee will not exclude this ship from

immediate and active service before the enemy if operations

are in view.

Du Pont was very much aware of Marchand's desire for "active

service." It was a desire that was universal throughout the fleet.

During the planning for the expedition to Fernandina, Du Pont

wrote his wife that "the intense desire to form part of expeditions

is wonderful. I give all a chance that I can . . .."4 In this case,

Marchand was to be one of those given a chance.

Early in the morning of 28 February, a pleasant, warm day

with gentle breezes from the south, Du Pont led the Port Royal

squadron out of the Sound through the southeast channel and

steamed south, arriving off Tybee Roads in the forenoon.

Marchand had lain awake all night on board the James Adger

expecting at any moment to be told that Du Pont's fleet was off

the entrance to Tybee. So disappointed was he at its nonappearance that he stayed in bed until 8:30 the next morning.

Two hours later, however, the masts of two or three vessels were

sighted, and soon thereafter Commander Drayton made signal to

get underway. The Pawnee, Pocahontas, and Potomska all preceded the James Adger out of the roadstead. Du Pont noted that

"Drayton came off with all the ships ... in time to join the line at

the very point of intersection, beautifully done."5

Journal entry: Tybee Roads, Friday, February 28, 1862.

As we neared the outer buoy a long string of vessels were

in sight and on getting out we knew the following named

ones amongst the number viz. Wabash, Susquehanna, Florida,

3 Marchand to Du Pont, Port Royal, 5 February 1862. Marchand Papers.

4 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 28 February 1862. Du Pont Papers, I, 345-6.

5 Ibid., 343-4.
114 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Flag, Ottawa, Seneca, Pembina, Penquin, Isaac M. Smith, all

steamers, and three or four others [of] which we did not

know the names. Besides which the steamer McClellan was in

company, one pilot boat, the Hope, and the revenue cutter

Henrietta. We from Tybee were outside when the Flagship

was opposite the entrance and on joining the line made the

number [total] 16 men of war and gunboats.

Very slowly we passed along and about 3:30 in the

afternoon, after long waiting and signaling, the fleet by signal

came to anchor. A steamer had very early in the afternoon

been sent into Wassaw Sound off which [we] anchored

. . . doubtlessly for the purpose of ordering out the men of

war there at anchor as soon as possible, yet everyone in the

fleet knew they could not cross the bar 'till the flood tide

had for a time made.

Towards dark the squadron from Wassaw came out and we

could distinguish the men of war: steamers Seminole and

Alabama, and gunboats Henry Andrew and Helen, transport

steamer McClellan filled with troops, and others that the

darkness prevented our seeing. What number of steamers and

gunboats composing the expedition [which] is at anchor

together off Wassaw I can form no idea now, and the

transports with army troops coming out with the tide tonight

will add doubly to our number. 6 In the dusk of the evening

the flagship made signal that our rendezvous was St. Andrews

about 80 miles along the coast to the south showing that the

ultimate attack is upon Fernandina. What the result will be is

in the hands of the Almighty and to Him I pray for success

with entire submission to His decree, who can do nothing else

than right.

About eight at night the Commodore made signal to get

underway and it was a beautiful sight in the darkness of the

night, the numerous pyrotechnic lights of the fleet in answer

to the signal, as well as the red and blue lights exhibited on

board each vessel as the "running lights." Every one seemed

to hurry in getting underway and following the flagship and

as far as the eye could reach the ocean was spotted with

lights. It was a splendid sight but not [a] pleasure producing

Altogether there were 20 warships and 8 transports.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 115

one as they all [were] started for battle and in a short time

God only knows what havoc may be committed upon them.

Journal entry: Off St. Andrews, Georgia, Saturday, March 1,

1862.

The commanding officers had but little sleep during the

past night in looking out against collisions amongst the many

vessels. It was not until nearly midnight that the steaming

order was completely formed and system established amongst

the men of war, but the army transports were without order

and they followed in every direction. This morning in the

hazy atmosphere nearly all were in sight. We all stood onward

'till about 10 a.m. when the Wabash (the flagship) stopped

and after a time anchored. In this interval several of the light

draft steamers were sent in to know if land was in sight. We

were in 5-1/2 fathoms water and knew that the coast should

be in sight in ordinary weather, but the smoky condition of

the atmosphere prevented seeing a great distance beyond the

ship. About 2 p.m. the look-out vessel returned and reported

to the Commodore. We in the haze could [only] indistinctly see the coast, nor was it until evening that it knew precisely

where we were, that is close off the entrance to St. Simon's

Sound. The Steamers Mohican, Bienville, and Keystone State

joined the fleet about that time.

The smoky condition of the atmosphere prevented our

doing anything, and late in the afternoon (the flagship having

gotten underway) the Wabash again came to anchor and

made signal for all captains to repair on board. Of course I went and on the quarter deck the Captain of the fleet

[Davis] handed me the instruction for steaming and entering

St. Andrew's and through [it] Cumberland Sound in the

anticipated attack upon the forts and batteries between St.

Andrew's entrance and Fernandina.

The orders handed Marchand were the result of extensive

planning by Du Pont and Brig. Gen. Horatio G. Wright, the

commander of the embarked troops. Unlike Du Pont's earlier

success at Port Royal, where he had merely deployed his fleet in

line of battle and battered the defenses into submission, he now

hoped to avoid an artillery duel. To effect this, he planned to

approach Fernandina through St. Andrew's and Cumberland

ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 117

Sounds instead of passing the well-defended harbor entrance. His

first thought was to divide the fleet into two squadrons and lead

the heavier ships through the main channel past the Confederate

fortifications while the shallow-draft gunboats turned the enemy

flank by passing through Cumberland Sound. But on further

reflection and after a careful examination of the charts, he

determined to try to take the entire fleet through the inland

waterways despite the risk of grounding one or two in the

shallows. "... if we can all go down the Sound," he wrote, "why

I think they will bolt at the sight of the first ship . . .." 7 This plan, however, required that the two heaviest ships, the

Susquehanna and Du Pont's flagship, the Wabash, remain outside

the Sound because of their extreme draft. Even the James Adger

would have difficulty in the Cumberland River where the water

shoaled to a depth of 13 feet (the James Adger drew 14-1/2 feet).

Nevertheless, Du Pont remained convinced that such an approach

had the best chance for complete success. Transferring his flag to the gunboat Ottawa, Du Pont planned

to lead the squadron into the Sound followed, in arbitrary order,

by the 10 steamers, the James Adger standing eighth in line. 8

7 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 17 February 1862. Du Pont Papers, I, 325.

The following is the order in which the vessels are to enter St. Simons Sound and

pass through Cumberland Sound in the proposed attack upon Fernandina [from journal

entry of 1 March]

:

Heaving Comm. Du Pont's Flag

Comdr. Godon accompanied by

the small armed tugboat Ellen

Commander Gillis Commander Drayton

Lieut. Balch

Commander John Rodgers

Commander J.R. Goldsborough

Commander Marchand

Commander Steedman

Commander Lanier

Commander Leroy

Lieut. Ammen

Lieut. Downes

Lieut. Bankhead

Lieut. Nicholson

Act. Lieut. Budd

Act. Lieut. Watmough

Captain Gray

Also in the fleet but not participating in the attack were the pilot boat Hope, revenue

cutter Henrietta, army transports Star of the South, Belvedere, Empire City, Boston,

Cosmopolitan, and the sailing ship Onward.

1st Steam Gun Boat Ottawa

2nd Steamer Mohican

3rd Steamer Seminole

4th Steamer Pawnee

5th Steamer Pocahontas

6th Steamer Flag

7th Steamer Florida

8th Steamer James Adger

9th Steamer Bienville

10th Steamer Alabama

11th Steamer Keystone State 12th Steam Gun Boat Seneca

13th Steam Gun Boat Huron

14th Steam Gun Boat Pern bina

15th Steam Tug Isaac Smith

16th Steam Gun Boat Pen quin 17th Steam Gun Boat Potomska

18th Army Transport Steamer McClellan
118 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

While this armada negotiated the tortuous passages of Cumberland

Sound, the Wabash and Susquehanna were to make a feint on the

main channel entrance.

Early the next morning Du Pont's plan was put into execution.

First, however, Du Pont once again transferred his flag, this time

to the steamer Mohican.

Journal entry: Cumberland Sound and at Sea, Sunday, March

2, 1862.

After 7 o'clock a.m. [7:50] the Wabash threw out signals

and there was a general stir in the fleet. 9 Soon the

vessels . . . which were to enter St. Andrew's and Cumberland

Sound were underway. The Flag Officer having transferred

his flag to the Mohican, all followed him. It required quite a time to form the order of steaming and signal after signal was

made by the Commander in Chief to take close order.

At 20 minutes past 9, a signal from the Mohican sent all hands

to quarters. After a brief flurry of activity as the Adger's crew ran

to their assigned battle stations, quiet settled over the ship and all

eyes searched the passing shoreline for signs of enemy activity.

Though only the second day of March, the mild Florida climate

kept the steamy southern estuaries in perpetual spring and the

shore was lined with thick tropical foliage. Many of those on the

James Adger who watched must have wondered when the verdant

shoreline would belch flame and smoke revealing the presence of a

Q The official log of signals made during the "attack" on Fernandina, 2 March 1862, was found on a loose sheet of paper among the pages of the journal:

At 7:30 the Wabash shifted the flag to the Mohican and at 7:50 made signal to get

underway. At eight the fleet got underway, the Mohican leading, at 8:10 the flagship

made signals to close in upon the leader of the column— 8:25 close more the order—9 the

last repeated— 9:20 all hands to quarters— 15 of 10 made signal from flagship to decrease

speed. The U.S. flag hoisted upon St. Andrew's light 10 to 10. Passed Cumberland Sound

at 10. 10: 15 Pawnee signals to the flagship that several hundred soldiers ashore marching

south. 10:20 fkgship signals to anchor. 10:30 flagship signals send large launches and

cutters armed and manned. 25 of 11 we come to anchor. 1 1 the Pilot goes with boat to sound. 11:15 eight boats go ashore from vessels, about 1 1 :30 Pilot returns with boat. 15

of 12 Marines and small-armed men landed upon Cumberland Island— 14 of 12 Keystone

State made signal to flagship do you wish Marines landed. 1:30 the flagship signals the

fleet is under sailing orders. Flagship signals communication with the shore forbid at 25

of 2. 15 after 2 the flagship signals to the Pawnee embark the troops. 20 after 2 flagship

signals what are you particularly in want of. 20 of 3 flagship signals for fresh beef send

butcher to flagship. 10 of 3 we send boat to the flagship. At 6 flagship signals to Ottawa

to prepare to sail. All hands called to quarters 6:15. Guns secured 6:20 Piped down

6:30.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 119

Confederate battery. Marchand himself "momentarily . . . ex- pected to be fired upon from masked battery."

Journal entry of March 2, 1862 continued

All the vessels were prepared for action before crossing the

bar of St. Simons Sound [St. Andrew's?] the leading vessels

had entered and stood south into Cumberland Sound [and]

around little Cumberland Island without an enemy having

been seen. A white flag was shown from the Light House on

the latter Island as our ship stood in, and immediately the

U.S. flag was hoisted in its place by a boat from the Ottawa.

The white flag was hoisted by the old light keeper who with

his family occupied the dwelling but the lighting apparatus

had long since been removed by the secessionists.

About 10: 15 the Pawnee made signal that several hundred

men (soldiers) were marching southward on Cumberland

Island. Soon afterfward] the leading steamer, Mohican, with

the Flag Officer on board, approached the shoal water

leading towards Fernandina over which the vessels of the

James Adger's class could not pass-unless at high tide-and

at the time the tide was half ebb. Signal was made to anchor,

which was done as the respective steamers ahead dropped

them. Immediately the Marine and small arms men composed

of sailors from the Wabash and Susquehanna [who were] on

board the different vessels, having their boats in tow, landed

on Great Cumberland Island close to which we were at

anchor .... Intensely we watched [for] a fight but in vain.

About 2 p.m. the Marine and sailors reembarked from

Cumberland Island and returned to their respective vessels.

We could see many cattle on shore and all felt much the

want of fresh meat. Nor were any displeased when signal was

[made] to send ashore and slaughter beef under instruction

of an officer appointed from the flagship who would pay for

the cattle. Oyster beds lined the channel only a few hundred

yards off, but a signal having been made that there should be

no intercourse with the shore prevented our getting an

abundant supply.

Though Marchand was disappointed in "not having a brush with

the enemy," the hundred or so soldiers spotted by the Pawnee

that morning were to be the only hostile forces encountered on
120 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

this expedition. Confederate strategists had concluded that the

capture of Hatteras Inlet and the fall of Port Royal had proved the

indefensibility of coastal fortifications when confronted by a

hostile fleet. Gen. Robert E. Lee, who had been hurrying south

from Virginia to take command of Port Royal on the day of its

capture, accepted unreservedly the strategic lesson implicit in its

fall. He realized that any attempt to defend the coastline at the

water's edge would tie down thousands of troops desperately

needed in Virginia, while Federal forces, with the advantage of

mobility granted by their command of the sea, would be able to

pick their target at leisure and bring overwhelming force to bear

against it. He agreed, therefore, that the defense of the South

Atlantic coast should be withdrawn inland to the point where the

inlets and rivers would no longer present the U.S. Navy with an

avenue by which Confederate defenses could be pierced. Except at

certain vital and defensible points, such as at Charleston, the

Confederacy would establish a defensive perimeter many miles

from the sea. On 19 February, Lee had written to Gen. James M.

Trapier, Confederate commander of the District of Florida and the

man charged with the defense of Fernandina, that he should begin

to think about the possibility of evacuating the offshore islands.

Letter: Lee to Trapier, February 19, 1862. 10

In looking at the whole defense of Florida, it becomes

important to ascertain what points can probably be held and

what points had better be relinquished. The force that the

enemy can bring against any position where he can concentrate his floating batteries renders it prudent and proper to

withdraw from the islands to the mainland and be prepared

to contest his advance into the interior. Where an island

offers the best point of defense, and is so connected with the

main that its communications cannot be cut off, it may be

retained. Otherwise it should be abandoned.

Though Lee still hoped that Fernandina might be made

defensible, he soon discovered that the guns which would be

necessary to protect Cumberland Sound were simply unavailable.

Five days later, he wrote again to Trapier, this time authorizing

withdrawal.

10

Lee to Trapier, Savannah, 19 February 1862. O.R.A., VI, 393-4.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 121

Letter: Lee to Trapier, February 24, 1862} '

I had hoped that guns could be obtained in time to defend

[the rear approaches to Fernandina] but as I now see no

possibility of doing so, and as the means on the island are incompetent in your opinion for its defense, you are authorized to retire both *xom Cumberland and Amelia

Islands to the mainland. . . . Thus the Confederates had been busy for nearly a week evacuating

Fernandina. Marchand, however, learned about the Confederate

evacuation only after going on board the flagship on the afternoon

of 2 March.

Journal entry of February 24, 1862 continued

Steedman and I went to the Mohican and were then

informed that the signal was misinterpreted and that it was

only designed for a single vessel, not ours. We had a laugh at

Godon's perplexities about signals and other things and after a time were informed that the Flag Officer was anxious to see us in the cabin. From him we learned that a contraband had

in a rickety canoe pulled to sea from Fernandina and reached

the Alabama after much trouble about the time the squadron

was leaving their anchorages, that he (the commodore) had

seen the signal notifying [him] that he wished to be spoken

to by the Alabama but that the flagship was then in the

narrow channel and could not wait, and that [upon]

anchoring Commander Lanier of the Alabama brought the

contraband Negro to the flagship giving the information that

the forts of Amelia Island, on which Fernandina is built, had

been abandoned by the enemy and the cannon carried into

the interior.

This startling information was soon confirmed by the lighthouse keeper and Du Pont realized that he had won an important

strategic harbor by a mere show of strength. Du Pont was exaltant

though many of the junior officers were disappointed. To his wife,

the Commodre wrote, "Of course there are long faces at lost

laurels, but I am thankful for the stupendous results and pleased

that God in his mercy has so disposed of events." 1

2

1 ^ee to Trapier, Savannah, 24 February 1862. Ibid., 398-9.

1

2

Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, off Wassaw, 22 March 1862. Du Pont Papers, I, 349.
122 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

This dramatic change in the situation determined Du Pont not

to risk his heavier draft vessels in the tortuous inner waterways of

Cumberland Sound. He gave orders for the steamers to backtrack

out of St. Andrew's and "enter Fernandina Harbor direct." The

shallow draft vessels, however, would press on through Cumberland's and try to cut off the Confederate retreat from Amelia

Island. Meanwhile, the heavy ships, including the James Adger,

should be ready to leave for the open sea at the next high tide,

which was at 8 o'clock.

Eight o'clock, however, came and went without a signal from

the flagship. Marchand's friend Commander Steedman, anxious to

strike a blow against the enemy and determined that his be among

the first Union ships in the harbor, asked for and received

permission to weigh anchor that night and stand out of the Sound

preparatory to entering Fernandina Harbor the next morning.

Journal entry: Cumberland Sound and off Fernandina,

Monday, March 3, 1862.

After daylight there was a most general stir in the fleet as a signal from the flagship was made to prepare to get

underway and then to execute it. More than half the fleet

was to take the interior channels to Fernandina and the

heavier draft . . . ones to pass to it seaward. We of the

seaward squadron most comfortably passed through Cumberland Sound and about 7:30 rounded the north point of Little

Cumberland Island and entered St. Andrew's entrance to sea. Here our difficulties commenced, for the wind whilst under

the lee of the land was moderately fresh [but] after passing

the land proved to be almost a gale from the southeast. The

leading ships were mostly propellers and they made but slight

progress, sometime on a stand[ still] which delayed the

following vessels and that in a narrow channel with breakers

close ahead on either hand. It was nearly ten before we

succeeded in passing the bar and getting to deeper water.

Here much delay occurred in getting the squadron together

and in the Flag Officer dispatching the Seminole northward,

most probably with dispatches to be sent to Washington of

the result of the expedition thus far. The sea was very rough

and [when] the Seminole's boat return[ed] from the flagship

Mohican, she swamped alongside of the former and was lost

but the crew saved.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 123

Our progress was slow toward the entrance to Fernandina

for a violent southeast gale with rain was blowing and it took

us some three or four hours to steam 15 miles, nor did we

reach there before the wind shifted to the west-southwest

and was if anything stronger, but coming off the land made a comparatively smooth sea. We found the Wabash at anchor

off Fernandina and after some time, to my great regret, saw

the Bienville, my friend Steedman, commander, aground in

attempting to get into Fernandina. His vessel seemed in a dangerous way, assistance was sent but at dark he was still

ashore. The source of my regret is that he may have

attempted to go in without orders, so as to be amongst the

first captors when he was instructed to go outside from

Cumberland Sound and await the arrival of the squadron and

all go in together. If the vessel is lost I think he will be much

censured.

Upon our reaching the entrance to Fernandina the tide

was too low to cross the bar and by signal the squadron and

transports anchored. An hour before sunset, signal was

thrown out to get underway and helter skelter men of war

and transports crowded towards the entrance. Just before

reaching there a vessel which had previously been sent to

ascertain the depth of water on the bar joined the commodore and I presume reported [that it was] not sufficient to

cross tonight for instantly the flagship changed her course

and stopped, every other vessel had to do the same and from

their crowding each other some narrow escapes from collision

occurred. The sunset twilight passed and darkness came

without signal for anchoring seen from the James Adger.

Towards 8 o'clock I observed a vessel lying quietly in the

heavy wind and ran alongside, which upon hailing [I] found

was at anchor, therefore took for granted that some signal to

that effect had been made unnoticed by us, as many night

signals had been made which were not understood. We then

anchored. In the afternoon we could see our gunboats had

passed through Cumberland Sound and were in possession of

Fernandina without firing a shot showing that the enemy has

abandoned this part of the coast also.

The inshore squadron, composed of the shallow draft gunboats,

had rushed to cut off the Confederate retreat. The small gunboats
124 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

bore up the narrowing estuary until the Pawnee ran aground. Then

Comdr. Raymond Rodgers, in the launches from the Wabash,

dashed under the bridge between Amelia Island and the mainland

chasing a small steamer, later identified as the Darlington, which

was filled with civilians who were among the last to abandon the

town. 13 In response to the pleas of his own passengers, the

Confederate commander of the Darlington struck his flag.

Lieutenant John A. Downes of the Huron achieved what was

perhaps a unique accomplishment in the war when he succeeded in

stopping the last departing freight train by naval gunfire. Thus

ended the attack on Fernandina. The shots fired at the departing

steamer and the train "were the only instances that blood was

spilled in the capture of this important place . . .."

Journal entry: Fernandina, Tuesday, March 4, 1862.

The northwest gale of yesterday evening died out early

this morning and was succeeded by a most pleasant day with

light southwesterly breezes. Early today the entrance was

buoyed off and about 9 a.m. signal was made for the

Mohican, Florida, and James Adger to run in. All the other

men of war which [had] anchored last night had been

dispatched ... on cruising duty and two, the flagship and

Alabama, to assist the Bienville which was still aground.

The final descent on Fernandina took on more the aspect of a triumphal entry than of an assault. Du Pont lyrically described the

scene in a letter to his wife:

Letter: Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, March 4, 1862. J 4 ... a beautiful sight, beautiful scenery, the land batteries,

most formidable and hardly to be distinguished, so well

masked by nature and accidents of ground that we could

scarcely make them out. Then came Fort Clinch, imposing:

guns, great columbiads on the beach, another slung to timber

wheels. The American flag was flying over it [the fort],

hoisted by the gunboats last evening. Then came a bend in

the river, then came old Fernandina with its Spanish aspect,

1 3 The Darlington was subsequently taken into the Federal service as a warship and

served on the blockade.

14 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, off Wassaw, 4 March 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 351.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 125

but only a few buildings; then came New Fernandina, a railroad creation like Beaufort-handsome houses, veranda,

cupolas, gardens, great oleanders—all deserted.

The James Adger crept along third in line past this scenic

panorama. The army transports at first provided some difficulty

since their chosen anchorage effectively blocked the main channel,

but "jostling the transports out of the way," the Adger entered

the narrow channel,

Journal entry of March 4, 1862 continued

. . . passed old Fernandina of some 20 houses but one of the

most ancient towns in the United States and two miles

farther on anchored near New Fernandina, which is composed of 300 or 400 houses built within the last three years

because of its being the terminus of the Florida railroad across the isthmus to Cedar Key.

It became clear as the fleet passed the abandoned batteries that

the Confederates had evacuated Fernandina precipitously. Marchand surmised that the enemy forces, said to have included some

4,000 soldiers.

Journal entry of March 4, 1862 continued

. . . were panic stricken on last Sunday morning on learning

that our fleet had entered Cumberland Sound ... by the

inland passages [and thus] rendered their batteries useless

and would cut off their retreat from Amelia Island by the

railroad. Therefore, they kept the railway train running from

Sunday morning until Monday (yesterday) afternoon in

taking them to the mainland. During that time they

succeeded in taking away all their supplies, arms, etc. from

the Island .... They succeeded in taking away three cannons

forming a battery near the railroad terminus. With the army,

nearly all the citizens left, abandoning their houses but taking

nearly everything away.

Marchand's joy at the success of the expedition was muted by

his concern for Commander Steedman whose vessel was still

aground.
126 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Journal entry of March 4, 1862 continued

Sometime after anchoring I went on board the Mohican to

see the Commodore and waited some hours or more for his

return as he had gone on shore. Then I found John Rodgers

who had come in his boat from outside and gave a piteous

account of Steedman in the Bienville whose ship was in a dangerous condition if heavy weather sat in and who had

come to have small vessels sent down into which the guns

might be struck to light [en] her. Before leaving the Mohican,

Steedman also arrived in his gig and looked haggard from his

troubles. I did feel sorry for him and had only an

opportunity to express my sympathy. Commander Godon of

the Mohican informed me that no communication with shore

or different ships had been allowed by the Commodore and

was extremely anxious that I should go away before the

Commodore reached the ship to which he was returning. I shoved off but the Commodore was near and asked me to

return and [we] had a short talk [until] General Wright

commanding the division of the army came on board and I had no further opportunity and returned to the James Adger.

Later in the day, however, the prohibition against communication with the shore was revoked and Marchand had himself rowed

to New Fernandina and there he explored the city he had so recently been ready to attack. An observant reporter, he took time

to describe the town in his journal.

Journal entry of March 4, 1862 continued

Fernandina on Amelia Island is built upon sand with a natural vegetation of Live Oak, her many streets marked in

one direction: one, two, three and in the other [direction]

alphabetically, but the houses are at magnificent distances, all

built of wood and some of them truly good. They are generally surrounded by gardens which by the constant

addition of marsh mud preserve a little vegetation. Flowering

vegetation, however, is present in pots and on the verandas of

a large majority of them [and] they were numerous and

blooming beautifully. But the houses were unoccupied, not a dozen of all I saw had inhabitants, they had fled and

generally with their household goods. The doors and windows were open and the whole had a most miserable
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 127

appearance: odd articles of dress, books scattered on the

floors, portions of bedding in and before the doors, dogs

cowed in the yard, poultry apparently perfectly contented,

vehicles broken down by being too heavily ladened in the

streets, shoes, hats and dresses were scattered around. It was

a piteous sight. As [J.R.] Goldsborough and I passed, we saw

a spread table and on approaching found that the occupants

had but dropped their knives and forks, the coffee cups but

half emptied and the furniture intact except a trunk in a shambles whose contents were spread about the room,

possibly by some ruffian.

We sauntered along and saw a man and two women on a veranda and had some talk when a third woman joined [us]

who had come for some milk for her baby and a long talk

took place in which one of the females said that the slaves

had become impertinent and as she was a widow and alone

she would use the two revolvers in her house against them.

She was advised to do so in the event of anything serious, but

in all occasions to go to General Wright's headquarters and

report violations of propriety by any person, that a military

police would soon be established [so that] no harm could be

done.

It was sometime after sunset that I returned to the James

Adger.

After being keyed to a high pitch by the prospect of impending

battle only to discover an abandoned town, it is not surprising that

the officers and men of the Union fleet should have experienced

an emotional letdown. Frayed nerves and unreleased tension

found expression in drunken revels for some, looting for others,

and sullen bitterness for still others. 1

5

Marchand found himself

engaged in "a rather sharp conversation" with Capt. Charles Henry

Davis, Du Pont's Flag Captain, on 5 March. Du Pont, concerned

that no inaccurate accounts of the attack reach northern newspapers before his own official one, had decreed that only official

letters would be sent with the first ship north. But Marchand was

anxious to let his wife know that he was well. He insisted that he

It was on the evening of 6 March that Acting Master W.R. Clark became so intoxicated that Marchand felt constrained to ask for his dismissal from the service. On

this same night, Messrs. Kiersted and Fox became drunk while ashore, see chapter IV.
128 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

be allowed to do so, and finally Du Pont "shoved a sheet of note

paper to me and told me to write my wife of which he would take

charge and forward." Marchand wrote only four lines, "all the

information that I desired to send." He noted in his journal that

"There is great secrecy observed in forwarding mails as the

newspaper correspondents always give garbled accounts of

things. . .." 16

But except for this unfortunate encounter, the next several

days were quiet and rather pleasant. Marchand and Commander

Godon explored old Fort Clinch, where they found that the

Confederates had succeeded in removing the cannon but had left

behind most of the powder and shot, giving an indication of the

precipitousness of their withdrawal.

Journal entry: Fernandina, Wednesday, March 5, 1862.

Such utter confusion seemed to prevail in their retreat

that clothing and provisions were left behind. On closer

examination it was plain to everyone the cause of the

abandonment of these strong points and the retreat of the

enemy. The Confederates supposed that the attack would be

made directly from sea hence all preparation, but when the

news reached them on Sunday morning that 27 Federal gun

vessels had entered Cumberland Sound which would take

their defenses in the rear, they were panic stricken and from

that time 'till Monday evening were employed removing guns

and munitions of warfare by railroad and water communications to the mainland. It was evidently the best policy the

enemy could have pursued for if they had not retreated at

the time they did, 4,000 soldiers would have been compelled

to capitulate to us having less than half that number of

sailors, soldiers and marines.

Marchand was somewhat more sanguine in his evaluation than

Du Pont, who wrote, "If they had stood to their guns and we had

entered the main channel, they could have destroyed every

vessel .... The guns are better than at Port Royal, sights better,

and we have been greatly deceived as to the amount and character

From the journal entry of 5 March 1862. Davis had already received orders

detaching him from Du Pont's command and he soon left for Washington, carrying with

him, Du Pont's official dispatches (and presumably Marchand's letter). He was soon

afterward sent to command a squadron on the Mississippi.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 129

of their preparation . . .." 1

7

Du Pont was therefore grateful that

the Confederates chose not to defend the place. "A million dollars

has been spent here and now all lost to them." 1

8

With Fernandina now firmly in Federal hands, Du Pont next

planned to extend the Navy's control to Brunswick, Ga., and for

that expedition he selected Commanders Godon and Marchand.

They were prevented from leaving immediately, however, by the

number of ships still aground on the bar effectively blocking their

exit. On 6 March, the largest of these, the troop transport

McClellan, was floated off and Marchand "made preparation to

leave." But the lateness of the hour and a change in the tide

convinced him to wait until the next day.

He and Godon then rowed ashore and "cruised around looking

into houses, at the locomotive captured by the Navy, [and] the

RR Company's office."

Journal entry: Fernandina, Thursday, March 6, 1862.

Then we went to the highest house in the town from the

belvedere of which saw everything within vision both sea and

land, and returned to the Mohican [Godon's ship] and dined.

A southwest gale had set in and blew furiously, vessels were

fouling each other in the smooth passage of a half mile wide,

the Mohican veered chain and I watched anxiously the James

Adger. She [was] still held [only] by her anchor and [I]

longingly wished that my gig, which was by inches approaching, would reach the Mohican that I might return and look

out for the safety of my own ship. My boat eventually

arrived and I was about getting into her when she came into

collision with the Mohican and broke her yoke. Whilst it was

being repaired I saw the James Adger adrift but instantly

brought up without reaching the shore. After half an hour's

suspense I started and reached my vessel, a second anchor

had been let go ... by which we rode until the tide changed

and the wind lulled, when it was again weighed.

Journal entry: Fernandina, Florida, Friday, March 7, 1862.

The wind was strong all the past night and hauled to the

northwest and the coldest morning of the season here was

17 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, off Wassaw, 4 March 1862. Du Pont Papers, I, 353-4.

18,,.,

Ibid.
130 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

upon us, the thermometer fell to 27° and ice formed on the

deck when washing it. As the sun rose it was somewhat

tempered yet at no time of the day was an overcoat

uncomfortable although we were in Florida. Godon of the

Mohican sent me word that we would leave [for Brunswick]

at 9 a.m. Ten o'clock arrived and we were not off and I pulled to the flagship, Pawnee, and saw the Commodore who

informed me that the destination of the James Adger was

changed from going with Godon to Brunswick, Georgia, to

[the] blockade [of] Charleston, South Carolina. Again went

with Godon and Steedman ashore [where we strolled]

through the town and camp and to the lighthouse from

which [we] had a good look round. Saw three regiments on

evening parade .... Godon and I dined with Steedman and

were joined by John Rodgers nor did we separate 'till midnight.

Journal entry: Fernandina & Sea, Saturday, March 8, 1862.

Last night [I] was informed by Godon that he would start

at sunrise for sea and as there is no Pilot for the bar here on

board this ship we are compelled to follow the Mohican.

Consequently at that time I was on the lookout but no

movement was made 'till light when she made signal for

permission to leave and we done the same. Half an hour

afterwards we were underway, standing out, passed the

northern part of Amelia Island, looked at Fort Clinch and the

Sand batteries and anchored before ten inside of the bar.

The flood tide was about half up and the boats of the

Mohican had gone to sound the bar and see if the buoys were

in place as that steamer and the James Adger had greater

draft than any passing the bar since the Union's occupation

of Fernandina. Less than an hour after we had anchored,

John Rodgers in the steamer Flag came down, passed us and

attempted to cross the bar half a mile below us. It was a

failure and he backed out and after much trouble pointed the

Flag towards Fernandina. It was then noon and the tide at its

height the Mohican started and we followed. At that time

Rodgers passed going back and hailed saying the heavy swell

caused breakers across the whole bar and advised me not to

make the attempt, but as Godon had sent me one of his spare

Pilots and his ship drew two inches more water than mine I
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 131

determined to continue following him. We crossed the bar

without touching the bottom in 15 feet water, the Adger's

draft being nearly 14 feet.

By the time we attempted to go out we found there had

been a general dispersion of the fleet at Fernandina. After

crossing the bar I counted the following steamers—Mohican,

James Adger, Pocahontas, Seneca, Pembina, Huron,

Potomska, Penquin, Isaac Smith and Ellen of the Navy,

sailing schooner Henrietta of the Revenue Service and steamer

McClellan, Boston and George Creek army transports, and

outside at anchor, the frigate Wabash and pilot boat Hope.

All the outcoming vessels stopped their engines near the

Wabash and the Pilot loaned us from the Mohican was

returned. From thence a separation took place, many went

south towards the entrance of [the] St. Johns River which it

is designed to enter by the small draft vessels, the McCellan

with the Henrietta in tow stood north for Port Royal whilst

the Mohican, Pocahontas and Potomska steered from St.

Andrews Inlet on their way to Brunswick.

Du Pont himself led the larger squadron out of Fernandina and

south to the St. Johns River. There they encountered some delay

while the smaller gunboats sounded the bar, and growing

impatient, Du Pont took the larger ships further south off the

entrance to St. Augustine. Comdr. Raymond Rodgers went ashore

in the launch from the Wabash and was met on the beach by the

mayor and a delegation from the city. The Confederate Army had

evacuated St. Augustine the night before and the mayor was

anxious to placate this Union officer. Rodgers informed him that

Du Pont was there only to restore rightful Union authority and

assured him that no harm would come to the residents of St.

Augustine. The mayor "gladly" accepted Rodgers' assurances and

agreed to raise the American flag over Fort Marion. Before that

could be done, however, a delegation of women gathered in front

of the barracks and chopped down the flagstaff. Rodgers noted

disdainfully that the women of the town had "a theatrical desire

to figure as heroines."1 9 Nevertheless, Union troops took over the

fort. Soon afterward, the smaller gunboats succeeded in passing

through the St. Johns River to Jacksonville and Union forces took

19 Rodgers to Du Pont, off St. Augustine, 12 March 1862. O.R.N. , XII, 596.
132 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

possession of that city as well. Meanwhile, three gunboats led by

Commander Godon in the Mohican steamed into St. Simon's

Sound and took possession of Brunswick, Ga. Two days later, on

10 March, Fort Pulaski capitulated. In less than a week, over 200

miles of coastline and four cities had fallen to the Union fleet.

The effect of these successive Union "victories" in the South

was galvanic. Governor John Milton of Florida reported to

President Jefferson Davis that "The troops have become demoralized, and the faith of many citizens in the integrity and

ability of the Government impaired."2 ° Marchand in the James Adger had been excluded from either

the expedition against St. Augustine and Jacksonville or the

reconnaissance to Brunswick, Ga. He sailed in company with

Godon's small squadron on its way to St. Simon's "until they

reached the entrance and then [he] shaped a course for Port

Royal to coal."

Journal entry: At Sea and in Port Royal, Sunday, March 9;

1862.

At two in the morning a bright light was visible from aloft

and soon from the deck [I] supposed [is] to be that of the

steamer McClellan . . . bound to Port Royal. [We slowed]

during the night, barely turning the wheel [so as] not to run

past [the] Port Royal lightboat. Not having run the distance,

but fancying the light stationary with several others of

vessels, we stopped the engine at four and at daybreak found

the light to be from the lightship at Port Royal entrance.

Toward it we stood and at daylight sighted the entrance buoy

and under low steam anchored at Port Royal near our former

berth about 8-1/2 in the morning.

The next day, Marchand became involved in an acrimonious

exchange with Acting Master Charles A. Boutelle, the commander

of the survey ship Bibb. Marchand was called on deck by

Lieutenant Foster while the James Adger was in the process of

recoaling. Foster informed Marchand that the Bibb had come

alongside without permission and that her commander had used

"offensive language."

20 Governor Milton to President Davis, Tallahassee, 7 April 1862. O.R.A., VI, 426-7.
ACTIVE SERVICE BEFORE THE ENEMY 133

Journal entry: Port Royal, Monday, March 10, 1862.

On reaching the hurricane deck [I] found the Bibb

making fast to the coal schooner. I asked who commanded

and an elderly person said he did. I remarked he should have

reported. The reply was "I do not report to any but a senior

officer." (or commander in chief? or flag officer?) My temper

was aroused and I ordered him peremptorily on board the

ship. The reply [was] "I do not think I will." Previously,

however, I had remarked that ordinary courtesy should

induce an officer to report the object of coming alongside.

Few if any words passed after his declines to come on board,

but soon afterwards the Bibb cast off its fastenings to the

coal schooner and left.

After breakfast I went on board the Susquehanna to see Captain Lardner about the quantity of coal to be taken from

the schooner and I saw upon the quarter deck the person I had spoken to in the Bibb. I remarked there is the "person"

(or individual?) and stated the affair of the morning and was

informed that he was Mr. or Captain Boutelle on surveying

service under direction of the Coast Survey Officer but under

command of Flag Officer Du Pont. 2 ! Instantly I felt

mortified at the events of the morning as I knew Mr. Boutelle

by reputation to be a gentleman and meritorious person but

related to Captain Lardner my version of the affair in the

presence of Mr. Boutelle who had previously told his story.

Captain Boutelle, on leaving bowed to Lardner and myself

separately. The whole affair was disagreeable and has

annoyed me all day because I was in the wrong in allowing

my temper to rise, had I not done so, Mr. Boutelle and

myself could by a word [have] quieted ill feelings between

the officer of the deck and executive officer of the two

vessels.

The James Adger spent the next day in port Royal coaling and

once again several of the crew had to be disciplined for

drunkenness while ashore on liberty. Nevertheless, the coaling

proceeded on schedule and was completed at 11:30 Tuesday

2 1 See Darwin H. Stapleton, "Assistant Charles O. Boutelle, of the United States Coast Survey, with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 1861-63," American

Neptune, October 1971, 253-267.
134 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

morning, 1 1 March. Marchand ordered out his gig and had himself

rowed through a drizzling rain to report to Captain Lardner that

his ship was ready for sea. At 1 o'clock the James Adger "got

underway and stood out through the Southeast Channel . . . and

stood toward Charleston." A little after dark, the blockading fleet

was sighted and the James Adger came to anchor.
CHAPTER VII

"BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS"

12 March-14 May 1862

ThoUgh he could not have known it on the morning of 12

March, Marchand was destined to remain on the Charleston

blockade for nearly 6 months. During those months, he became

intimately acquainted with the numerous inlets and shoals off the

South Carolina coast, more intimate, in fact, than he wanted to

be. Throughout March and April, the James Adger steamed back

and forth off Charleston in a monotonous routine relieved only by

infrequent sightings of strange vessels and occasional trips to Port

Royal for recoaling. On the morning of 12 March, however,

Marchand was eager to join the blockade. Charleston was the

largest city on the South Atlantic coast, it was where the war had

begun, and the Confederate flag flying over Fort Sumter was a constant reminder to the blockading fleet of the insolence of the

rebels.

"At early daylight," Marchand steered the James Adger among

the blockading vessels "anchored in a line before Charleston," and

dropped anchor near the Florida whose captain, Comdr. John R.

Goldsborough, was the senior officer in the squadron. Though

command officially belonged to Capt. James L. Lardner, Du

Pont's second in command, that officer remained at fleet

headquarters in Port Royal to await Du Pont's return before

sailing to Charleston. Marchand "called on Goldsborough, and the

James Adger took her place in the line." In his journal, he

described what he could see of the city of Charleston.

Journal entry: Blockading Charleston, Wednesday, March 12,

1862.

The churches and high houses [of Charleston] are at the

distance of about eight miles whilst about half that [distance] are Forts Sumter and Moultrie and numerous batteries

on Morris and Sullivan Islands . . . flying the Confederate
136 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

flag. The weather has been bad. All day a stiff northeast wind

[has been] blowing creating quite a sea and after ten in the

forenoon almost constant rain. It was [only] with difficulty

that I could keep warm.

The next twoscore days were distinguished only by their

sameness. Day after day of pleasant, warm weather found the

blockading fleet lying at anchor off Charleston with little for

Marchand to do except comment on the good weather. The ships

in the squadron rotated the responsibilities of "guard duty"

among themselves, the ship so designated being the one which

would pursue any unidentified vessels. Thus Marchand's daily

routine was seldom interrupted except on days when the James

Adger flew the "Guard Flag." Even then, there was little to

disturb the monotony.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, March 13,

1862.

A pleasant day, smooth sea and light easterly winds. In the

early part it was foggy. Either from Forts Moultrie or Sumter

target practice was going on from the heavy guns. By

arrangement with Goldsborough we hoisted the Guard Flag

at eight this morning but all day had nothing to do as no

vessels appeared in sight. Goldsborough made me a visit in

the afternoon.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, March 14,

1862.

A very pleasant day and nothing has occurred to destroy

its monotony.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, March 17,

1862.

Uninterruptedly all day doing nothing. Our anchor was not

lifted. I employed myself reading the newspapers obtained

yesterday from the Connecticut. A pleasant day with a moderate southerly wind. But one vessel appeared in the

offing and this being the Florida 's guard day she ran out and

took a look.

Finally, on 18 March, luck smiled on the James Adger. It was

once again the Adger's turn to fly the guard flag, but this time the
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 137

monotony was broken by the appearance of another vessel

offshore.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, March 18,

1862.

A fresh northeast wind has been blowing all day creating a rough sea. The weather hazy. This ship had the guard duty

and [early in the] afternoon the Onward made signal of a strange sail in sight. Soon it was made out to be a ship

standing directly in towards Charleston. We started, and after

running a couple of miles, met her. Her name was on the

quarter: Emily St. Pierre. She was amongst the list of

suspected vessels and upon her heaving to, I sent a boat on

board with directions to take charge of her and anchor near

Captain Goldsborough, the senior officer, which was done.

At Captain Goldsborough's request I went on board the

Florida and consulted [with him] . I read her papers [and

found that] she was bound from Calcutta to St. John's, New

Brunswick, about 100 days out. No ensign could be found on

board. On her course she had no right to come here and she

had [once] belonged to Charleston [and] but recently

changed to English [registry] and had on her stern "Liverpool.'

7 We determined to send her north to Philadelphia for

adjudication and by night time a prize crew from all the

blockading vessels was sent on board and her crew taken on

board the James Adger.

Unfortunately, from Marchand's point of view, the credit for

this capture as well as any prize money would have to be split five

ways. Four other vessels, the Florida, the Sumter, the Flambeau,

and the Onward were in sight at the time of capture and therefore

claimed an equal share in the profits. Even more bitter was the

fact that 3 days later the Emily St. Pierre was recaptured from the

prize crew by the ship's master, his steward, and the cook. The

prize crew was taken prisoner, and the Emily St. Pierre carried

them to England in triumph. There would be no prize money from

that capture, for Marchand or for anyone else. 1

A description of the recapture of the Emily St. Pierre can be found in Orvin, In South Carolina Waters, 38-9.
138 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

The rest of the month of March passed quietly. The pleasant

days came and went and Marchand chafed at the monotony of

blockade duty. He wrote several letters to Washington requesting

command of another ship, preferably one of the new steam

sloops. 2 The series of "pleasant days" continued.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, March 28,

1862.

This has been really a pleasant day and the first whole day

of that character since being here ....

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, March 29,

1862.

This has been another pleasant day ....

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, March 31,

1862.

Light air and a smooth sea the only truly pleasant day

since being here .... Nothing whatever destroyed the

monotony of the day ....

For almost the whole of the month of March, though other

ships of the blockading squadron, especially the Restless, captured

many prizes, the James Adger steamed fruitlessly about the

entrances of Charleston consuming fuel. The month of April,

however, was to be different. Important events were taking place

on land that would intimately affect Marchand and the rest of the

blockading fleet.

April 1862 was a trying month for the Union forces. On 2

April, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan landed at Fortress Monroe

on the Yorktown Peninsula. While the Nation waited apprehensively for McClellan to do something with his gigantic army, news

reached Washington of the bloody struggle that had occurred 6

2 "I respectfully request that I may be transferred to the command of one of the new

steam sloops should it not be incompatible with the views of the department.

"This ship is the least efficient of her class here, owing to the lightness of her battery,

and it is my great desire to be attached to an effective steamer.

"I beg it to be understood that it is not my wish to leave this command unless

another is bestowed, as I am anxious to serve at sea in anything." Marchand to Welles,

off Charleston, 18 March 1862. Marchand Papers.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 139

and 7 April at Shiloh Church on the Tennessee River. At the same

time, Flag Officer David G. Farragut was preparing a naval

expedition to force the mouth of the Mississippi River. For the

men of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, however, these

events were far away. For them there were still dozens of small

inlets and river mouths which had to be guarded, and keeping a constant watch on these places was a task demanding even greater

patience than that displayed by Lincoln toward his hesitant

Commander in Chief. Many of the officers on board the

blockading ships feared that their chance for glory and promotion

might be passing them by.

Then, in mid-April, the attention of Washington officialdom

was focused briefly on the squadron off Charleston, though it was

not the kind of attention that leads to promotion. In February the

Philadelphia Daily Evening Bulletin, printing what it thought was

reliable information, declared that no fewer than 65 vessels from

the city of Charleston alone had run the blockade since the

beginning of the war.

3 The source of this unfortunate misinformation was the clerk of the U.S. Steamer Flag, Peter F. Stout, who

had obtained a long list of blockade runners thought to be

approaching the southern coast. In misguided zeal, Stout delivered

the list to the Evening Bulletin, which printed it as a list of vessels

which had successfully run the blockade. Then in March a "Letter

from Port Royal" appeared in the New York Tribune. This letter,

presumably written by Tribune reporter George W. Smalley,

quoted Comdr. John Upshur as saying that four vessels had run

into Charleston that month, that three were currently loading in

the harbor, and that two more were expected daily.4 In addition,

the official reports of the British consul at Charleston, Robert

Bunch, claimed that access to the city was unaffected by the

Union Navy and that armed vessels of the Confederacy were

allowed to pass in and out of the harbor at will. Based on his

reports, the British solicitor general made a similar statement in

the House of Commons on 7 April 1862, raising once again the

whole question of the legality of the blockade.

Much alarmed, Senator John P. Hale, chairman of the Senate

Committee of Naval Affairs, introduced a resolution demanding an

3 Philadelphia Daily Evening Bulletin, 17 February 1862.

4 New York Tribune, 26 March 1862.
140 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

investigation into the Charleston blockade to discover the reasons

for such obvious inefficiency. 5 Flag Officer Du Pont learned of the impending Federal

investigation only a few days after having sent Captain Lardner to

assume personal command of the squadron off Charleston. Du

Pont's orders evinced a singular lack of urgency: "I have to request

that you will sail in the morning and assume the direction of the

blockade of Charleston, Bull's Bay and Stono [Inlet] , making the

best disposition you can of whatever force you may have from day

today."6 Captain Lardner 's first experience with the blockading fleet off

Charleston did not auger well for the future of his command.

Arriving off Charleston in the late evening hours of 2 April, he

anchored his ship, the Susquehanna, well offshore without

notifying the other ships of his arrival. All appeared to be quiet

when suddenly, just before 10 o'clock, "the sound of a cannon

was heard." In the James Adger, Marchand was hurriedly called on

deck from which he noted "the light of a vessel ... to the

south . . .." This light was, of course, from the Susquehanna, but

fearing that it might be a vessel attempting to run the blockade,

Marchand steered for it. Then, quite suddenly, a third vessel,

identified later as the U.S.S. Sumter, fired two broadsides at an

unseen target in the dark. The mysteries of the night were not

solved until morning when the Susquehanna was identified. The

broadsides had been fired at a small schooner which had tried to

run through the blockade during the confusion.

The embarrassment of Lardner 's first day of command was

increased 2 nights later when the crew of the James Adger found

itself the target of an explosive shell which flew over the deck and

burst less than 200 yards away. Once again Marchand hurried on

deck, this time expecting a sortie from Charleston Harbor.

5 Welles' letter to all Flag Officers is printed in O.R.N., VI, 447. See also, Du Pont

Papers, I, 322-3, 420; II, 18-20.

6 Du Pont to Lardner, Port Royal, 30 March 1862. O.R.N., XII, 684. Lardner had

been appointed to the command off Charleston on 7 March, but in Du Pont's absence,

he was also acting commandant at Port Royal. Du Pont had written "If everything is quiet there [Port Royal] and you find that you can be spared, I wish you to take charge

of the blockade at Charleston." Ibid., 624. Lardner delayed sailing until 31 March, after Du Pont, now returned to Port Royal, sent him the above orders.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 141

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, April 5,

1862.

I fancied that the shell must have been fired from a rebel

tugboat which had come out under the darkness of the night

and we remained for nearly half an hour in suspense peering

shoreward for the enemy when a boat was seen coming from

the Susquehanna which gave the information that the shell

came from that ship under the impression that we were a stranger attempting to run the blockade. There must have

been much stupidity on board that vessel as we had been at

anchor from before sunset and all through the night our

vessel could be seen. Possibly the swinging of their ship may

have let them believe our vessel was moving.

That night Marchand noted in his journal that the James Adger

"took a station . . . out of reach of the guns of the Susquehanna."

Aside from these unfortunate events, the routine of the

blockading squadron changed very little. The weather remained

the dominant subject in Marchand's journal entries. There was

some activity: on 7 April he chased a strange sail which escaped

into Stono Inlet; on 12 April he incurred Lardner's dissatisfaction

by failing to understand a signal ordering him to chase a small

steamer seen to windward; he chased another small steamer out of

sight on the 15th. By 20 April the James Adger had been 40 days

at sea, and Marchand sent a letter to Captain Lardner requesting

permission to go to Port Royal for coal. To Marchand's surprise,

however, Lardner replied that he had received instructions from

Du Pont to return to Port Royal himself with the Susquehanna

and to turn over the command of the squadron to Marchand.7 At midnight Commander Parrott brought the Augusta into the

anchorage off Charleston, and Captain Lardner left the next

morning in the Susquehanna. Marchand was only one of three

commanders in the squadron, but as the most senior in that grade

among the three, he took command in Lardner's absence. It was a considerable honor. The fleet off Charleston had grown to nine

ships, including six steamers, and was the largest of all the

n When Augusta returns, please run down here and fill up your coal and supplies,

leaving Commander Marchand in charge, who will, when you return to Charleston, come

here and fill up the [James] Adger." Du Pont to Lardner, Port Royal, 19 April 1862.

Ibid., 759.
142 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

blockading squadrons. 8 But the Charleston station was not only

the largest, it was the most visible and controversial. For more

than a month, the attention of Congress as well as the Navy

Department had been focused on the Charleston blockade.

Senator Hale's investigating committee was frankly searching

for a scapegoat. Northern newspapers had printed the report from

the British consul at Charleston which claimed that merchant ships

loaded with munitions of war passed in and out of Charleston at

will. Demanding an explanation, Senator Hale confronted Secretary Welles with the report. Although Welles defended his theater

commander at the time, he soon sent out a pointed warning to all

Flag Officers to tighten the blockade. "It is represented," wrote

the Secretary, "that vessels frequently run the blockade at

Charleston, and that a constant if not extensive, communication is

kept up between that port and Nassau . . .."9 For his part, Du

Pont was concerned enough to pass the warning along to Captain

Lardner: "The Department is pressing me," he wrote. 10 A week

later, Du Pont received a copy of the Congressional resolution

which had prompted Welles' letter:

Resolved, That the Committee of Naval Affairs be instructed

to inquire whether there has been any laxity on the part of

our naval officers charged with the blockade of the Southern

Atlantic coast, and particularly at the port of Charleston, and

whether there be any foundation in truth for the statement

made by the British consul to his Government, that armed

troopships of the Confederate States, carrying munitions of

war, have been allowed to go in and out of Charleston and no

8 In his first journal entry after assuming command (21 April), Marchand carefully

listed each of his ships and its commander:

Steamer James Adger, myself commanding, off Charleston

Steamer Augusta, Commander Parrott, off Charleston

Steamer Alabama, Commander Lanier, off Charleston

Steamer Huron, Lieutenant Downes, off Charleston

Bark Roebuck, Acting Vol. Lieutenant George A. Trundy, off Charleston

Steamer Pocahontas, Lieutenant Balch, off Stono Inlet Bark Restless, Acting Vol. Lieutenant Conroy, off Bull's Bay

Ship Onward, Acting Vol. Lieutenant Nickels, off Bull's Bay

9 Welles to Flag Officers Commanding Blockading Squadrons, Washington, 31 March

1862. O.R.N., XII, 691.

10 Du Pont to Lardner, Port Royal, 19 April 1862. Ibid., 759.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 143

attempt made to stop them, and that the committee have

power to send for persons and papers.

l

l

Du Pont was stung by the wording of the resolution which

seemed to imply that the reported violation might be due to

professional incompetence, disloyalty, or both. He replied in a

letter to Secretary Welles dated 2 days after Lardner returned to

Port Royal, leaving Marchand in charge.

Letter: Du Pont to Welles, April 23, 1862. 12

Much has been said in the papers at home and abroad of

the utter insufficiency of the blockade, and a too ready

credence given by our public functionaries and our merchants

to the representations of parties interested in making out a

case against the Government. ... as to the assertion [that

vessels are allowed to pass in and out of Charleston

unchallenged] , whatever may have occurred on this coast in

the early days of the rebellion, if it be intended to apply to

the period of my command, I have only to stamp it as one of

those absurd partisan statements of which this rebellion has

been so fruitful.

After receiving this communication, Secretary Welles defended

the blockade's efficiency in a letter of his own:

Letter: Welles to Hale, May 9, 1862. 13

Flag Officer Du Pont and the officers and men constituting

his command, have acquitted themselves in a manner

eminently satisfactory to this Department, and I trust equally

so to the Senate and the country. That there have been

instances when the blockade has been evaded can not be

questioned, and my surprise is that, under the difficulties and

embarrassments of the service, the extended and double coast

that had to be guarded, the necessities of the people, the

inducement of high prices to adventurous parties, and the

contrivances and assistance rendered by certain foreign

agents, that the violations have not been vastly more

numerous.

11

Ibid., 720.

12 Du Pont to Welles, Port Royal, S.C., 23 April 1862. Ibid., 771-3.

13 Welles to Hale, Washington, 9 May 1862. Ibid., XIII, 8-9.
144 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

The Charleston station, however, remained the focus of much

official attention, and Marchand found himself occupying a

critically important post. While delighted at his new role as squadron commander, he was still distressed at the dilapidated

condition of his ship. He was chagrined that Lardner's ship was

called back to resupply when the James Adger had been longer on

station.

Journal entry: Blockading Charleston, Monday, April 21,

1862.

This ship [the James Adger] should have gone to Port

Royal for supplies some days ago as she has now been 41

days off this place. Her coal is short and she has become

exceedingly crank.

Marchand also expressed his increasing weariness of blockade

duty:

Journal entry of April 21, 1862 continued

Blockading duty is necessary but onerous, without opportunities for doing anything to gain a reputation. For many

months it has been the exclusive duty of this ship, and it is

time that the officers and crew should be transferred to a

fighting vessel.

Despite his complaining tone, Marchand seemed to find

blockade duty as the squadron's senior officer somewhat less

tiresome than it had been when he was merely a unit commander.

Each day's minor events, and the activities of each ship, now had

to be carefully scrutinized by Marchand's anxious eye. Though the

tempo of events remained leisurely, Marchand's journal entries

lengthened considerably as more and more he concerned himself

with the daily activities of other ships in the squadron as well as

his own. After listing once again the James Adger's complement of

officers, 14 Marchand began his first journal entry as the squadron's senior officer with an inevitable reference to the weather.

1

4

"I give the names of all the officers of the ship who are kept from doing anything

creditable to themselves and their friends:

Commander John B. Marchand

Lieutenant James P. Foster Acting Master George B. Upham
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 145

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, April 21, 1862.

All day the weather was pleasant and in the afternoon,

Captain Parrott of the Augusta called on board. After dark

[we] shifted our berth from off the Main Ship Channel close

to Maffitt's Channel in 3-1/2 fathoms water. In passing [we]

showed our signal to the Alabama and the Augusta, but the

Flambeau being fourth off and not seeing the signals but

[only] the vessel's hull, supposed us to be an enemy

attempting to run the blockade and fired at us. At first only

the flash was seen, but a second [later] the ball whizzed over

our heads. She then came up and spoke [to] us.

It is curious that both Lardner and Marchand were fired upon

by ships of their own squadron on their first evening as senior

officer. But the experience did not dampen Marchand's enthusiasm. He took the James Adger close inshore near Maffitt's

Channel and had three of the ship's boats lowered, planning to

send them to patrol the channel, though a sudden gale prevented

their going.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, April 22,

1862.

At daylight and until after midday we had a gale from the

southwest. About sunrise the ship commenced dragging the

anchor and before it could be weighed we had drifted more

than a mile seaward. Slowly we steamed back and again

dropped our anchor. Again it commenced dragging, and again

it was weighed, but not before drifting far out. A second time

we steamed up and let it go veering 60 fathoms chain which

held us during the blow. The wind subsided in the afternoon

and after night it was moderate from the west.

Acting Master John P. CanActing Assistant Paymenter William W.L. Greenway

Acting Assistant Surgeon Robert N. Atwood

Acting Master's Mate W[allace] W. Reed

Acting Master's Mate George Couch

Acting Master's Mate W.H. Crandall and pilot

Captain's Clerk Eugene Brisbee

Acting 1st Assistant Engineer Alexander D. Douglas

Acting 2nd Assistant Engineer Charles Kiersted

Acting 3rd Assistant Engineer James Fox

Acting 3rd Assistant Engineer John Canon

Acting Gunner Elisha J. Beacham"

BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 147

Long after dark, the lights of a ship were seen approaching.

We weighed anchor, stood for, and boarded her. It was the

schooner W.G. Bartlett bound from Port Royal for Philadelphia. She came unnecessarily close along the land hence

the necessity for examining her.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, April 23,

1862.

A clear, pleasant summer day, calm in the forenoon, and a moderate south-southwesterly breeze at night. Early in the

morning [I] sent a couple of boats to the Alabama for coal,

if any could be spared. Commander Lanier sent word that it

has been long since he had taken in supplies but [we]

obtained 1-3/4 tons from him. The Augusta, Commander

Parrott, came near and during the day [we] got 15 tons of

coal from her. In the early part of the day, the Flambeau,

which has the guard duty, came near and her commander,

Lieutenant Upshur, made me a visit. His object was to stand

some distance out [and] watch for a Steamer expected to

leave Port Royal today for New York and put letters on

board. [I] gave him a letter bag but by night he returned

without meeting anything. We had a boat armed and manned

which the Flambeau took in tow to watch during the night

inshore of that Steamer and to the north and west of

Rattlesnake Shoal.

By invitation [I] dined in company with Parrott on board

the Alabama and Lanier made himself agreeable. We had for

dinner a fine turkey which Lanier obtained on a pillaging

excursion a week or two ago down the coast. After dark, we

shifted our berth. Toward midnight a light appeared in the

offing. We went and it turned out to be from the U.S.

Steamer Connecticut at anchor going north from delivering

supplies.

On Thursday, 24 April ("a pleasant day with moderate

south-southwesterly breezes"), while Farragut led his squadron

past Forts Jackson and St. Philip in the Mississippi Delta, the

James Adger remained hove to off Charleston. Marchand took the

opportunity of the arrival of the Connecticut to write letters to his

wife and to "persons about Washington in relation to try and get

transferred to command of a better vessel." But his most
148 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

immediate concern was still the scarcity of coal. If Captain

Lardner did not return soon from Port Royal to relieve him, he

would have to go in without orders once again. The only other

alternative was to obtain additional coal from another of the

blockading ships. Lardner 's orders of 19 April recalling him to

Port Royal had indicated that the U.S.S. Bienville would be sent

to Charleston with a full load of coal. Marchand, therefore, looked

to her arrival to save him from the embarrassment of having to run

into Port Royal for fuel without orders.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, April 24,

1862.

In the afternoon the U.S. Steamer Bienville, Commander

[J.R. Madison] Mullany, arrived from Mosquito Inlet,

Florida. I had expected her for the last three days as the flag

officer, through Captain Lardner, had informed me that she

was ladened with coal in bags for distribution amongst the

vessels here, instead of which she had been furnishing coal to

the vessels south of Port Royal as far as Mosquito Inlet and

had now 350 tons when 'tis known that 125 is necessary to

ballast the vessel. Therefore she had only 225 for use.

1

5

The U.S. Bark Restless, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant

[Edward] Conroy, came alongside and he came aboard

informing me that he had lost an anchor and wished to

obtain one. This Steamer from her losses could not supply

him but at his suggestion I permitted him to try and obtain

one from the Roebuck and permission to anchor near her

tonight.

Toward dark, the vessels took their [night] stations: The

Bienville [went] for this night to the south, as Mullany knew

little of this place; I desired that Lanier should go seaward of

the Rattlesnake Shoal but could not communicate with him

in time as he was outside on guard duty.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, April 25,

1862.

A strong southerly wind prevailed last night and as our

anchor is light and unreliable I had but little sleep although [I

Actually the Bienville had been ordered to attend to the needs of the ships off

Mosquito Inlet first and only then to proceed to Charleston. It is surprising, really, that

Mullany was able to hold onto as much coal as he did. Du Pont to Mullany, Port Royal,

15 April 1862. O.R.N. , XII, 743.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 149

spent] a comparatively short portion of the time on deck.

Today the wind continues in the same direction with calm

weather and warm sun. Early in the forenoon, the Flambeau came up and

anchored near. Lieutenant Upshur, her commander, came on

board and, as the Pocahontas came from off Stono Inlet, I detained him to hold a consultation with him and Lieutenant

Balch commanding them both as to the proper positions for

stationing their vessels to more thoroughly secure the

blockade, they being long accustomed to this place. Upon the

arrival of the Pocahontas, the measure was decided, and that

steamer ran to the west of the Rattlesnake Shoal, close to

shore, with instructions to send a boat nightly to watch

closer to the land for passing vessels. The Flambeau then

started to blockade Stono Inlet instead of the Pocahontas.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, April 26,

1862.

Part of the past night it was nearly calm, [but] towards

sunrise a strong wind commenced from the south and

continued to [the] early part of the afternoon when it died

away and came out fresh from the north. During the strong

southerly wind in the forenoon, [we] veered to 60 fathoms

chain to prevent dragging, the heavy sea rendering it

necessary. Everyone on board felt gloomy and I more

particularly at being kept there, with the boilers and engine

in a crippled condition, through the selfishness of Captain

Lardner who left on the 21st inst. for Port Royal knowing

that the Susquehanna was in a better condition than this ship

and better provided, as the James Adger had been off

Charleston 23 days before the Susquehanna arrived. Now we

have been 46 days here and necessity will compel me to take

this steamer to Port Royal in a few days whether relieved by

the Susquehanna or not.

About 2 p.m. two vessels were reported in sight, one a steamer, and the other a schooner acting strangely. I signalized and the Bienville started in pursuit. Upon the

arrival of the latter at the two vessels, boats could be seen

passing between the two steamers whilst apparently the

Schooner was running away. I telegraphed to the Bienville to

capture the schooner if suspicious. An hour after, the
150 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Bienville came back and reported that one of the vessels was

the U.S. Steamer Uncas from New York bound to Port Royal

and [which] had in the forenoon overhauled the schooner

but owing to the heavy sea [Mullany] could not, until the

afternoon, board her [when he] found that she ostensibly

was bound from Nassau to New York ladened with salt and

that the Uncas was taking her to Port Royal. 1

6

In the evening, Marchand wrote letters to his wife and to Flag

Officer Du Pont. His lack of enthusiasm for blockade duty was

apparent in the first line of his letter to Du Pont: "I have the

honor to report that nothing of importance has occurred here

since the departure of the Susquehanna." He also reminded the

Flag Officer that the James Adger was low on coal and once again

in need of repair. 1

7

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, April 27,

1862.

Last evening the wind changed suddenly in a squall to the

northwest and after night hauled to the northeast blowing

strong. The weather looked extremely ugly with much

lightning. The consequence was that I did not pretend to

sleep until after daylight and then only for a short time as strange vessels loomed up every now and then in the rain and

mist which required to be looked after by some of the

squadron. All proved to be innocent except one in tow of the

Flambeau. The latter steamer, with her tow, anchored near

[us] toward noon and Lieutenant Commanding Upshur came

and reported that yesterday afternoon he captured his tow,

the schooner Active of Nassau bound from that place to New

York. The Active had some time ago escaped from Charleston to which place she belonged and on the 14th of this

month obtained English papers and changed her name [to]

Acorn. Her greatest freight was salt but had also an assorted

cargo. Her crew and officers acknowledged that they were

The U.S. Steamer Uncas, Acting Master Lemuel G. Crane, captured the schooner

Belle off Charleston on the afternoon of the 26th. Curiously, Marchand does not

mention the destruction of the schooner Chase run aground off Cape Romain by

Lieutenant J.F. Nickels on the Onward this same afternoon.

l 7 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 26 April 1862. Marchand Papers.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 151

trying to run into Charleston and that their families were

there. I approved Lieutenant Upshur's course in sending her

to Port Royal to the Flag Officer instead of north as the prize

was old, worthless, formerly used as a wood boat in

Charleston, and the foremast defective. Her nominal bill of

lading showed the cargo as valued in Nassau to have cost

about $1050.00. The crew of the prize was composed of

Captain, Mate, two seamen, and [a] cook. The first and last

were sent in the vessel and the Mate and two seamen I took

aboard the James Adger to go to Port Royal by the first

opportunity. Sent a dispatch to the Flag Officer in relation to

the captive and urged [once again!] the necessity for getting

this ship into harbor on account of the steam boilers.

Marchand's communications to Du Pont now began to assume a note of desperation: "Permit me to repeat the urgent necessity for

the immediate repairs to the boilers of this ship and which can

only safely be done in port." 1

8

Meanwhile, however, it remained

Marchand's duty to keep the blockade as secure as possible. As a

result of information obtained from the Mate and seamen of the

Active, he made several adjustments in his disposition of the

squadron.

Journal entry of April 27, 1862 continued

Learning from the three persons which came here from the

prize that eleven schooners left Nassau at the same time to

run the blockade, [I] signalized that several small vessels

might be in the offing. For that purpose the Alabama stood

seaward, looked around, and took an anchorage at sunset to

guard the Main Ship and Lawford channels. The Augusta and

Bienville also got underway, stood near, and then Captains

Parrott and Mullany came to see me for information, spent a couple of hours, and at sunset took position more effectively

to prevent the blockade from being broken. The Huron has

been watching under steam and sail more especially outside;

her indefatigable commander, Lieutenant [John] Downes, is

determined that nothing shall escape.

18 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 27 April 1862. Marchand Papers. See also Upshur's report in O.R.N., XII, 778-9.
152 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

But even more valuable information was soon to come his way

and from a most unexpected source.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, April 28,

1862.

A pleasant day. At two [o'clock] this morning, a boat

containing fifteen Contrabands came alongside the Bienville,

having left Charleston towards 10 o'clock last night. The

most intelligent [were] questioned on board this ship. I learned that the Steamer Cecil from Nassau ran the blockade

and entered Charleston before daylight in the morning of last

Friday or Saturday, she drawing eight or nine feet water and

is an iron propeller. Some ten days ago when it was said that

22 schooners had run out, only three started, and two of

them grounded in the harbor and put back, the third was

captured by the Huron. The greatest number known to go

out at one time was six schooners and that [was] about a month ago of which we captured two. All vessels

[attempting to run the blockade] pass north of Rattlesnake

Shoal and hug the land and breakers until passing Dewee's

Inlet and then steer east by north 'till striking [the] Gulf

Stream. Vessels coming in pursue the same direction en- deavoring to make Romain Lighthouse in the afternoon from

whence a departation can be taken. Two wooden gunboats

are building, one of them having the frame partly up, the

other, known as the Lady's boat, had her keel laid about ten

days ago, no iron clad boats are being built here. The Rebel

army has been reduced here to increase their force in Virginia

and Tennessee. Much dissatisfaction exists amongst the poor

people who alone compose the army; and [the] commanding

general (Ripley) 1

9

has repeatedly been heard to speak

dispondingly of success [in regard] to the Rebel arms and

government.

One of the Contrabands gave information that nightly six

steamers were expected in from Nassau and England and one

(the South Carolina) and two sailing vessels [were soon] to

1 9 Bng. Gen. Rosweil S. Ripley, CSA, was commander of the Second Military

District.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 153

go out. 20 This information caused me to alter the positions

of the blockading vessels, and [in order to] the more

thoroughly protect [the] blockade, [I] sent the Bienville

which, with the Huron and Restless, will guard the entrance

to the north and east of Rattlesnake Shoal; the Pocahontas to

take a position 4000 yards from the battery on Sullivan's

Island north and west of the Rattlesnake Shoal and have a boat at night anchored half way between her and the battery;

the Alabama to guard the Main Ship, Pumpkin, and Lawford's channels to the south; and the Augusta to watch the

southern edge of the Rattlesnake Shoal. In the evening

Captain Parrott came on board at my request, to interrogate

the Contrabands for his own information.

That night the squadron was kept on alert "brightly on the

lookout" for the South Carolina, but morning arrived without

anything having been sighted. By this time, Marchand was certain

that he and his ship would soon be called back to Port Royal for

coal and repairs. The James Adger had now been 49 days at sea and desperately needed repair. Expecting orders momentarily,

Marchand spent the morning "busily preparing reports and

memorandums for the Flag Officer."

In the afternoon, when he saw Upshur in the Flambeau hoist

that ship's identification number to a ship over the horizon,

Marchand was convinced that Captain Lardner and the Susquehanna were finally returning. But when the ship came into view he

discovered that it was the U.S. Gunboat Unadilla. Gratefully,

though, its captain, Comdr. Napoleon Collins, carried orders for

Marchand to turn over the blockade of Charleston to Commander

Parrott and return to Port Royal for repairs and supplies.

The reason for the arrival of the Unadilla in place of the

Susquehanna was that both Lardner and the Susquehanna had

been ordered north by the Navy Department to beef up the stalled

peninsular campaign. In fact, the Susquehanna was one of four

ships soon to be personally directed by President Lincoln in an

attack on Sewell's Point, Va. Du Pont had been rather reluctant to

let the Susquehanna go. He wrote C.H. Davis that

2 The two sailing vessels were the John Randolph and the Mackinaw, both bound for

Liverpool.
154 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Letter: Du Pont to C.H. Davis, April 27, 1862. 2

1

One of two things must exist at the Department-either a disgraceful panic in reference to affairs in Hampton Roads, or an utter want of appreciation of condition of things on this

coast .... Now the Susquehanna with my second in command, the only Captain [Du Pont's italics] in my squadron is

taken from me -the only vessel [able] to meet any untoward

event off Charleston and give protection to eight of these

pasteboard ships.

It was, in fact, a "disgraceful panic" among the senior officers

on the Yorktown peninsula that brought about the recall of the

Susquehanna. McClellan had simply lost the initiative. The C.S.S.

Virginia, though held in check by the Monitor in their famous

engagement a month previous, still represented a potent threat to

McClellan's left flank on the James River, and the "little

Napoleon" was loudly calling for more naval support.

Marchand knew that the departure of the Susquehanna could

well make him the permanent commander of the Charleston

squadron, but he also knew that there were several other officers

in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron senior to him. Du Pont

might offer the Charleston post to any one of them, perhaps to a new "favorite" now that C.H. Davis and John Rodgers had been

promoted out of the fleet. But Marchand 's more immediate

concern was the desperate condition of the James Adger.

In order "to give all the vessels opportunity for sending letters,

and more especially to stay one night longer on the blockade"

because it was "the dark of the moon," he determined not to leave

until 8 o'clock the next morning.

Journal entry: Charleston and Port Royal, Wednesday, April

30, 1862.

Early in the morning the different vessels left their

blockading stations and assembled around this ship to deliver

their letter bags. From the Bienville, [we] received the 15

Contrabands which came to her designing to put them under

the Flag Officer's instruction. ... At 9 [we] got underway

and ran off Stono Inlet to get the Flambeau's mail. After

leaving [there, we] chased a suspicious looking schooner

Du Pont to C.H. Davis, Port Royal, 27 April 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 20n.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 155

which proved to be a prize of the Pilot Boat Blunt [en route]

from Port Royal to New York. 22 [We] saw a large number

of other vessels which we approached near enough to make

them out as friends. About one in the afternoon [we] saw

the blockading vessels in and off St. Helena [Sound] and an

hour after, the ships at anchor in Port Royal. It was 3 before

entering the southeast channel and after 4 before we

anchored in Port Royal near the floating machine ship. [I]

immediately called on the Commodore who was much

surprised and pleased with the information obtained from the

Contrabands in relation to affairs about Charleston. 2 3

Journal entry: Port Royal, Thursday, May 1, 1862.

This day 34 years ago I entered the Naval Service of the

United States. It has been a long time. Went on duty to the

Flagship and whilst there met General [Henry W.] Benham. 24 Ship's company [was] employed coaling, and engineers [worked] about the boilers. The latter [were] found in

much worse condition than expected.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Friday, May 2, 1862.

After breakfast [I] went and took a look at the celebrated

yacht America captured up one of the rivers in Florida. The

object in looking was to see if I could not transform her to a man of war and go cruising [in her] until the James Adger

was ready for sea, but found her without sails.

2 5

While repairs were being made on the James Adger, Marchand

spent his days in conversation with his fellow officers. On Friday

he was visited by Comdr. William E. LeRoy of the Keystone State,

of whom Du Pont had a very high opinion, and Comdr. Augustus

22 Schooner G.W. Blunt, Acting Master James R. Beers. 23 Du Pont was elated by the information and he reiterated it to his wife that night:

"The James Adger brings important information, ..." Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 1 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 23.

24 Henry W. Benham, USA (1813-1884), was commander of the First Division,

Department of the South.

25 The original winner of the "America's Cup" was eventually taken into the naval

service. The Navy Register for January 1863 lists her as part of the South Atlantic

squadron. See Thomas R. Neblett, "The Yacht America: a New Account Pertaining to Her Confederate Operations," American Neptune, October 1967, 233-253.
156 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

S. Baldwin of the Vermont, for whom the Flag Officer had

nothing but disdain. The Vermont was being used as a storeship

for the fleet in Port Royal, and more than once Commander

Baldwin had managed to elicit complaints from Du Pont. "Oh

what an elephant that ship has been," Du Pont wrote to a friend.

"The difficulty ... is the entire incompatibility of the commander, who is under a sort of delusion, fostered by the

Department when it put a battery on the ship, that she was a man-of-war and sent out as such; of course, to him, the

storekeeper and his stores are there on sufferance."26 After

conversing at length with these two, Marchand inspected the

progress of the repairs being made on the James Adger. "Work [is]

progressing slowly," he wrote ruefully in his journal.

The next day, Marchand survived a potential threat to his

command. Thinking, no doubt, that the Charleston command was

too important to be entrusted to a mere commander, Du Pont

offered the post to Capt. Sylvanus W. Godon of the Mohican.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Saturday, May 3, 1862.

A busy day in taking in coal and working on the engines.

After breakfast, [I] was surprised by a visit from Commanders [sic] Godon and LeRoy. The former came by the

Commodore's order from his ship, the Mohican, to consult

whether he would prefer taking charge of the blockade of

Charleston or to go to Brunswick [Georgia] , his old station,

as he is now stationed at Wassaw. 2 7

I understand he gives the

preference to Brunswick which will leave me in charge again

of the important blockade of Charleston.

In the evening Commander Raymond Rodgers made me a

visit. I was disappointed at the small quantity of coal received

on board today, all hands being employed in that duty

instead of working by watches. A small mail [packet] arrived

from the north but I got no letters and was much

disappointed.

16 Du Pont's italics. Du Pont to Horatio Bridge, Port Royal, 13 May 1862. Du Pont

Papers, II, 53.

2 7 Godon had been in charge of the squadron off Wassaw Sound, south of Savannah.

On 8 May he was ordered by Du Pont to "resume control and blockade of St. Simon's

Sound." Du Pont to Godon, Port Royal, 8 May 1862. O.R.N., XII, 802.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 157

Journal entry: Port Royal, Sunday, May 4, 1862.

After muster and reading the Articles of War, [I] went on

board the Keystone State to return the visits of Commanders

LeRoy and Godon, but neither were there and I pulled to the

Vermont and spent an hour with Commander Baldwin. This

is the Sabbath and a day of rest to all on board except the

Engineers Department and the mechanics from the floating

machine ship employed on the boilers.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Monday, May 5, 1862.

Rather unpleasant weather with the prospect of still worse.

Clouds are hanging around with lightning and thunder.

Ordinarily we would feel in a measure indifferent to the

condition of the weather at this season of the year, but

having a large Bark secured alongside, from which we are

coaling, and a 1300 pound anchor to hold both, creates

uneasiness and more especially that the Bark can not be cast

off without running foul of another vessel. We have been

taking in coal at an unprecedented rate today, and if

Providence favors, will finish tomorrow.

Did not go out of the ship today, feeling an unwillingness

to reduce the working men, therefore my gig's crew were

employed on ship duty otherwise than with me. A mail

[packet] from the north arrived but I received nothing and

feel very unhappy.

Marchand spent the next 2 days on board ship supervising the

repairs and recoaling. "I have lost relish for the land," he wrote,

"having been 60 days on shipboard having land in sight, but, 'till within a few days, an enemy's land." On 8 May he called on Du

Pont once again and came away from the meeting confirmed in his

opinion that the Flag Officer had little friendship for any of the

officers of the squadron "except for a few of his friends." Perhaps

his long talks with Commander Baldwin had added to that

impression.

The next day Marchand "had a long talk with General Benham

about a contemplated attack on Charleston." Benham was

enthusiastic about the possibility of capturing Charleston by an

assault from the landward side. He probably quizzed Marchand

about the city's defenses. After this conversation, Marchand

returned to his ship, where he complained in his journal about
158 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

"the little progress of the civilian mechanics" and expressed a growing irritation with Lieutenant Foster. "Would to God he was

relieved or sent elsewhere," he wrote. "I would prefer doing the

duty myself."

Journal entry: Port Royal, Saturday, May 10, 1862.

Summer day of the warm kind. [The] mechanics [were]

engaged repairing [the] boilers and windlass. Last night three

mechanics from the workship who had been engaged to work

all night, ceased their labor suddenly about 9-1/2 o'clock on

the boilers and returned to their vessel, thus throwing back

the work and delaying the departure of our ship. The facts

were reported through the duty authorities and I have been

informed that these workmen were sent to New York by the

mail steamer today by order of the Flag Officer. All the

unemployed Contrabands which came to the Bienville off

Charleston and we brought down, were today sent to Hilton

Head and I wrote to General Benham about the most

intelligent of the party, from whom information might be

obtained.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Sunday, May 11, 1862.

A hot day. Had inspection at quarters. Did not leave the

ship, but sent liberty men to Bay Point. The boilermakers

[were] employed all day repairing the boilers, although this

is the Sabbath. The sand flies have become numerous and

very annoying making us wish heavily to get away from this

place.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Monday, May 12, 1862.

Early in the morning, the U.S. Steamer Alabama, Commander Lanier, arrived from off Charleston and after

breakfast, I called upon him. During the forenoon the U.S.

Gun Boat Pembina, Lieutenant [John P.] Bankhead commanding, arrived from the south and the U.S. purchased Bark

Braziliera, Lieutenant (Acting) Gillespie commanding, from

Hampton Roads.2 8 After the crew had finished dinner [I] called on the

commander [Du Pont] informing him that in all probability

2 8 Actually Acting Master William T. Gillespie.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 159

we would be able to leave tomorrow morning at daylight.

Subsequently [I] received his written direction to assume

charge of the blockade of Charleston with 14 vessels

independent of the James Adger and that additional ones

would be sent as they reached here.

Du Pont's orders now betrayed his serious concern for the

blockade at Charleston:

Letter: Du Pont to Marchand, May 12, 1862. 2 9

Sir: You are acquainted, through our several interviews

and from letters from the Department, how systematic and

determined the efforts are to run the blockade of Charleston.

I rely upon the vigilance and determination you have

already shown, upon your resuming the command of that

post as senior officer, that everything will be done to make

the blockade more and more stringent. I will keep increasing

your force by every available vessel which reaches me.

At 10 o'clock that night, work on the boilers was completed and

Marchand sent word to Du Pont that he would depart at daylight

the next morning.

Journal entry: Port Royal and off Charleston, Tuesday, May

13, 1862.

At daylight [I] was called having but nominally slept

during the night in anticipation of an early start today and

trying mentally to arrange for effectually blockading Charleston. As the sun rose, our anchor was up and we [were] away.

Having no Pilot to go out, that duty devolved [up] on me and

at 7 o'clock [we] had passed the outer buoy safely and

shaped a course for Charleston. Not long after, a schooner

was seen for which we ran and [it] proved to be a coal vessel

bound from Philadelphia to Port Royal.

Afterward, but not until nearly reaching Stono Inlet, [we]

saw a gunboat which was found to be the Ottawa, Lieutenant

[Johnston B.] Creighton commanding, accompanying a tug

boat [which was] using for fuel, wood, creating a great

smoke which, attracting my attention, [was why we] ran for

29 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 12 May 1862. O.R.N., XII, 818.
160 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

the Ottawa. Creighton informed me that the tug had been

seized by the slaves in Charleston and ran out early this

morning having somewhere about fifteen men, women, and

children on board.

The "tug" was the Confederate gunboat Planter. Her seizure by

a band of daring slaves from under the nose of the commanding

general was a much-celebrated event among the men of the South

Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The Planter was actually a Confederate harbor patrol boat and was extremely useful because of

her very light draft. On the night of 12 May, her captain and

engineer, the only officers assigned to the Planter, went ashore for

a well-anticipated night at home, leaving the boat in the care of

the Pilot, a slave named Robert Smalls. Seeing his opportunity,

Smalls convinced the eight crewmen, also slaves, that they get the

ship underway and escape to the blockading fleet. The crew "was

of one mind to try it," so Smalls quietly got his wife on board and

at 3:30 in the morning, they got up steam, let go their fasts, and

slipped quietly through the water toward the open sea. Hoping

that the sentries in the forts would think the Planter was on a routine patrol, Smalls sounded two long blasts on the whistle as they passed each fort in succession. They passed Fort Sumter at

4:15 and the sentinel on duty reported her passing to the officer

of the day, but he "supposed (her) to be the guard boat and

allowed (her) to pass without interruption." When beyond the

range of the last fort, Smalls hauled down the Confederate flag

and raised a white one, for "he was more apprehensive that the

blockading ships might fire than the forts."3 ° Marchand noted that:

Journal entry of May 13, 1862 continued

The tugboat had been employed by the Confederate

government and at the time of her being run away, had four

large cannon, rifled, on board and had them aboard when we

met her, which were designed to be placed in a new battery

at the east end of Sullivan's Island.

30

See O.R.N. , XII, 820-6, and O.R.A., XIV, 13-15. A good description is also found

in a letter from Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 11 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 50-1. Smalls later became a Congressman from South Carolina during reconstruction.

The former captain of the Planter, by contrast, was tried and convicted for negligence in allowing the Planter to escape. See Burton, The Seige of Charleston, 96-7.
BLOCKADING DUTY IS NECESSARY BUT ONEROUS 161

The Ottawa and tug were bound for Port Royal, the

former merely to escort her in sight of her destination and in

the evening to return to her station off Stono Inlet.

The Negroes who brought her out fetched late newspapers

also. From the latter I find that martial law is proclaimed

over Charleston and ten miles around and the Contrabands

say that the citizens are removing into the country. Rats, it is

said, leave a falling house.

Apparently Marchand couldn't bring himself to write anything

about a "sinking ship."

After the surprise meeting with the C.S.S. Planter, the James

Adger continued on toward Charleston, arriving at 12:30 in the

afternoon. Marchand anchored near the Augusta and received

Commander Parrott on board. Marchand noted in his journal that

he found "a total change in the arrangements and discipline of the

squadron and from present indications think I will have much

trouble in reconciling things. I feel almost heartsick at the

prospect before me."

Actually Marchand must have been pleased to retain the

command off Charleston. It was an important command, though it

provided little opportunity to make a reputation in combat. Only

those who proved to be effective combat leaders had found

promotion and glory in the war. Capt. C.H. Davis and Comdr.

John Rodgers, Du Pont's "favorites," had both done so. Davis was

given command of a large riverine fleet on the Mississippi, and

Rodgers commanded a fleet of ships on the James River where on

15 May he attacked Drewry's Bluff and advanced to within 7 miles

of the Confederate capital. Marchand lusted for a chance to match

their feats and gain promotion for himself—he wanted to lead an

expedition against the enemy. His hopes were soon fulfilled.
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CHAPTER VIII

"FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON"

15-21 May 1862

A few hours after dusk on the evening of 15 May, the ships of

the blockading squadron off Charleston sighted the lights of a strange vessel to the south, soon identified as the U.S.S. Pembina.

Marchand was not surprised to see her. Du Pont had told him that

more ships would be sent to the Charleston blockade as soon as they became available. 1 The Pembina was particularly welcome

because her shallow draft would make her useful close inshore.

Her captain, Lt. Comdr. John P. Bankhead, carried orders

attaching his ship to the Charleston blockade, but he also carried

orders from the Flag Officer for Marchand. They were exactly

what he had hoped for:

Letter: Du Pont to Marchand, May 15, 1862. 2

Sir: From information brought by the Planter, rebels are abandoning a portion, certainly, of their defense in Stono.

The battery on Cole's Island I have no doubt has been left,

and I deem it highly probable they are abandoning Old

Battery [Fort Pickens] opposite Legareville.

I recommend a reconnaissance to be made by two or more

gunboats, which you can take yourself or send the senior

gunboat officer in charge.

The tide serves in the morning, and if you find matters as I hope you will, then I desire you to send back a portion of the

force to their stations on the blockade, for the moon is now

waning and attempts will be renewed to run it. The Confederate evacuation of the defenses in Stono Inlet was

another product of General Lee's strategy of withdrawal to the

interior. Three months earlier Lee had written to General Ripley

*Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 12 May 1862. O.R.N., XII, 818.

2 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 15 May 1862. Ibid., XIII, 5-6.
164 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

at Charleston: "I am in favor of abandoning all exposed points as

far as possible within reach of the enemy's fleet of gunboats and

of taking interior positions, where we can meet on more equal

terms."3 Though Lee had been recalled to Richmond on 3 March,

his strategic outline for the defense of the southern coastline was

retained by his successor, Gen. John C. Pemberton. On 27 March,

therefore, Pemberton ordered the evacuation of Cole's Island and

the shoreline fortifications on the Stono River and ordered instead

the erection of fortifications across the narrow neck of James

Island beyond cannon shot of the river. Though he kept a skeleton

force in the imposing works along the river's edge, they were

under orders to evacuate upon the appearance of a substantial

naval force.

Ignorant of the strategic rationale for the Confederate withdrawal from Stono Inlet, Marchand hoped that his new orders

would finally present him and his squadron an opportunity to

strike at the rebels in Charleston. A survey of the charts indicated

that the Stono River might prove to be a means of bypassing the

principal defenses of Charleston Harbor and might even lead to the

capitulation of the city itself. Such an event would merit both

public and official praise as well as almost certain promotion.

After dismissing Bankhead, Marchand sat at his desk and began

to write orders for the expedition. Naturally he planned to lead

the assault himself. He would have himself rowed to the Pembina,

since it was of lighter draft, and lead a small squadron of gunboats

into the Stono River. He would also have the Augusta off the

entrance to the river but only for a show of strength. It was

midnight before he finished writing all the necessary orders, and

he fell into bed tired, but eager for the dawn.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, off Stono, Friday,

May 16, 1862.

At 3-1/2 in the morning I was up, made my toilet, and at

four went to the Pembina taking my gig and her crew. [I]

proceeded to Stono Inlet and anchored, where was the

Ottawa, and in a few hours was joined by the Unadilla and

Augusta, the object being to show a strong force on making a reconnaissance in that Inlet. My intention was to take the

3 Lee to Ripley, Savannah, 19 February 1862. O.R.A., VI, 394. See also Pemberton

to General Cooper, Pocotaligo, S.C., 27 March 1862. Ibid., 420.
FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON 165

Pembina, Ottawa, and Unadilla into the Inlet if the nature of

the fortifications and the depth of water would admit.

At nine, several boats were sent to sound the bar, but I in

my gig, and Lieutenant Bankhead of the Pembina in his,

pulled across the shoal and entered the Inlet. Lieutenant

Bankhead was more particularly engaged sounding whilst, in

my gig, I pulled far ahead reconnoitering and endeavoring to

see the [enemy] guns and draw their fire although it was

hazardous as I had to pass within grape shot distance of their

locality. I watched with much intensity for the flash of the

cannon but none came and scanning everything closely found

none in the Fort, many batteries all having been removed by

the enemy. From information received from Contrabands

and other sources, 48 cannon had a short time ago defended

the place. The batteries, or rather embankments for batteries,

were numerous, verifying the truth of the accounts of its

being strongly fortified and the numerous wooden huts as quarters for soldiers showed that many had been stationed

there.

Palmetto Fort, as were all the batteries, was on Cole's

Island, but that fort showed the only existence of life about,

everywhere else seemed abandoned. On the tall staff of the

fort floated the Confederate Flag and on the parapet was a small company of soldiers -amongst the last, an officer on

horseback. Halfway up the flagstaff was a lookout place,

where was always perched one or two soldiers. On passing the

fort they did not molest me, nor I them, but pulled along

Cole's Island examining the deserted batteries. Just as I finished the last one, intending to go a few hundred yards

further up Stono River, from curiosity as my reconnaissance

was a perfectly satisfactory one, the gig's crew and myself

were greeted first by a single shot then a volley from a squad

of ten or twelve soldiers who, I subsequently learned from

Lieutenant Bankhead, had left the fort and concealed

[themselves] from me by the huts and breastworks. [They]

had made their way [there planning] to fire upon us in the

narrow part of the River. But the cowardly rebels were too

anxious and too much afraid to approach too near, [and]

concealed themselves behind one of the embankments and

commenced firing volleys at us. They were Minnie Balls. I knew them by their sound as they whistled over and around
166 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

us. Having accomplished all I had in view and not wishing

unnecessarily to risk the lives of any in the gig, I pulled back,

but they continued their volleys as long as we were within

range of their guns. Providentially, no one was hit, not even

the gig. After getting out of the range of shot, I joined

Lieutenant Bankhead who was on the way to my assistance,

finished the soundings, then pulled up out and found that at

the top of the high water only ten feet could be obtained on

the bar and even with that a heavy sea was rolling in,

preventing the possibility of any of the gunboats entering;

much to my chagrin. But at the same time the boat

reconnaissance was in every particular successful and satisfactoryIt was about noon when all the boats came out and the

different vessels returned to their blockading status. I rejoined the James Adger about half past one and was visited

by Lieutenants Balch and Collins and in the evening in

company with the former called on Commander Parrott.

Marchand was disappointed, but not dismayed. Many of the

defensive outworks had, indeed, been abandoned, and the

Palmetto Fort would not be a serious obstacle to a determined

attack. The depth of water once inside the bar was more than

sufficient, plunging to more than 30 feet off Cole's Island; it was

the sandbar across the entrance that blocked the way of the

gunboats. Ten feet of water would have been sufficient for the

three small ships were it not for the rolling sea which made the

depth so variable. Marchand feared that a heavy roller might

deposit one of the gunboats on top of the bar, blocking the

channel and perhaps damaging the ship's hull. But it might still be

practicable for one or more of the ships to pass the bar on a

particularly calm day. Marchand planned to renew the effort the

next morning with the rising tide, determined to get inside Stono

River despite the risks. Doubtless he discussed the prospects of the

expedition with Balch and Collins at dinner.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, May 17,

1862.

Again we have been favored with a pleasant day although

very warm. [I] rose at four in the morning, got the ship

underway, [and] stood for the Augusta. [I] asked
FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON 167

[Commander] Parrott to look out for the [blockading]

vessels, [and] ran for the Pembina .... She got underway and

together [we] came to anchor close to the bar at Stono Inlet.

Boats from these two vessels and from the Ottawa were by

nine in the morning engaged in sounding the bar and planting

buoys. At the very top of high tide only ten feet water could

be found. The swell on the bar was much greater today than

yesterday rendering it being passed by the gunboats utterly

impracticable.

Whilst the other boats were engaged sounding, I in the gig

and Mr. [John P.] Carr in another of our boats were

employed dragging for torpedoes [to see] if any had been

placed by them (the rebels) between the bar and the inner

end of Bird Key. Mr. Carr dragged carefully and I piloted but

no infernal machine was found. We have information that

500 of them are in Stono River and they would naturally be

placed above the Inlet as it has been so much used by those

running the blockade. No alteration appeared in the condition of things then on the land, the rebel flag still planted

above the men perched on the lookout and those on the

parapet of Palmetto Fort.

On the way back to the ship, [I] called on Lieutenant

Bankhead of the Pembina and requested him to watch closely

and on the first opportunity to cross the bar with his vessel

and the Ottawa and go into the Inlet when I would join him.

A little before noon I returned to the James Adger ....

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, May 18,

1862.

Again a pleasant day. Last night I had a thorough good

sleep, the first since leaving Port Royal, but the loss of rest

the two previous nights was most probably the cause. At 9

a.m. the Unadilla came from her station and I joined her with

the James Adger and both stood for Stono Inlet when we

found the Pembina had already arrived and the Ottawa then

at her station. The Commanding Officers of the four vessels

all started to sound the bar.

We had scarcely left our ships when the large rebel flag

flying from Palmetto Fort was seen to be hauled down and

the rebels cast down the flag staff. Instantly smoke was seen

to rise simultaneously from the houses about the fort and in
168 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

a few minutes 60 or 80 were in flames. The majority of them

were small being the quarters or barracks of the soldiers

whilst the others were officers' quarters and store houses.

They were constructed of pitch pine wood, the black smoke

rose in volumes from them and the conflagration was perfect.

The cowardly rebels supposed we might get the gunboats

over the bar today and without waiting to see if we were

successful, burned everything. It was a gloomy but magnificent sight in the bright light of the sun, had it been at night it

would have been a splendid display.

It was about eleven in the morning when our sounding

boats were on the bar and there remained 'till midday when

the tide was at its height. Only . . . ten feet was found with a heavy swell rendering it again impossible for the gunboats to

cross. Afterwards, with Lieutenant Commander [John B.]

Creighton, [I] pulled up nearly to the Inlet to take a look at

the smouldering ruins and at one [I] returned to the ship, got

underway and steamed up to our old berth off Charleston,

the gunboats also resuming their stations.

Marchand's "show of force" had inspired the Confederates to

abandon the only serious fortification left on the outer reaches of

the Stono River, but he had still not succeeded in getting any of

his ships inside the bar. Still, he was convinced it could be done.

He was contemplating the many advantages which the possession

of Stono would confer when he was informed that the U.S.S.

Keystone State was returning from Port Royal and that Flag

Officer Du Pont's pennant was flying from the peak. Grateful that

he had some good news to report, Marchand called on Du Pont,

but stayed only long enough to exchange pleasantries and pick up

his mail: "three large boxes heavily charged with good things for

my table." Not until the next morning did he report to Du Pont

on the progress of the reconnaissance.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, May 19,

1862.

After breakfast, [I] went on board the Keystone State to

call upon the Flag Officer .... We had long talks about the

defense of Charleston interrupted most frequently by the

Commanding Officer [Commander William E. LeRoy] calling
FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON 169

upon him. Nor was it 'till one in the afternoon that the

conversation terminated and I returned to the James Adger.

Between the many interruptions, Marchand outlined his plan

for a joint army-navy attack on Charleston up the Stono River. Du

Pont was noncommital. He was impressed by Marchand's forcefulness if not by the plan itself. That night he wrote his wife that he

had "talked a good deal with Marchand about affairs in Charleston

Harbor and the nature of their defenses; he seems to have been

posting himself up very well, and has some very clear ideas about

it—he is a prudent man."4 Du Pont was, in fact, very much

predisposed to listen to a plan for reducing Charleston. Only the

day before he had received a letter from Secretary Welles telling

him of the Department's determination to capture that city. 5 But

Marchand felt that he had not fully convinced the Flag Officer of

the potential importance of Stono Inlet. Not to be deterred, he

argued his case formally in a letter which he wrote that afternoon

after Du Pont had left in the Keystone State to inspect the

blockading force off Georgetown:

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, May 19, 1862. 6

Sir: In a conversation I had the honor to hold with you

this morning it is possible that I had not conveyed my ideas

with regard to the reduction of Charleston as to be

understood. Hence I will repeat.

I deem that Fort Johnson is the key of Charleston. 7 An

army movement towards that place either across Stono River

or from Stono Inlet will accomplish its reduction.

A slight demonstration of the army from the eastward

either by Dewee's or Price's Inlets moving towards Fort

Johnson can at any moment be made. I have daily hopes of

getting some of the gunboats across the bar into Stono Inlet.

4 DuPont to Mrs. Du Pont, off Georgetown, S.C., 19 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 60-1.

5 Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 13 May 1862. Ibid., 55.

6 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 19 May 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 13-14.

Marchand was not alone in this opinion. Confederate Generals Beauregard and

Samuel Jones both agreed that "James Island was . . . the key to Charleston." Jones, The

Siege of Charleston, 93.
170 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

But even if that could not be accomplished, he wrote, control

of the river could still be secured using gunboats of lighter

draft-such craft were available in Port Royal. Additional force

was added to his argument by the fact that Mr. Boutelle had

arrived off Stono that afternoon in the surveying Steamer Bibb,

and after he and Marchand patched up their quarrel [see chapter

VI] , he gave his opinion that the bar across the Stono River could

be passed. Marchand wrote that he was perfectly willing to

undertake the operation himself, but that he could not provide the

necessary diversion north of Charleston on which his plan

depended. He also argued convincingly against a purely naval

attack on Charleston, claiming that this was precisely what the

Confederates expected and that for this reason they had strengthened their harbor defenses at the expense of their inland

fortifications.

Letter of May 19, 1862 continued

. . . with our wooden vessels, attempting to pass the raking

fire for miles, of the battery on Cumming's Point, Forts

Mountrie, Sumter, Johnson, and the new one on the middle

ground, each of which would have to be passed with a few

hundred yards, might be utterly destructive and mortifying

to us.

8 Permit me again to repeat that Fort Johnson is the key of

Charleston ....

Marchand had no intention of waiting for Du Pont to respond

to his suggestion. He planned to rise before dawn again on the

20th to further explore the Stono River. But the details of

positioning the Charleston blockading squadron kept him busy

until midmorning. When he did arrive off Stono, a pleasant

surprise was in store for him.

Journal entry: Off Charleston and Stono River, Tuesday,

May 20, 1862.

It was ten in the morning before I was enabled to start for

Stono Inlet when the Unadilla, Pembina, and Ottawa

8 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 19 May 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 14. Fully a year

later, on 7 April 1863, Du Pont led a flotilla of ironclads against the Charleston forts. They were repulsed with heavy losses and Du Pont wrote Secretary Welles that

"Charleston cannot be taken by a purely naval attack . . .." Du Pont to Welles, off

Charleston, 8 April 1863. Du Pont Papers, III, 5-6.
FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON 171

gunboats were assembled and the surveying Steamer Bibb,

Captain Boutelle, with his buoy tender schooner. Mr.

Boutelle had been engaged surveying for an entrance since

yesterday afternoon and sometime before the James Adger

reached the bar off the Inlet, I saw that the three gunboats

had, in obedience to orders I had given their commanders,

gone in the first favorable moment without waiting for me.

Hence they entered the Inlet at the time I was on the bar and

commenced throwing 11 inch shells into and beyond Fort

Palmetto behind which the rebels had hoisted their flag.

Almost instantaneously with the first shell the rebel flag was

hauled down and soon columns of dense smoke and flames

arose from buildings unconsumed last Sunday. As the

gunboats advanced, shells were thrown into every thick

wooded or suspicious place frightening out the enemy's

pickets who took to their heels and ran for their lives. 9 The senior officer of the gunboats [Collins] , seeing that I was approaching with speed in my gig, anchored at the

abrupt curve of the Stono River where Cole's Island

terminated and I joined the little but terrific squadron. This

holy-horrored squadron of gunboats was the:

Unadilla, Lieutenant Commander Collins on which I went

aboard

Pembina, Lieutenant Commander Bankhead

Ottawa, Lieutenant Commander Creighton

When passing (in my gig) the two latter, I took Creighton

and Bankhead to the Unadilla to consult that there might be

unanimity of action. A stretch of the Stono River of 1-1/2 or

2-1/2 miles was before us. At two thirds of this distance on

the south side was a pretty little village alone composed of

large houses, the summer residences of the planters of the

vicinity and the aristocracy of Charleston but totally uninhabited. Its position gave the advantage of the sea breeze,

9 The commander of the Confederate force defending Stono Inlet, Col. C.H. Stevens

of the 24th South Carolina Infantry, described the action similarly: "Before any support

could be sent forward, one of the enemy's gunboats passed up the river and took a

position enfilading the bridge and causeway, where she commenced throwing grape and

shrapnel completely cutting off all communications with the pickets and closing off their

line of retreat .... The fire of the enemy was very severe and penetrated the cover of the

detachment in every direction. The men were then very prudently withdrawn until the

firing ceased . . .." O.R.A., XIV, 18. See also 16-19.
172 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

although the ocean was some miles off, and is known as

Legareville, the residence alone of Episcopalians whose

modest little church but tall spire is a landmark for entering

the river from the sea. A little above but on the opposite side

(north) of the river was a battery known as the Old Fort

having been constructed during the war with Great Britain in

1812, now, however, known as Fort Pickens. Between

Legareville and the Old Fort piles were driven across the river

to obstruct the navigation against the gunboats, with a small

aperture for vessels to pass in mid-channel. Still further

above, a small steamboat was in sight running at full speed

from us up the river and a little in advance another

black-looking steam thing which I subsequently learned was a

pile driver. But they were beyond chase. The first thing that

attracted my attention was all the buildings in the Old Fort

on fire, the torch having been applied by the rebels on sight

of our dreaded gunboats. I have been officially informed that

concealed obstructions had been placed in the river beside

numerous torpedoes to be exploded by the passing vessels,

hence caution was required and boats were sent ahead to drag

in search of them. It was well on towards night when the

gunboats came to anchor close to the staked obstructions in

the river but the boats advanced in their search far above it. Not that I cared particularly to drag much above the

barricade as the small steamer and pile driver had gone up

from the piles and we could go in safety when they had

passed.

Before sunset, Captains Collins, Bankhead, Creighton, and

Boutelle with myself pulled in our boats and made a reconnaissance of the Old Fort [Pickens] and its burning

houses. No guns were there, having been removed some ten

days ago, but the battery was a long one extending four or

five hundred yards to command the river from upward

coming vessels and all their fires to concentrate upon the

opening in the piled obstructions of the river.

Before leaving the anchorage, where I joined the gunboats

and which had a fair view of the ocean outside of the bar five

miles distant, we saw the U.S. Steamer Keystone State stand

in and I signalized to the Flag Officer who was on board of

her that the Old Fort opposite Legareville was abandoned

and he immediately left for Port Royal.
FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON 173

Du Pont ordered Marchand to continue to explore the Stono

River, and in particular "to examine the nature of the obstructions . . . and see if they could be pulled up—also to look out for

torpedoes . . .. M1

° Marchand had every intention of continuing the

reconnaissance. He evinced his eagerness by accepting Collins'

invitation to take over his cabin and sleep on board the Unadilla

instead of returning to the James Adger.

Marchand was up early again the next morning, but because of

delays caused by the necessity to mark the channel, it was nearly

noon before the gunboats got underway. Marchand, on board the

Unadilla, took the lead and while careful soundings were made by

the leadsman, they steamed slowly upriver. With the Old Fort in

ruins, the only obstacle on the river was the "barrier of stakes,"

but the gap in that barrier which had been left for the use of

Confederate boats would serve the small Union gunboats just as

well. They found no difficulty in passing the barricade, but about

a mile beyond it they encountered shoaling water and Marchand

had the signal to anchor run up immediately. No sooner had he

done so than cries of help were heard from shore.

Journal entry: Stono River, Wednesday, May 21, J. 862.

. . . scarcely had the anchor been let go when the officers and

crew of two boats belonging to the surveying steamer Bibb

which had but landed and were making a survey of the Old

Fort made signs and halloed that the enemy was near. Some

shots from the howitzer of the Ottawa fired amongst the

hummocks rising in the marshes stirred up the enemy from

every covert like partridges. At a distance of less than a mile I could see between 100 and 200 soldiers rise and retreat to

the pine grounds. The shells from the howitzer of the Ottawa

gave them additional speed nor did they stop their most

precipitous flight until at the edge of the thicker pines about

1-1/4 miles off. Then they considered themselves entirely

safe and turned to look at us. An 11-inch shell was then thrown towards them which

exploded close to the shelter they had taken. Such dire fright

that followed was ludicrous, they separated and ran in all

direction, across the marshes, over the cotton fields, through

10 The orders were sent by "telegraph," or flag hoist. The quoted passage is from Du

Pont's letter to his wife describing the event. Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, off Georgetown,

20 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 61.
174 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

the pines, each keeping as far from another as possible fearful

that where two seen together another shell would be sent

amongst them. When last seen from the masthead, they were

still running.

That was not the only encounter with the enemy. A small

boat's crew sent ashore by Boutelle to examine Fort Pickens

discovered that it had not been entirely abandoned after all.

Journal entry of May 21, 1862 continued

. . . the officers of the Bibb . . . concluded to look into the

magazine first (I had been in the previous evening) and on

approaching the door was met by a rebel soldier with a bayonet in his hand. The officer's name was [Charles H.]

Boyd and on pointing his revolver, the bayonet man

surrendered. Mr. Boyd then stepped forward and on looking

into the magazine was confronted by another soldier with

musket aimed at him. He (Mr. Boyd) stepped back and called

another officer [from] the Bibb, Mr. [John S.] Bradford, to

come and bring the armed boat's crew. Upon their arrival the

soldiers were individually called out of the magazine and

their arms taken from them. They were six in number

belonging to the 24th South Carolina regiment and were

employed on picket duty. They were all sent to me on board

the Unadilla and I ordered them to be taken to Port Royal in

the Bibb which was expected to leave tonight or tomorrow

morning. 1 1

After these two unimportant but exhilarating confrontations

with the enemy, Marchand's little flotilla continued its cautious

exploration of the river. Opposite Fort Pickens was the apparently

abandoned village of Legareville. Marchand sent Commander

Collins and Mr. Boutelle ashore to make a cursory search and to

gather additional information. They learned from several

frightened Contrabands that another mile up the river was a magnificent plantation belonging to a Mr. Paul Grimball, who

claimed to be a Union man and who the day before had raised a

flag of truce above his home, though it was not seen by the ships

1 Marchand commended both Boyd and Bradford for their "gallantry and firmness"

in a letter to Du Pont. Marchand to Du Pont, Stono River, 21 May 1862. Marchand

Papers. Also printed in O.R.N. , XIII, 15.
FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON 175

at the time. Collins and Boutelle then rowed up to his small wharf

where they were met by an "old gentleman who seemed to be

about 75 years of age."

Journal entry of May 21, 1862 continued

He begged us protection as he was a good Union man and

represented that the rebel cavalry infesting the country on

the south side of the Stono River of which there was two

companies had repeatedly urged him to leave and take away

his slaves; that last night when our boats had passed the

barrier they insisted still stronger and told him that the

Yankees in the gunboats would bayonet him in his bed and

do the same to all his slaves. His reply was that he had been

educated in New Haven; that the northern people must have

much changed; that he still had faith that they were not so

blood thirsty; and that he and his slaves would remain. Still,

so strong was the impression upon his mind by the

representatives that he and his slaves had slept the past night

amongst the pines a mile from his house. His gratitude

extended to tears that we would not molest but protect him

from our own men. Several old Negro women, bowed down

and thanked the officers that they did not come to bayonet

them. The officers at first declined entering his home to take

a glass of wine apprehensive it might bring him in trouble

with the rebel forces in the vicinity but he said no, that they

knew his political opinions and respected him. He next

requested if not in contravention of orders not to injure a

fine mansion and estate across the river which belonged to his

son, who was absent far inland with his wife who had been

deranged on account of this war and apprehension of the

terrible gunboats. That the encampment of rebel soldiers we

had seen there this morning was against his directions and

that they had materially injured the estate by burning the

fences and destroying stock, fruit and vegetables besides

everything [else] within reach. He gave this morning's

Charleston newspaper by a boat he sent, we returned the

latest dates of northern papers.

Upon the return of the flag of truce the Unadilla

continued up the river about two or three and a half miles to

the residence of the son of Grimball [Thomas Grimball]

,

anchored so as to swing in the narrow channel. Here we had
176 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

reached the utmost of our necessary reconnaissance, my

instructions being to see the condition of the Old Fort and

obstructions in the river with the view of our army crossing

the Stono, but I went further and found the firm land

beyond that they might land legions for an attack upon the

southern defense of Charleston and in a letter 1

2

written to

the Flag Officer late at night informed him that with the

gunboats I would insure a safe transit across the river and the

establishment of a permanent camp against the rebel forces.

I was informed that about four miles further up the river

the enemy was constructing a powerful battery [Fort

Pemberton] but [I] did not care to go any higher as my

intention is to worry them and give the impression that the

attack upon Charleston is to be made by the navy [so] that

all guns may be placed for that purpose, leaving an open way

for the army to reach Fort Johnson. The gate is now

invitingly open to the army and we only await their coming.

Should that be long delayed, my game will be played out and

they will divine the secret of my movement.

The Unadilla again dropped down the river and, being

joined by the Ottawa, passed below the barrier and Old Fort

and anchored. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon we heard the

most terrific screams ashore, the lookouts at the mastheads

having previously reported a stampede of slaves on the cotton

and corn fields to the south of the river. A company of

cavalry then was seen to emerge from the pines . . . charging

at full speed amongst the flying slaves. For a momerit I thought it might be the advance guard of our army from

North Edisto on its way to Charleston as the gunboats had

secured a transit across the Stono River for them, but the

most diabolical scene opened upon us. The cavalry fired their

pistols on all sides amongst the Negroes and then I knew it

was not part of our army but the rebel force so I directed the

gunboats to open fire upon the mounted men and a half

dozen shells not only drove them from the cotton and corn

fields, but from amongst the pines where they thought

themselves safe. They went scampering in every direction the

sight of which was indeed laughable. In the meantime the

Negroes crowded down to the water's edge less than a

1 2 Not found.
FORT JOHNSON IS THE KEY OF CHARLESTON 177

hundred yards from the gunboats and Lieutenant Commander Bankhead pulled off in his gig and had the poor

creatures sent on board. Seventy-one came off who principally were women and small children as the able-bodied

plantation men had in a great measure been sent into the

interior. One Negro woman we saw hurrying down to the

water's edge with eight little children. One of them sucking

her breast, another she had on her shoulder, two others were

holding only her scanty dress, and the other four little ones,

at top of speed and almost naked, flocked around and

materially impeded her progress. Another slave named

London who brought off two of his own little children and

his wife's sister's child informed me that his master had told

all his slaves that they should not be removed from the

plantation [but] that they had finished their field tasks for

the day and were going to their houses, [and] that the

company of cavalry had then come upon them. [The

Confederates had] waited 'till their return to their houses

before attempting to force them away from their home [to

take them into the interior] . He further stated that the

cavalry was so near upon their firing their pistols, and that he

could not run as fast as the others having the children in his

arms and his nephew holding onto his clothes, that he

concealed himself under a bush in the swamp keeping his

own and the children's heads above water. The rebel cavalry

was on dry ground but a few yards from him when they had

rallied after being driven back by our guns and, "that a great

big thing making a noise in the air scaring his children to cry,

came close to the soldiers and breaking all to pieces with a noise just like a cannon," drove the cavalry away. From the

deck of the ship I saw two riderless horses careening on a cotton field and supposed that the riders had been thrown

from their horses by one of our 11-inch shells. The Negro

stated that he heard the Captain of the company halloo to

some of his men to catch the horses.

Before returning below the barrier off the Old Fort, we

had ascended the river to Paul Grimball's plantation where

the first permanent land on the north side of the Stono River

was found for the passage of the army. Four miles above, the

rebels are at work erecting a strong battery [Fort Pemberton] . One thousand slaves are employed on the work today
178 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

and I desire that all the rebel energies be exercised in that

direction knowing that the line of defense [along] the

Wappoo Creek [is being built] against my pet gunboats for

they are under the belief that Charleston will be taken by the

navy and [I] wish to worry them by a show of gunboats until

the army makes an advance.
CHAPTER IX

A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION"

22-30 May 1862

The news that the Confederates were building defenses further

up the Stono River did not disturb Marchand. His scheme required

possession of the Inlet only as far as Paul Grimball's plantation.

From that point, troops disembarked from transports could make

their way across James Island to assault Fort Johnson from the

rear. On the morning of 22 May, he talked with each of the ship's

commanders and particularly with Commander Collins, the senior

officer present, to stress the importance of keeping open the lines

of communication to Paul Grimball's plantation. On the other

hand, he warned, it was important not to be too aggressive or the

Confederates might begin to appreciate the Union plan. Having

given these instructions, Marchand had himself rowed over the bar

and rejoined the blockading squadron off Charleston.

Once on board his own ship again, he learned that Commander

Parrott, the senior officer in charge of the blockade during

Marchand's absence, had permitted a British sloop of war to pass

through the blockade and anchor off Charleston. Her captain had

professed a desire to communicate with the British consul in

Charleston and claimed the right as a neutral to do so. Even as Marchand climbed aboard the James Adger, this ship, H.M.S.

Racer, could be seen anchored alongside a Confederate tug. But as Marchand watched, the Racer got underway and steamed out of

the harbor. She passed near the Augusta and her captain told

Parrott that he was bound for Savannah, his mission being to

determine the strength of the blockading forces. He also asked

Parrott to present his personal compliments to the senior officer.

On learning of this, a dubious Marchand scoffed "what are the

compliments of an Englishman—our natural enemy?"1

Comdr. Algernon M'Lennon Lyons, RN. Steam sloop Racer, 11 guns, 579 tons.
•. .. | / • f « % % # • M>u 2 -5 6 | uO

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A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION 181

Though back on his blockading station off Charleston, Marchand's thoughts frequently returned to his force in the Stono. He

worried lest Collins, or someone else, jeopardize his cherished plan

for assaulting Charleston. On the 22d he sent Parrott in the

Augusta back to Stono Inlet to assess the situation.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, May 22,

1862.

Captain Parrott reported that he had in his gig gone up the

river to near to Legareville and found the three gunboats

below the barrier, that a reconnaissance above the barrier had

not been made that day, that nothing had transpired since

my leaving there except that the number of Contrabands

seeking shelter amounted to about 300. I had before leaving

the Stono yesterday instructed the commander of the

gunboats that in the event of the rebels approaching to land

all the Contrabands anywhere so as not to impair the

efficiency of their vessels. I must colonize them. I should

myself have gone to Stono River with the James Adger. . . . Du Pont would not have agreed. The commander of the South

Atlantic Blockading Squadron was much more concerned about

the effectiveness of the blockade than he was about the lines of

communication through Stono Inlet. Only that week he had

received information from the State Department that several

dozen vessels had been purchased by a British trading company

with the intent of sending all of them together into Charleston so

that some at least would succeed in getting through the blockade.2 Such an event would be disastrous for the nation, for the navy,

and for Du Pont personally. Since the fall of Georgetown on 21

May, Charleston was the only city on the South Atlantic coast

open to trade. While Du Pont agreed that it would be desirous to

capture the city, he was less sanguine than Marchand about the

possibilities of using the Stono River as an avenue of attack. Du

Pont did not believe that the army could be counted on to carry

out its part of the plan. Welles was willing to place Maj. Gen.

David Hunter's troops under the Flag Officer for just such joint

operations, but Du Pont had little confidence in them. "Our troops

will not fight," he wrote, "if gunboats are within their reach."3

2 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 29 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 74.

3

Ibid., 79.
182 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Although he agreed with Marchand that "the harbor was impregnable from the sea except to an attack by ironclad vessels,"4

he thought that a naval attack nevertheless would be necessary

though it could not be undertaken until he had some ironclad

ships. 5 Du Pont did not discount completely the potential importance

of Stono Inlet. He knew that the army was interested in a joint

attack. Brig. Gen. Henry W. Benham, Hunter's second in command, had already approached him about the possibility of using

the Stono River for an assault on Charleston. Benham had left that

meeting with Du Pont convinced that an agreement had been

reached, but a week later, when he sent a message to the Flag

Officer asking for troop transports, he was rebuffed. Du Pont's

new Chief of Staff, Comdr. Raymond Rodgers, 6 gave his own

interpretation of the earlier meeting by explaining in a letter to

Benham that "It was informally understood that General Hunter

had not given his assent, and the matter was supposed to have

dropped." If there had been any new developments, Rodgers

wrote, Benham should have gone to Du Pont formally to arrange

with him a corporate plan. The lack of cooperation, he claimed,

was due to Benham's "failure to explicitly make known to the

Flag Officer what assistance you wished for, and from your not

having learned from him whether he could render that assistance

at this time."7 Benham did not give up on his scheme. Instead he gained the

support of the Departmental Commander, Maj. Gen. David

Hunter. Though Du Pont was anxious to avoid any plan which

would place the navy in a supporting role for the army, he realized

that some cooperation with the army was necessary, and he wrote

Hunter that he was at his disposal but to "respectfully request that

you will be pleased to convey to me any of your plans and

4 Du Pont to Benjamin Gerhard, Port Royal, 27 May 1862. Ibid., 74.

This opinion was shared by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Gustavus Vasa Fox,

who wrote Du Pont on 12 May. "... don't you think we can go squarely at it by the

channels, so as to make it purely Navy? Any other plan we shall play second." Fox to Du Pont, Washington, 12 May 1862. Fox Papers, I, 119-120.

His official title was "Captain of the Fleet."

7 Rodgers to Benham, Port Royal, 22 May 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 25-26. This kind of

interservice bickering was a common element during the Civil War and led at least one

naval officer, Stephen B. Luce, to conclude that a college for senior naval officers should

be established for the study of joint operations. The U.S. Naval War College was founded

in 1884.
A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION 183

intentions in which you desire to have the cooperation with the

naval forces under my command."8 He wrote Marchand the same

day asking him to extend his reconnaissance as far as Wappoo Cut

and to "feel the battery there."9 As Du Pont was writing, Marchand dispatched Lieutenant

Commander Downes in the Huron to look in at Stono and report

any changes in the situation of the gunboats. There were none.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, May 24,

1862.

Captain Downes reported things there in the same condition as when I left except the increase in the number of the

Contrabands and that the commanding general of the rebels

on the north side of the river had a field battery of light

guns. . . . The most annoying information was that so many

Contrabands had received their protection, they did not

know what was to be done with them.

While Marchand worried about the Stono operation, his

blockading fleet proved remarkably successful in capturing several

ships attempting to run the blockade. That afternoon, Commander

Mullany reported the capture of the Stettin, a richly loaded trader

out of Hull, England.

Journal entry of May 24, 1862 continued

Commander Mullany came on board and reported that

about 3-1/2 o'clock this morning he had gotten underway

and ran to the north and east after a vessel which soon

proved to be a steamer and by her frequent change of course

proved suspicious. ... He headed her off, [and] the stranger

lowered a boat which pulled towards the land having three or

four passengers and the Steamer then ran seaward. Captain

Mullany represented that he could not capture both the boat

and Steamer, therefore [he] gave chase to the latter. Then

several guns had to be fired, the shot of which passed ahead

and astern, before the Steamer stopped. Possession was

taken, a temporary prize crew put on board, and [it was]

brought to me for action.

8 Du Pont to Hunter, Port Royal, 24 May 1862. Ibid., 27-28.

9 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 24 May 1862. Ibid., 20-29.
184 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Marchand sent the captured Stettin to New York for adjudication. Du Pont was pleased by the capture, but not with the

disposition of the prize. He had been angered when a New York

judge released a capture on a legal technicality and had resolved to

send his own captures to Philadelphia. 10 Ignorant of this

prejudice, Marchand sent all his prizes to New York. But even this

did not detract from the nearly astonishing series of captures over

the next 3 days.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, May 25,

1862.

After daylight in the mist and rain, heavy fire was heard to

the north and we saw the Pocahontas and Augusta firing at

what I thought a schooner. About nine in the morning the

Augusta came alongside and . . . Commander Parrott came on

board and reported that a Steamer had attempted to run the

blockade at dawn of day inside of the Rattlesnake Shoal to

which the Pilot Boat Blunt gave chase. The Pocahontas,

seeing the Steamer, slipped her cable, stood towards her

[and] opened fire upon which the strange steamer was run

ashore a little to the eastward of Breach Inlet under the guns

of Beauregard Battery at the east of Sullivan's Island. The

Augusta and Pocahontas had opened fire to destroy the

grounded steamer, but the heavy swell prevented good aim

and the effects of the shot could not be ascertained.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, May 26,

1862.

Early in the morning a steamer burning soft coal and

making a great smoke was seen from this ship and the other

vessels of the Squadron off Stono Inlet. ... As the vessel

approached Lawford Channel, the ship Shepherd Knapp fired a gun to attract attention. Immediately the Huron, Lieutenant Commander Downes, got underway and commenced

firing which was the signal in the blockading squadron "that

she could not manage the case herself."

1 The private merchant vessel Lauban, captured off the mouth of the Rio Grande by

the U.S.S. Portsmouth, was restored by Judge Samuel R. Betts of the District Court of

New York on the grounds that she was loading from a neutral port (Matamoros,

Mexico). See O.R.N., XVII, 99-1 15.
A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION 185

The [watch] officer of the James Adger asked me to go in

chase, [but I declined] to do so [thinking] mentally that

should I as the Commander in Chief chase and overtake the

prize out of sight of the rest of the blockading vessels by

which the James Adger might alone have the prize money

accruing from the capture and not allow the other vessels by

signal to learn their place in the line of blockade I would

justly be subjected to the charge of unjustice and meanness,

and not wishing to make an invidious distinction amongst the

vessels, waited a short time for some one of them to ask

permission by signal to join the Huron in chase. In a few

minutes the Augusta, Commander Parrott, made the desired

signal and he started in pursuit. In the evening the Augusta

returned and Captain Parrott reported that after chasing 30

or 40 miles, the Huron overtook the Stranger and brought

her to, the Augusta being then near. The prize was the

English Steamer Cambria bound from Nassau to New

Brunswick with a most valuable cargo. By Captain Parrott 's consent the Huron took the prize into Port Royal.

While Mullany was busy capturing blockade runners and

Marchand worried over the delay in bringing troops to Stono to

exploit the Union foothold there, the Confederate defenders were

not idle. They constructed two floating barges armed with

long-range, heavy-caliber field guns, and on 25 May, floated them

downriver to challenge the Union gunboats. Collins' immediate

reaction was to send for help. In the early afternoon of 26 May,

the Schooner Buoy, tender to the Bibb, brought a plaintive note

from Collins.

Letter: Collins to Marchand, May 25, 1862. 1

1

I send this to request that you will have additional

gunboats and with heavy rifles equal to those of the enemy

sent in here as early as practicable, if you wish us to retain

possession of this place.

My opinion is that all these boats should be withdrawn,

unless it is intended to occupy the shore. 1

2

1 Collins to Marchand, Stono Inlet, 25 May 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 37.

1 2 As captain of the U.S.S. Wachusett in October 1864, Collins demonstrated a good

deal more confidence if not outright recklessness by attacking the C.S.S. Florida in neutral waters off Brazil.
186 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Marchand was shocked:

Journal entry of May 26, 1862 continued

It was astounding news and I sent Lieutenant Commander

Collins a verbal message to hold positions of the River at the

expense of the gunboats and that at the first high tide

tomorrow morning the Huron would be sent to his assistance.

It was impossible to send any additional gunboats that evening

due to falling tides and darkness, but Marchand vowed to dispatch

the Huron with first light and to go himself on board the James

Adger. Meanwhile, he wrote to Du Pont enclosing a copy of

Collins' report. He added a plaintive note of his own complaining

that "We are much crippled for want of vessels and particularly

[those] of light draft." 13 He sent this communication with the

Augusta to Port Royal the next morning as he got the James

Adger underway for Stono. But before he had gone a mile, the

Bienville was sighted approaching from the north with a strange

steamer in company. Marchand stopped his own ship and waited

for Mullany to come on board to report.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, May 27,

1862.

Mullany informed me that before 6 o'clock this morning

off Bull's Island he saw a strange steamer to which he gave

chase and cut her off from the land. After firing, the vessel

stopped and he took possession of her as a prize, she being

the British Iron Screw Steamer Patras of London. That she

had left the latter place about the 12th of April, had coaled

at Falmouth and Bermuda, stopped at Nassau, and left

Havana on the 21st inst. "for no particular place, only

coasting along" being the words of her captain. No papers

were found on board. It was said by the officer and crew that

her cargo consisted of 1400 barrels of gun powder, 68 boxes

of fire arms, one case of quinine, 848 bags of coffee, 10

boxes of merchandise, etc. It was nearly night before the

prize was dispatched to New York.

Marchand's expedition to Stono was thus postponed another

day. He might have proceeded to Stono despite the capture of the

1 3 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 26 May 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 40.
A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION 187

Patras, but Captain Boutelle, stopping off at Stono on his wayback from Port Royal, informed Marchand that things were not

nearly so desperate as Collins had reported in his letter. Nevertheless, the next day Marchand took the James Adger south to Stono

Inlet to have a look for himself.

Journal entry: Off Charleston and in Stono River, Wednesday, May 28, 1862.

At daylight got underway in the James Adger and . . . ran

on and anchored off Stono Inlet. I saw the Huron outside of

the bar with a signal flying for a Pilot, the Flambeau coming

out of the Inlet, the Unadilla in the basin just inside of the

bar, and the Pembina and Ottawa at anchor in Stono River.

Marchand prepared to embark in his gig to join the squadron

inside when another strange vessel was sighted. It was the U.S.S.

Norwich, released from the blockading force off Georgetown and

sent to join the force off Charleston. Marchand spoke to her

captain and discovered that she was dangerously short of coal. He

therefore dispatched her at once to Port Royal, sending with her

the officers and crew of the Patras. He then "attempted to cross the bar, but was taken sick, and returned in the gig to the James

Adger." 14 Back on board his own ship, Marchand signaled the

gunboats inside the bar to make a reconnaissance to determine the

location and strength of the armed barges.

While he waited to hear the results of that reconnaissance, two

ships appeared out of the South. They were the Augusta, returning

from Port Royal with a coal barge in tow, and the Steamer Ellen,

which Du Pont had sent in response to Marchand's plea for more

light draft gunboats. But unknown to Marchand, more help was

yet to come and from a most unexpected and unwelcome quarter.

Even while the Ellen steamed into the anchorage off the Stono

River, Du Pont was writing the orders for the U.S.S. Pawnee to

join her. The Pawnee, Comdr. Percival Drayton, was an ideal craft

for work inside the Stono. Despite her shallow draft, she carried a deceptively strong battery. She had just returned from Fernandina, where Du Pont had been very pleased with her

performance. The only difficulty was that Drayton was senior to

Marchand and he would therefore become senior officer on the

14 From the journal entry of 28 May 1862.
188 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

river. Du Pont did not see this as a difficulty. He felt that the

Charleston blockade deserved a full-time supervisor, and Marchand

could hardly be that while he was directing affairs on the Stono

River. With Drayton to relieve him, Marchand could once again

devote his full attention to supervising the blockade. Du Pont

therefore dispatched Drayton to "assume command of the naval

forces of the Stono River . . ..", 5 Ignorant of this new development, Marchand had himself taken

aboard the Ellen soon after her arrival and on that ship passed

across the bar into the Stono River. He immediately called a council of all captains on board the Ottawa. There he explained

his plan for routing the armed barges. Lieutenant Commander

Collins was to take his own ship and the Ellen up Folly Island

Creek from which he could fire on the barges from the east.

Marchand would take the other three gunboats up the Stono River

and attack them from the west. Since the barges were unmaneuverable, they would be unable to fire at both squadrons and

would be destroyed in the crossfire. It was a simple plan, but well

thought out. Unfortunately, the morning's reconnaissance and the

arrival of the Ellen had taken up nearly the whole day and so the

attack was postponed until the morrow.

Journal entry: Stono River, Thursday, May 29, 1862.

All on the gunboats were at work at four in the morning

and I went on board the Pembina and, having in company the

Huron and Ottawa [and] after a little delay occasioned by

the fog, passed up the Stono River past the place where the

Unadilla was fired upon last Sunday, went through the

barricade, passed the old fort and Paul Grimball's and

anchored at Thomas Grimball's without finding a battery

either in Folly Island Creek or in Stono River. The object of

our part of the squadron having been accomplished and

seeing that Lieutenant Commander Collins with the Unadilla

and Ellen had been ashore [aground] but had gotten off, and

I made signal to Collins to proceed in the execution of his

orders which he satisfactorily accomplished, for when he

returned at night he told me that he went up Folly Island

River to the mouth of the creek where he had a full view over

the marshes of the place where the floating battery had been

1 5 Du Pont to Drayton, Port Royal, 28 May 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 52.
A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION 189

and nothing of the kind was there now and that he had been

informed by some Negroes in the vicinity that the floating

battery had been towed away on Monday. Collins sent boats

up Folly Island Creek and found where a one-gun battery had

been erected upon piles but the gun [was] gone and he burnt

the carriage. That he also found where two other batteries

were in a state of construction and a gun near each lying in

the mud. Also that he had discovered a large army scow on

shore suitable for the transportation of an army across the

Stono River from the sea to a distance of two miles above

Thomas GrimbalTs plantation thus ensuring again the safe

transit of our army across the river where they desired so to

do.

He had little time to spend on self-congratulation, however, for

the U.S.S. Pawnee was soon sighted off the entrance to Stono

River. On the Ottawa, Marchand waited inside the bar for the

Pawnee to enter and then went on board to meet Drayton. That

officer handed Marchand the following letter from Du Pont:

Letter: Du Pont to Marchand, May 18, 1862. 16

Sir: I have received your several reports, written within the

last few days.

I take occasion to commend your zeal and promptitude in

taking possession of the Stono River, particularly in reconnoitering the defenses of Cole's Island in a small boat, and

drawing the fire of the enemy upon you at great risk to

yourself and boat's crew.

I write now to request that, although I am completely at

fault as to the intentions of the army, I am desirous to offer

every facility in my power toward their operations, and I desire you to hold the Bienville, Augusta, Alabama, and

Keystone State in readiness to come here and transport the

troops to other points if required.

Commander Drayton has just arrived from Fernandina,

and as the Pawnee's draft admits, with care, of her crossing

the Stono bar, I have concluded to send Commander Drayton

to that river in pursuance of the information you have

16 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 28 May 1862. Ibid., 51.
190 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

forwarded to me and of Lieutenant Commander Collins'

report of the condition of things there.

I congratulate you and the blockading force off Charleston

on its recent important captures as an evidence of your and

their zeal and vigilance.

Marchand did not record his reaction to the letter except to

write that "it was mortifying." He took Drayton on board the

Ottawa and steaming slowly upriver, he pointed out the geographical features of the Inlet, including the place near the Grimball

plantation where the army might land. Soon after the Ottawa

anchored off Thomas Grimball's, a Confederate steamer was seen

further up the river, but . . .

Journal entry of May 29, 1862 continued

Drayton hesitated about going after her as a Contraband

from the wharf at Paul Grimball's hailed the Ottawa in

passing, and reported that torpedoes had been placed in the

river above Thomas Grimball's. However, daredevil Bankhead

of the Pembina obtained permission to pull in the gig about a mile up to where there was a bend in the river to take a look

at the whereabouts of the rebel steamer. He said it was much

further up than expected and around another bend but

induced Drayton to go on half a mile further up in the

Ottawa. On getting that far, the temptation to fire upon the

rebel was irresistible and, our shells just falling short, we were

enticed about 2-1/2 miles up and then across the marsh saw

the rebel batteries on John's Island just below the junction to

the Wappoo Creek with the Stono River. The accidental

reconnaissance was perfect and all desirable information

being obtained the Ottawa's stern anchor was dropped .... However satisfactory the reconnaissance, the arrival of Drayton

was a severe blow to Marchand's hopes. He had, as he saw it,

opened the river at considerable risk of his own life; he had

developed and actively espoused a plan for a joint attack on

Charleston from the Grimball plantation on the Stono River. And

now, when it appeared that such an attack was in the offing,

command was taken away from him and given to Drayton. He was

guardedly reproachful in his report to Du Pont. After informing

him that "we have the unmolested control of the Stono River," he

added,
A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION 191

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, May 28, 1862. 1 7

It was, sir, a subject of deep mortification that I found

Commander Drayton had come to supercede me in command

of the vessels in this river at a time when some credit might

be obtained in safely passing the army across in its

contemplated attack upon Charleston.

I will immediately rejoin the James Adger, to which I am

attached.

For his part, Commander Drayton must have felt somewhat

embarrassed by Marchand's poorly disguised reluctance to leave

Stono Inlet. He, too, wrote Du Pont testifying that "I found that

Captain Marchand had arrived here the evening before me with the

Ellen, and having already ordered almost everything that I intended doing myself." He concurred with Marchand that "we

are in as complete possession of the river as of Port Royal," and

claimed that the navy could land and protect the army anywhere

within range of its guns. A terse last paragraph noted that

"Captain Marchand went out this morning to join his vessel." 1

8

Du Pont's intelligence of affairs in Stono, however, was based

on the panic-stricken report of Lieutenant Commander Collins.

While waiting to receive news from Drayton, he wrote Assistant

Secretary of the Navy Fox that it was fortunate he "got Drayton

up in time ... to go in there. . .." 1

9

When he received the reports

from Marchand and Drayton, he was pleased by the success, but

stung by Marchand's complaint. He took the time to write a lengthy justification that was little short of a reprimand.

Letter: Du Pont to Marchand, June 10, 1862. 20

... I regret to find that you express "deep mortification"

that Commander Drayton had come to supercede you in

command of the vessels at a time when some credit might be

obtained in safely passing the army across, etc.

I have considered you as commanding for the moment the

largest of the detached divisions of this fleet, as it is the most

1

7

Marchand to Du Pont, Stono Inlet, 28 May 1862. Ibid., 53.

1

8

Drayton to Du Pont, Stono Inlet, 30 May 1862. Ibid., 55-56.

19 Du Pont to Fox, Port Royal, 31 May 1862. DuTont Papers, II, 91.

20 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 10 July 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 57.
192 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

important, and is so considered by the Navy Department-the

blockading force off Charleston.

I refrained, so long as circumstances enabled me to do so

without injustice, from relieving you by either Commanders

Prentiss or Goldsborough, your seniors.

Now in reference to Commander Drayton: you wrote to

me on the 26th, enclosing a communication from Lieutenant

Commander Collins, calling earnestly for "additional gunboats with heavy rifles." You say yourself: "It would be

desirable to have more light-draft steamers in the Stono

River." The Pawnee was the only vessel that could cross the

bar with a more formidable armament. Was I to take her

commander out before sending her there?

... I am not insensible to such a remark as the one I have

quoted above from your communication of the 29th ultimo.

Insensible or not, Marchand felt that once again opportunity

had slipped through his fingers. While plans to exploit the

foothold in Stono Inlet matured, he prepared to return to the

blockade of Charleston and resume the tedious routine of

shipboard life. He remained one more night in Stono Inlet on

board the Ottawa, but early the next morning he bade Creighton

farewell and set out in his gig to rejoin his own ship. On the way,

he stopped to inspect the colony of Contrabands which he had

founded and which now numbered "about 400 souls." He noted

that "They were a happy set of darkies enjoying themselves in

doing nothing."

About 5 in the afternoon, he reached the James Adger. Once on

board, he learned of the capture of the General Miramar by

Commander LeRoy in the Keystone State.

Journal entry: Stono River and off Charleston, Friday, May

30, 1862.

. . . about daylight yesterday, the Keystone State and

James Adger seeing the Pawnee approach our line and

supposing it to be an attempt to run the blockade, slipped

their anchors and spoke [to] her. The two vessels continued

their cruising and seeing the black smoke of a[nother]

steamer, gave chase. The Keystone State, being the fastest,

overtook and seized her but in sight of the James Adger. She

proved to be the English Steamer Elizabeth, formerly [the
A SUBJECT OF DEEP MORTIFICATION 193

General] Miramar, from Nassau nominally bound for St.

Johns, New Brunswick, ladened with contraband of war. She

was sent to New York.
CHAPTER X

"THE BATTLE OF ARMIES"

31 May-19 June 1862

Relieved of command in Stono Inlet, Marchand devoted all his

energies to the squadron off Charleston. Despite his disappointment, he went to work with enthusiasm. During the morning

hours of 31 May, he wrote numerous official reports, issued

directives reorganizing the blockade off the various entrances of

Charleston, and received visits from Lt. Comdr. George B. Balch of

the Pocahontas and Acting Volunteer Lt. Henry S. Eytinge of the

Shepherd Knapp. In the afternoon the Keystone State steamed

near with another prize, the Cora, of English registry. Commander

LeRoy had caught her attempting the entrance into Charleston.

Marchand, finally attuned to the Flag Officer's desires, dispatched

her with a prize crew to Philadelphia. "I have been very busy all

day," he wrote. It was a day typical of dozens to follow:

organizing the blockade, dispatching prizes, and receiving visits

from commanders in the squadron who more often than not were

oppressed by some seemingly insoluble problem.

Despite the nearly continuous demands of managing the

blockade, he remained concerned about the small squadron in

Stono Inlet, for it was there that his plan was about to be tested.

General Benham had finally convinced Hunter to attempt an

assault on Charleston through Stono Inlet. The army's plan was

nearly identical to the one originally proposed by Marchand. The

First Division, encamped on Edisto Island, was to cross the Edisto

River and march overland to the Stono where it could be

transported across to Thomas Grimball's plantation on James

Island. This division would be augmented by the Second Division

which was to be transported by sea directly from Port Royal. The

combined forces under Benham would surge across James Island

and attack Fort Johnson from the rear.

It was an appealing plan on paper and seemed to offer every

chance for spectacular success with a minimum of risk, but it was
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 195

marred from the start by the absence of two essential elements. 1

First, there was no unified command for the combined operation.

The divisional commander, General Benham, did not feel himself

responsible either to Commander Drayton or to Du Pont. As far as he was concerned, the navy existed only to assist the army and he

had little patience for Du Pont or his subordinates. Du Pont

returned his antagonism. He was scornful of the army and doubted

its ability to leave the protection of the gunboats. 2 His attitude

was not unlike that of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus

Fox who wrote in a letter to Du Pont on 3 June: "I feel my duties

are twofold; first, to beat our southern friends; second, to beat the

army."3 Fox had already written to Du Pont expressing a hope

that the fall of Charleston should come as the result of a purely

naval attack. Though Du Pont was not anxious to attempt a naval

attack, he thought it would probably be necessary in the end

because the army was so totally incapable of offensive operations.

After sending Drayton to relieve Marchand, Du Pont wrote his

wife that Drayton "knows the soldiers well; he considers them

awful and incurable, and acts accordingly."4

If this conspicuous lack of harmony was not enough to damn

the expedition, there was a second curious circumstance: the

personalities of the four men in charge of the army's movements

were so incompatible that there doubtless would have been

disharmony even without the antagonism of the navy. It was this

factor, the incompatibility of the army commanders, that effectively destroyed any realistic hope for precise timing in the

operation.

The commanding officer of the Department of the South, Maj.

Gen. David Hunter, was a calm, dignified, and courteous officer,

but at 60 years of age he no longer had enthusiasm for ambitious

military schemes. He was a soft-spoken man, not given to hasty

decisions or precipitous action, who frequently attempted to

secure the navy's cooperation by resorting to flattery. His

See Hazard Stevens, "Military Operations in South Carolina in 1862 Against

Charleston, Port Royal Ferry, James Island, Secessionville," Publications of the Military

History Society of Massachusetts, IX, 1912, 111-158.

I have not much confidence in the operation." Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 3 June 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 98.

3 Fox to Du Pont, Port Royal, 3 June 1862. Ibid., 96.

4 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 3 June 1862. Ibid., 101.
196 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

communications to Du Pont, technically his equal in rank, were so

politely worded as to be almost obsequious. Yet, despite this

general timidity and deference, his personal abhorrence of slavery

had prompted him to issue an unauthorized emancipation proclamation which claimed to free from bondage all "persons

in . . . Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina-heretofore held as

slaves." 5 Although his action was promptly disavowed by the

Lincoln administration, Hunter's well-publicized opposition to

slavery endeared him to northern radicals and probably prevented

his being replaced by a younger and more vigorous man.

Hunter's second in command was Brig. Gen. Henry W. Benham.

Benham was Hunter's opposite: young and impatient. He was

rough, even rude, especially to subordinates. His language was

coarse and his manner careless. 6 According to one observer, he

was "utterly unaccustomed to the command and handling of

troops, and swollen with new-found authority." 7 He was eager for

action, but seldom planned far enough ahead to be able to predict

the results of his action.

In the second echelon of command there were two divisional

commanders. The First Division belonged to Brig. Gen. Horatio G.

Wright who had accompanied Du Pont on the expeditions to both

Port Royal and Fernandina. Du Pont thought well of him. But in

June 1862, he was still untested in combat. At Port Royal and

again at Fernandina, Du Pont's fleet had forced a surrender before

Wright's troops could be landed. In the coming expedition, Wright

would prove to be critically overcautious. He was as hesitant as Benham was precipitous. He had little confidence in his own

troops and, like Du Pont, he feared that they would prove to be of

little value when out of range of the protecting guns of the fleet.

The Second Division was commanded by Brig. Gen. Isaac

Stevens, probably the only thoroughly competent officer in the

Department. He was conscientious and thoughtful, and even Du

Pont called him a fine soldier. 8 He was without Wright's timorous

nature, but was equally repulsed by Benham's insufferable

strutting.

Lincoln Papers, V, 222. Hunter also armed and uniformed the slaves whom he

claimed to have freed and formed the first Negro regiment in the Federal Army.

6 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 30 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 81.

7 Stevens, "Military Operations," 137.

s Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 30 May 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 81.
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 197

This unlikely quadrumvirate was charged with the command of

some 20,000 Federal troops, a little over half of whom were to

take part in the projected attack on Charleston.

In the predawn darkness of 2 June, Benham and 3,000 men of

Stevens' division were embarked on the Bienville, Alabama, and

the Keystone State which had been borrowed from Marchand's

blockading squadron. At dawn they weighed anchor and steamed

out through the north channel on their way to Stono Inlet.

Meanwhile, the small gunboats still in the Stono River fired on

suspected Confederate strongpoints to ensure a safe landing for

the Union Army. Marchand heard the cannonade from the deck of

the James Adger.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, June 2,

1862.

This morning [I] could hear the gunboats in the Stono

River fire for a long time and was apprehensive that an attack

was being made upon them by the enemy. [I] sent the

Flambeau, which happened to be near off that place, to

ascertain if assistance was required and if sudden to go in,

[but] if not, to signalize and I would send the Pocahontas

having a heavier battery and less draft of water. Then

watching more closely, I could see the shells from the

gunboats burst and knew them to be shelling a camp of three

Rebel regiments which I had seen when last in the Stono

River [which were] located on James Island and I felt much

relieved.

About noon a number of vessels were seen coming from

the direction of Port Royal and stopping off and going into

Stono River. They were transports and landed our army

under General Benham for the purpose of attacking Charleston.

In the afternoon the Bienville came from towards Stono

having put [about 600 soldiers] into light [draft] steamers to

cross the bar having brought them from Port Royal. The

Bienville had three small Schooners in tow which she had

captured on her way from this place to Port Royal some five

days ago. The Bienville was bound to Philadelphia for

repairs .... I put on board her for passage to the north the

crews of the captured Steamer Elizabeth and Schooner Cora.
198 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Assistance from the James Adger was not needed; the gunboats

in Stono Inlet had complete control of the waterways. Despite the

successful landing of General Benham's troops, however, the

army's plan was already going awry. To begin with, General

Wright, with the larger contingent of troops, had refused to

attempt a crossing of the Edisto River, the necessary first step in

his projected march north to the Stono. He had heard a rumor

that the Confederates had reoccupied Stono Inlet and felt that

before he submitted his troops to danger, another reconnaissance

was in order. "Ought not a reconnaissance of the Stono be made

before we move?" he asked. "I think so, most decidedly." He

reported "indications of an accession of forces on the part of the

Rebels" on Johns Island across which he would have to march. He

was convinced that his own troops were no match for these unseen

rebels in the woods. "Of course I shall do my best with what I have, but with my very limited means it will be a matter of a long

time."9 Time, however, was critical. Expressing a view Marchand

had voiced earlier, Du Pont feared that if Wright did not move

soon, the chance of surprise would be lost. For his part, Wright

claimed that he could not move until the navy supplied him with a gunboat to ferry his troops across the Edisto.

Du Pont was willing to comply with this request and he ordered

the Planter to leave Stono Inlet and go to the Edisto to assist

Wright. General Benham, meanwhile, found himself on the banks

of the Stono River with only 3,000 men instead of the 9,000 he

had expected. As if this were not bad enough, he feared that with

the departure of the Planter he was being stripped of his naval

support despite the presence of seven other gunboats on the

river. 1 ° Benham ordered his men to dig in near the river's bank,

and he asked Drayton to fire over their heads into the surrounding

brush to dislodge any concentrations of rebels that might be

gathering there. Though he doubted that it would serve any

purpose, Drayton complied with his request and used up much

valuable ammunition firing into the woods.

9 Wright to Drayton, Edisto, 28 May 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 54-55.

The letter has not been found, but Du Pont mentioned Benham's message in a

letter to General Hunter. Du Pont described it as an "attempt ... to attribute his inability to meet his own arrangements to . . . shortcomings on my part." Apparently

Benham blamed Du Pont for not arranging for General Wright's passage across the Edisto

beforehand. Du Pont to Hunter, Port Royal, 1 June 1862. Ibid., 67-68.
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 199

On board the James Adger, Marchand took note of the activity

on shore.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, June 3,

1862.

Considerable firing took place from our gunboats in the

Stono River and from the bursting of the shells [I] could tell

they were trying their ranges on the enemy encampment on

James Island. Yesterday there had been more firing than

today.

Frustrated by the lack of detailed information on the progress

of the operations, Marchand had no choice but to continue to

oversee the blockade about Charleston and do battle with the

unseasonably bad weather.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, June 4,

1862.

About nine last night a strong wind set in from [the]

southeast . . . accompanied by rain squalls. An hour and a

half afterwards these squalls became furious and our ship

commenced dragging. It was nearly midnight before our

anchor was aweigh as 60 fathoms had been veered on the

chain. We then stood about one-half mile further out,

contending against a most terrific squall, and let go a heavier

anchor. The chain of the latter became jumbled on the

windlass and before it could be veered the ship had drifted

again towards the breakers. The heavy anchor, however, was

again gotten to the bows and as daylight was advancing I kept

the ship underway. Soon after dawn we anchored and my

heart was delighted to see that none of my division of ships

had been driven ashore during the night. The only one that

put to sea was the Flambeau but by sunrise she was at her

anchorage again. The gale broke about three this morning but

I could not go below [because I was] feeling too much

uneasiness about the other vessels therefore I remained on

deck all night.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, June 5,

1862.

The Alabama came in this morning from a cruise and

Captain Lanier came on board bringing with him a piece of
200 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

cake sent to me by Mrs. Lanier from Baltimore. Captain

Eytinge of the Shepherd Knapp called aboard on business.

The Flambeau came up from her anchorage and Lieutenant

Commander Balch, coming on board, reported the perilous

condition his ship was in night before last. He [had]

attempted to run out against the heavy green seas breaking

over the vessel but ... his steam power was insufficient.

[He reported] that he [had] used five barrels of pork to

raise additional steam. He had to cut away the launch

towing astern, [and] the sea washed away his dinghy and

another old boat. He could make no headway and was fast

drifting on Rattlesnake shoal. He rejected the proposition

of some of his officers to cut away the masts. He had but

one anchor, and to avoid being driven on the Rattlesnake

shoal let it go and eased the cable by using the whole

power of the engine in the terrific squalls. He further

reported that the Donkey engine was almost useless and

desired that he might remain at anchor out near the Coal

Brig for a couple of days, to repair the Donkey and fill up

with coal. In consequence I had to alter the arrangement of

the blockading vessels ....

The storm that damaged the Flambeau also plagued General

Wright's two brigades attempting to cross the Edisto. The

Planter had arrived and the movement had already begun when

the storm blew in forcing another postponement. Finally, on 4

June, Wright's army completed its crossing and began the

15-mile march across Johns Island. Wright proceeded cautiously.

He had been informed that the rebels were in considerable

strength in Johns Island and to prevent their encircling him, he

ordered that all bridges en route be burned behind them as they

marched. One of the bridges, however, was destroyed with fully

half of the army still on the southern side and those men had to

wade across in shoulder deep water destroying much of their

equipment and ammunition in the process.

All day and all that night the army struggled across Johns

Island expecting at any moment to be assaulted by an unseen

enemy. At Stono Inlet, General Benham waited with impatience.

By the evening of 4 June, even Commander Drayton began to

be concerned. "General Wright has not appeared," he wrote, "it
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 201

is very mysterious . . .." 1 1 At dawn on 5 June, there was still no

sign of Wright's army, but at 10 o'clock the first elements of his

advanced companies appeared on the southern bank of the Stono

hallooing for transport across to Thomas Grimball's.

General Wright's troops, unused to marching, were exhausted

from their modest journey. Drayton reported to Du Pont that he

had never seen "a more used up army." If they had had to go into

battle, he wrote, "I should have been fearful of the result." 12

Fatigue, however, was not the sole reason for the useless condition

of the troops. The hundred degree heat was oppressive, and a participant remembered that "whiskey was given to the men to

enable them to perform the journey; many fell to the rear,

apparently exhausted for the sake of whiskey. Consequently, a few were very much overcome by the relief and could not

march."13

Clearly then, there would be no immediate attack. In fact,

Drayton wrote that "nothing seems to have been yet decided

on." 14 He was right. For the next 3 days, Wright's weary troops

had ample time to recover from their ordeal while the generals

attempted to agree upon a course of action. Characteristically,

Benham advised an immediate reconnaissance; Wright advised

caution. General Hunter, who now joined the combined armies,

agreed with the latter. Realizing that the Confederates could not

now be surprised, he determined to wait several days to ensure

that his forces were thoroughly rested before asking them to

assault prepared Confederate defenses.

In the interim thus provided them, the Confederates were not

idle. Rebel forces spent the next 3 days strengthening their

fortifications. Near the center of James Island, the hard ground

narrowed to a width of 125 yards near a small community called

Secessionville, and there, Confederate forces had begun to erect a small fort. 1

5

When Benham's troops had landed on 2 June it had

The letter has not been found, but Du Pont quotes this passage of it in a letter to

his wife. Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 5 June 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 106.

12

Drayton to Du Pont, Stono River, 6 June 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 79.

13

Eldridge, The Third New Hampshire, 166. Quoted in Burton, The Siege of

Charleston, 101.

14

Drayton to Du Pont, Stono River, 6 June 1862. O.R.N. XIII, 79.

So named because of the antisocial habits of its 18th century founders, not in honor of the secession of 1860-61.
202 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

been a mere shell; even by 5 June it was barely defensible. But the

Confederates now went to work with redoubled energy and in 3

days it was completed. Though not on the direct route to Fort

Johnson, this small fort, which the Confederates named Battery

Lamar, protected the rebels' left flank and was near enough to the

Union lines to throw artillery shells into the Federal camp.

For the Union Army, the 3 days passed slowly. Du Pont

worried over the inactivity. "For two or three days," he wrote, "I

have had a vague impression that something could not be going

right." 16 While the army rested at the Grimball plantation, the

James Adger continued to steam slowly about the entrances to

Charleston Harbor.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, June 7,

1862.

There was but little firing on the line of the Stono

probably because it has been raining nearly all day.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, June 8,

1862.

All night the James Adger cruised up and down before

Charleston outside of the line of blockading vessels at anchor,

and [we] saw nothing 'till daylight when a trading schooner

was spoken [to which was] bound from New York to Port

Royal.

Just before midnight the flash and report of two guns were

seen and heard towards our southernmost vessel of the

blockading line and a rocket [was] sent up. We stood in to

give assistance if necessary for a short time then recommenced our cruising. This morning I learned that the guns

were fired by the Shepherd Knapp at what was supposed [to

be] a steamer coming out. Either it was the usual Rebel tug

boat which comes out nightly in Lawford's Channel to tow in

such small schooner, if any, that may evade the blockading

vessels by keeping close in shore under the shade of the trees,

or else an illusion. At all events, the Sumter and Pocahontas

slipped their cables and found nothing. Sometime after

daylight the James Adger ran in and anchored.

1

6

Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 7 June 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 107.
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 203

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, June 9,

1862.

A heavy northeast gale was on us last night and continued

'till 4 o'clock this afternoon accompanied nearly all the time

by rain. I slept little last night. The waves were running so

high and the wind [so] strong that upon going in to the

squadron we did not anchor but steamed to the northeast

and then drifted back which operation was continued all day,

and at night we recommenced our working up and down

before Charleston.

The Rebel batteries on James Island have been firing all

day at intervals towards our troops or gunboats in the Stono.

As fate would have it, the target of the Confederate cannonade

which Marchand heard "all day" on the 9th was General Wright's

First Division. This special attention only helped convince Wright

that any forward movement by his troops would meet with

disastrous defeat. He estimated enemy strength at upwards of

30,000 and claimed that his troops were still tired and dispirited

both from their march and from the continuous rebel bombardment. Though actual enemy strength on James Island was but a

third of Wright's estimate, he was doubtless correct about the

morale of his own troops. 1 7 Commander Drayton wrote Du Pont

that "the spirit that leads to victory is [not] prevalent, but rather

a despondent tone is the prevailing one." 1

8

General Benham felt that the precarious position of the Union

Army could only be salvaged by attacking and destroying the

small fort near Secessionville. Tuesday, 10 June 1862, was "one of

the most pleasant days" of the year in Stono Inlet. The army was

rested, the weather had cleared, and Benham was anxious to

launch an attack. Though Wright continued to argue for restraint,

Benham finally convinced Hunter that a forward movement had to

be attempted. They decided to launch an attack just after dawn

the next morning.

1 7 Confederate strength in and around Secessionville was at no time greater than

8,570 and was usually much less. Federal strength totalled 11,618. A rebel deserter told

Marchand that the Confederate defenders believed the Federals to have about 13,000

troops, thus both sides thought themselves outnumbered. See O.R.N. , XIII, 141; and

Stevens, "Military Operations."

18

Drayton to Du Pont, Stono Inlet, 10 June 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 88.
204 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

All that afternoon, General Wright continued to request

additional naval gunfire support. Drayton tried to comply,

although he feared that he would soon run out of ammunition. He

wrote Du Pont about the projected attack and indicated that he

doubted its success. He did not think the troops capable of leaving

the protection of the gunboats. 1

9

While Benham's army girded itself for the dawn attack,

Marchand was occupied tending to the needs of his squadron. With

11 ships in various stages of disrepair, he was kept busy

distributing provisions and assigning stations.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, June 10,

1862.

. . . the James Adger, after cruising all night, had come in

at five in the morning and took a berth in the blockading line

next south of the Roebuck. . . . Captain Trundy of the

Roebuck called and I authorized him to get two-months

provisions from the Shepherd Knapp and since then, thinking

of it, have determined that but one-month supply can be

obtained else both vessels will require provisions at the same

time.

The Flambeau came near and Lieutenant Commander

Upshur came on board, reporting that he is nearly out of

provisions and everything else having been here since the 9th

[ of] April and I directed him to proceed tomorrow morning

to Port Royal for supplies and take the sick of the Sumter

and the Contrabands from this ship to that place. The U.S.

Supply Steamer Massachusetts, Lieutenant Commander

[George H.] Cooper, arrived returning from the South and

gave fresh provisions to all the vessels here and before

sundown started homeward. Lieutenant Commander [James

M.] Duncan of the Norwich called and I promised to supply

him with water.

Sent the Alabama to cruise to the south and east of south

and signalized the Keystone State to take the Alabama's

berth between the Roebuck and Flambeau.

"I doubt the ability of the force here to go away from our protection." Ibid.,

88-89.
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 205

That night at Paul Grimball's plantation, as the Union troops

slept by their guns, many of them doubtless thinking about the

dawn attack, their sleep was interrupted by a cacophony of

unexpected sounds: the popping of musketry and the deeper

throated growl of artillery mixed with the eerie high-pitched rebel

yell that announced a Confederate night attack. Although the

"sudden and furious" attack was easily beaten off (Union forces

suffering a loss of only 3 killed and 19 wounded), the fact that the

enemy had possessed enough confidence to attack at all convinced

General Hunter that his own attack had to be postponed.

Commander Drayton even wondered if the strength demonstrated

by the enemy did not make any future advance by the Union

troops inadvisable. 2 ° He also noted in a letter to Du Pont that he

had been required to give four barrels of whiskey to the army and

he asked for four more barrels from Port Royal. No doubt the

whiskey was for use in tending the wounded but some small

amount may have been useful in consoling the dispirited Union

troops.

Though Benham viewed the incident as only a temporary

setback, Wright had visions of being driven into the sea. He wrote

twice to Drayton claiming that "it would be unwise to diminish

our present force, either naval or military, by a single man or gun

'till reinforcements arrive."21 Another 3 days passed while the

Union Army licked its wounds and contemplated its predicament.

The Confederates, meanwhile, strengthened their fortifications.

The besiegers had become the besieged.

On the blockade, Marchand, ignorant of the circumstances and

widespread despondency ashore, continued to hold high hopes for

future operations in Stono. Meanwhile, he was thoroughly

encumbered by the everyday problems of maintaining the blockade. He received orders from Du Pont to dispatch either the

Augusta or the Alabama to Wassaw Sound to replace Commander

Goldsborough, who was to go to St. Simon's Sound.22 Since

Commander Parrott was senior to Lanier, Marchand would give

him the option.

20

Ibid., 89. Actually the Confederate force consisted of only one regiment, the 47th

Georgia. See O.R.A., XIV, 35-38, and Stevens, "Military Operations," 140.

21 Wright to Drayton, Grimball's plantation, 12 June 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 94, 101.

22 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 10 June 1862. Ibid., 89.
206 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, June 11,

1862.

Immediately after breakfast we got underway and looked

for the Augusta but not seeing her sent the Blunt in search.

Towards evening saw the Augusta to the east of Rattlesnake

shoal and again went after her. Captain Parrott selected to go

to Wassaw and after turning over to the James Adger a quantity of stores for the gunboats in the Stono and receiving

dispatches for the Flag Officer, left near 10 o'clock at night.

I dined with Captain Lanier on turkey.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, June 12,

1862.

A warm summer day.

The James Adger ran near the Coal Brig and commenced

coaling at the same time furnishing the Norwich with water.

It was not until after sunset that we ceased coaling.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, June 13,

1862.

Another pleasant summer day. At daylight shifted berth

close to the Coal Brig and recommenced taking in coal at

which the crew were employed until sunset.

At six in the morning a boat came from the Sumter

with ... a letter from [Drayton] detailing the helpless

condition of the army there. The gunboats then are in

reality the only obstacle to prevent their being driven out. I sent for the Sumter to anchor near the James Adger and put

on board a quantity of stores for the gunboats received from

the Augusta night before last and dispatched her to deliver

them on board the buoy tender off Stono Inlet.

Towards ten at night a sail was seen seaward. The James

Adger slipped her cable and stood in chase.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, June 14,

1862.

It was past midnight when we had overtaken, boarded, and

left the vessel chased. She was the Schooner Home from Port

Royal bound to New York in ballast, having brought coal for

the navy. She must be a slow craft as she has been five days

coming from Port Royal. This morning at daylight after
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 207

picking up the anchor slipped last night we ran close to the

Coal Brig and resumed coaling.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, June 15,

1862.

A pleasant day. [This] being the Sabbath day, the crew

was mustered and inspected at Quarters.

By previous arrangement, the Pocahontas anchored near

and Lieutenant Commander Balch came on board. We talked

business and he remained on board here from ten in the

morning until four in the evening having in the interval dined

with me.

Towards three in the afternoon the U.S. Steamer Flag,

Commander James H. Strong, arrived from Port Royal and

reported for the blockade of this place. He is just from

Washington and Baltimore but brings no news other than the

distressing intelligence of the suicide of [the] late Commander Walsh on board the Flag a few days ago, being in the

capacity of clerk to the Commander. Soon after the arrival of

the Flag, the U.S. Steamer Flambeau, Lieutenant Commander John H. Upshur, also arrived from Port Royal having

towed from there the coal schooner to Stono Inlet for the

use of the gunboats inside. Dispatches were brought me by

the Flag from Commodore Du Pont particularly in relation to

the positions of the blockading vessels. 2 3

In addition to the dispatches from Du Pont, Marchand noted

that he "received a box of eggs and some thin shorts from [his

wife] Maggie."

2 3 Marchand's arrangement of the blockading fleet on 12 June was as follows (from

the journal entry of 12 June);

Since the reduction of the squadron, the following is the present disposition of the

vessels: Bark Restless off Bulls Bay

Pilot B. Blunt off Dewee's Inlet and watching beach Channel

Steamer Alabama off Dewee's Inlet and cruising northerly and easterly

Steamer Pocahontas off Breach Inlet Steamer Keystone State west of Rattlesnake Shoal

Bark Roebuck in front of Charleston

Steamer James Adger in front of Charleston

Steamer Norwich in front of Charleston

Ship Shepherd Knapp off Main Ship Channel

Steamer Sumter off Lawfords Channel
208 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Inside Stono Inlet, General Hunter had determined that there

was little he could accomplish without reinforcement. The surprise

Confederate attack had convinced him that General Wright's

estimate of the enemy strength must be accurate. He returned to

Port Royal leaving Benham in charge with strict orders not to

initiate any advance during his absence. 24

For the next few days, though there were no more rebel

attacks, there were "constant alarms" among the Union troops. 25

They became increasingly dispirited as, night and day, the

Confederate artillery near Secessionville continued to shell the

Federal camp. Faced with a rapidly deteriorating situation,

Benham determined that in order to solidify the army's hold on

James Island and regain the initiative, the rebel batteries must be

silenced. He called a meeting of the divisional commanders on

board the transport ship Delaware and informed them of his

decision. Their current situation, he claimed, was untenable unless

they advanced. He dubbed the movement a "reconnaissance in

force" and announced that it would take place an hour before

dawn on 16 June. His brigadiers were lukewarm, at best, about the

idea. Wright asked several pointed questions about the attack.

"Have you impaired the strength of the enemy's works at

Secessionville by the firing of your battery?" Benham replied that

he had not, which was one reason why the enemy's works must be

stormed by infantry. "Do you know of any instance where

volunteer troops have successfully stormed works as strong as those which defend the approach to Secessionville?" Wright

asked. 2 6 But Benham would not be put off. The brigade

commanders resigned themselves to the attempt and left the

meeting to begin preparations for the attack, now only a few

hours away.

This time there was no preemptive rebel attack and the sleeping

Union troops were awakened by their sergeants a few hours before

dawn. Out on the river, the men on the gunboats were already

awake. On board the Hale, Lt. Comdr. James H. Gillis got his ship

24 "You will make no attempt to advance on Charleston or to attack Fort Johnson

until largely reinforced or until you receive specific instructions from these headquarters

to that effect." Hunter to Benham, Stono River, 10 June 1862. O.R.A., XIV, 46.

25 Wright to Drayton, Grimball's plantation, 12 June 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 101.

Quoted by Hazard Stevens, "Military Operations," 141.
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 209

underway at 3 o'clock and in company with the Ellen, under Lt.

M.C. Woolsey, proceeded slowly up Lighthouse Creek. These two

gunboats were to provide support for the attacking troops, but

they had been warned not to approach too close until the battle

was fairly joined, so that the enemy would not be alarmed. They

came to anchor by a large clump of trees only a short way up the

creek and waited in a silence broken only by the gentle slapping of

the water against the hull. 2 7 Back at the Grimball plantation, the army was preparing to

move out. General Benham originally had ordered a 3 o'clock

attack, but at Stevens' urging had agreed to postpone it until four

or "a quarter past four at furthest."28 At a little past four,

therefore, General Stevens' brigade left the trenches and began its

short march to the enemy camp. At 4:30 the men on board the

Hale, heard the sound of "heavy artillery and infantry firing."

They raised their anchor and steamed further upstream, but in the

darkness it was impossible to tell where their guns might safely be

pointed. The firing was so general that Gillis and Woolsey decided

to wait until the shape of the struggle became clearer. 2 9 Meanwhile, General Stevens' brigade had reached the Confederate lines. The Irish 79th New York Regiment, an outfit Du

Pont described as lawless, but very plucky, swarmed over the

entrenchments. Inside the fort, the Confederates had been slow to

respond, but they now directed a steady barrage of rifle and

artillery fire on the attackers. Supported by elements of the 8th

Michigan Regiment, the Irishmen tried to fight back, but they had

been ordered that morning not to load their guns because of the

importance of surprise and they now had to attempt to load under

fire. Wright's division, which was to have come to their support,

was nowhere in sight. Unsupported, the men of the 79th began to

fall back, slowly at first, then faster as the Confederate artillery

sent round after round of grape and shrapnel after them. 3 °

27

See Gillis' official report. O.R.N., XIII, 107-108.

Benham later tried to excuse himself by claiming that the failure of the attack was

due to this postponement. See Benham to Drayton, Grimball's plantation, 17 June 1862.

Ibid., 105.

29

See Gillis' report. Op.cit.

30

For more detailed descriptions of the battle see: Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 19 June 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 123-124; Stevens, "Military Operations"; R. DeT. Lawrence, "The Battle of Secessionville"; and Burton, The Siege of Charleston.

The army reports are in O.R.A., XIV, 41-106, 979-1015.
210 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

When the Federal repulse became apparent, Lieutenant Woolsey

on board the Ellen decided that the time had come for the gunboats to open fire. They did so and sent several dozen high explosive shells into the conflict. But visibility was still poor and the

communications from the army were vague and contradictory, and

more than one shell landed among the retreating Union troops.

With the exception of the hapless 79th New York and the 8th

Michigan, the whole affair was characterized by a lack of

enthusiasm by the army. Benham's chief of staff, Capt. Alfred B.

Ely, later said "there was no vigor, no dash, and as little with the

generals as with the men." The exception to this last was General

Stevens, who "wept at the defeat and loss of his men . . .." Stevens

later claimed that his men would have carried the works if they

had been supported by Wright. For his part, Wright claimed that

his men did come up during the battle, but Stevens' men had

already begun to fall back, and Benham, who was with Wright,

issued a general order to retreat. The whole army returned to its

camp hastened in its flight by the Confederate artillery. In the

brief attack nearly 700 men had fallen. 3 l Hearing of the defeat the next day, Du Pont correctly predicted

that "there will be all sorts of crimination and recrimination . . ,." 32 But he agreed with popular feeling that the blame

was to lay squarely upon General Benham. Benham had already

earned for himself the animosity of nearly every officer in both

the army and the navy by his imperious attitude, and it could not

be denied that he had disobeyed Hunter's order not to advance.

Du Pont noted that "Hunter is indignant, has recalled Benham to

this place [Port Royal] , and I trust will send him home." It was an

ignominious end to a grandiose scheme.

On board the James Adger, Marchand had heard the sounds of

battle, but was helpless to offer support during the battle or even

to discover the result of the fighting afterward.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, June 16,

1862.

At daylight a very brisk and long continuous cannonade

was kept up on the line of the Stono, an account of which I

1 1 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 20 June 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 125-126.

Union losses totaled 685, nearly all from Stevens' brigade.

12 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 19 June 1862. Ibid., 124.
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 211

am anxious to hear. Yesterday in the early part of the day

the same thing took place there and all day long shots were

occasionally passing. Today the battle of armies has ceased

before the violence of the gale.

Though anxious to hear about the battle, Marchand was fully

occupied contending with the storm. The gale was stronger than

any he had experienced in the South Atlantic. The heavy wind

"produced great seas giving violent motion to the blockading

vessels." The storm increased through the day and into the night.

After midnight the storm moderated and the wind shifted around

from the northeast to east. But it remained "comfortless on deck

and unpleasant below on account of the dampness and motion of

the ship."33

The next morning, Marchand "was gratified to see that all the

vessels were safe . . . after the heavy blow . . .." But the day after,

he learned that not all the ships had survived unscathed.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, June 18,

1862.

The Keystone State anchored for a couple of hours near

and Captain LeRoy having Captain Trundy of the Roebuck

as passenger both called. The latter to report that in the gale

of day before yesterday his windlass on one side was broken

entirely through. He is trying to make such repairs that will

enable them to use one side of the windlass. I sent his report

of the affair, or rather made out a report on his report, to be

sent to the Flag Officer. The Flambeau also anchored near

and Upshur brought on board papers for a survey on the

main driving wheel of his vessel. I ordered an examination by

three Acting Assistant Engineers who as expected made a

terrific report. [I] informed Upshur that the Flambeau could

not leave 'till hearing from the Flag Officer. It was evident to

my mind that there is a strong disposition on board there to

go to the north hence the defect is much magnified. The

complaints of the day did not end with the two steamers for

the G.W. Blunt also came and her commander, Beers,

reported that in the gale of the 16th the eyebolts were

broken to which the gammoning of the bowsprit is secured

3 3 From the journal entry of 16 June.
212 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

causing the latter to rise considerably. He wanted to go to

Port Royal also but I told him that possibly the Alabama or

Pocahontas might aid him in having the bolt removed. Nor

did the complaints terminate there for the Pocahontas came

and Balch hinted that he did not like being up off Cape

Romain as the weather had been so bad. Supposing that he

thought it a whim in sending him there I showed the Flag

Officer's instructions to send a steamer up there. 3 4 The Norwich came up by signal and Captain Duncan's

smiling face was on board for an hour when I gave him his

letters of instruction. Towards evening the gunboat Seneca

also anchored near and [Commander Daniel] Ammen came

on board for an hour on business. Thus I have been busy all

day, writing reports or talking to the visitors.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, June 19,

1862.

At 2-1/2 o'clock this morning I was roused by report that

a Schooner was attempting to run the blockade. [We] slipped

our cable, went to quarters, and fired a shot which brought

her to so close under our bow that we had to back to avoid

collision. It was the U.S. dispatch boat Hope from Port Royal

with dispatches to me from the Flag Officer .... Du Pont was satisfied that the army had proven its incompetence by the disastrous attack on the rebel camp at Secessionville,

and he was ready to write off the whole expedition as a failure. In

the dispatches brought up by the Hope from Port Royal, he

commended Drayton on his conduct throughout the expedition,

but claimed that the requirements of the blockade dictated that

some of his steamers be withdrawn to bolster the meager

blockading force at Georgetown. Drayton agreed that future

progress by the army was unlikely. "Without a large force," he

wrote, "all advance is hopeless . . .."3 5 Drayton also reported that a "good deal of recrimination" was

going on among the army officers at Grimball's plantation. Some

of them, he noted, even laid blame for the defeat on the navy. But

the most popular scapegoat was General Benham. "I have never

34 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 14 June 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 101.

15 Drayton to Du Pont, Stono, 23 June 1862. Ibid., 133-134.
THE BATTLE OF ARMIES 213

met anyone who appears more disliked by everyone than he seems

to be." Benham was now paying for his earlier cavalier attitude.

"His great previous unpopularity does deprive him of that support

which a man gets . . . from personal friends in times of misfortune."36

Benham, recalled to Port Royal, tried to excuse himself by

claiming that he had ordered a reconnaissance in force, not a general advance, a reconnaissance made necessary by the threatening position of the rebel batteries which were shelling the Federal

camp daily. But Hunter was not to be mollified. He placed

Benham under immediate arrest and put General Wright in

command of the army.3 7 Like Du Pont, Hunter was convinced

that no progress could be achieved at Stono Inlet without large

numbers of reinforcements.

The military situation on James Island lapsed into stalemate.

Temporarily, at least, the back door to Charleston was shut; the

only alternative now was to watch the front door even more

carefully.

36

ibid. Benham was sent to New York and was reduced to his substantive rank as major of

engineers. Six months later he appealed the decision to President Lincoln and was

reinstated as a brigadier general though he was never again trusted with an important

command. Hunter himself received little credit as a result of the expedition. He had

authorized the army's movement to James Island without orders, and as Departmental

Commander, he had to bear the ultimate responsibility for the repulse. The defeat at Secessionville, combined with Hunter's previous antislavery proclamations, was enough

to discredit him. He was relieved by Brig. Gen. John M. Brannan on 13 September 1862.

See O.R.A., XIV, 979-1015. Wright continued to advance in rank, finally becoming a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac. He retained his old habits, however. In the Wilderness (5 May 1864) and again at Spotsylvania Court House (12 May), his tardiness was critical in the failure of the Union forces to carry the rebel line.
CHAPTER XI

"UNREMITTING VIGILANCE"

20 June-8 July 1862

On 20 June, Marchand received "a most doleful account" of the

battle on James Island from Commander Drayton. He was

surprised to learn that the army was in a "helpless condition, the

lives of them all depending on the gunboats." 1 But he had little

time to devote to mournful rumination, for the responsibilities of

supervising the blockade seemed to multiply each day. The

squadron off Charleston now numbered 13 vessels, having been

reinforced recently by the arrival of the Flag, Comdr. James H.

Strong, and the Seneca, Lt. Comdr. Daniel Ammen. Marchand had

to reorganize the squadron to fit the new arrivals into the pattern

of blockade. Since he had no official clerk, he spent a great deal of

time writing his orders by hand. Often the mere copying of letters

kept him up until the small hours of the morning.

Marchand knew that the blockade of Charleston was deemed

very important in high government circles. Secretary Welles had

already warned Du Pont on 7 June to exercise "unremitting

vigilance in the blockade" before Charleston. 2 Du Pont had passed

the warning along to Marchand on 14 June together with a long

list of vessels suspected of participation in the growing illicit trade

between Europe and the Confederacy. A network of minor

diplomatic officials in Europe, aided by self-appointed spies like

Captains Eastman and deRohan and Mr. Train (see chapter III),

kept careful track of potential blockade runners in European

ports. These ships, however, seldom sailed directly to a Confederate port. More frequently, "legitimate" English merchantmen sailed to Nassau in the Bahamas. There, their cargoes

were transferred to smaller and swifter blockade runners, some of

From the journal entry of 20 June. Drayton's letter has not been found.

2 Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 7 June 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 81, and Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 14 June 1862. Ibid., 101.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 215

pretended English registry, some admittedly Confederate. These

small, fast steamers then waited for a dark night to run for a Confederate port. They knew, and Marchand knew, that the best

time for running the blockade at Charleston was during the dark

of the moon and, if possible, when rough weather kept the

blockading fleet a little farther out than usual from the harbor

entrances. Though the weather had ceased to be an immediate

source of anxiety, the moon was entering its darkest phase and

Marchand kept himself and his ships on constant alert at night lest

something escape their notice. During this period, he frequently

stayed on deck all night, refusing to sleep lest an illicit ship get

through the net he had so carefully spread before the entrances to

Charleston.

But on this 20th day of June, Marchand had more to worry

about than the familiar threat of blockade runners. For several

weeks, the occasional presence of foreign ships of war among the

blockading squadron had caused him much mental anguish. Even

now, a few hundred yards away, the French warship Renaudin lay

anchored, her mere presence causing Marchand more than a little

anxiety. A month previous, during Marchand's absence,

Commander Parrott had allowed H.M.S. Racer to penetrate the

blockade and communicate with the British consular agent in

Charleston. Though Parrott 's action was in harmony with Navy

Department policy,3 the particular state of affairs in Charleston

made that policy a subject of intensive reexamination. The

argument centered on the status of the British consul, Robert

Bunch. Bunch's sympathy for the Confederate cause was

notorious. So blatant was he in expressing his opinions that

Secretary of State Seward had revoked his exequatur and had

asked for his recall. But Lord John Russell, the British Foreign

Minister, had refused, and Bunch remained in Charleston

continuing to act as British consul, a source of constant

embarrassment to the United States. By allowing a British

man-of-war to communicate with this man, it could be charged

that Parrott had lent credence to Bunch's position. In addition

there were some who felt that Bunch was acting as a source of

information for potential blockade runners. In his dealings with

3 In his orders to Flag Officer Silas Stringham (1 May 1861), Secretary Welles had

written: "only public armed vessels of foreign powers should be permitted to enter the

ports which are placed in a state of blockade." Soley, The Blockade and the Cruisers, 83.
216 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

British warships, therefore, Marchand had to be careful to impress

them with the efficiency of the blockade, to show no obvious

discourtesy to the representatives of a neutral power, but also to

prevent any ship from taking undue advantage of its neutral status

to violate the blockade. After the criticism which followed the

visit of H.M.S. Racer to Charleston, Marchand intended to be

doubly cautious the next time a foreign man-of-war approached

the harbor.

An opportunity to exercise his caution had presented itself

during the height of the operations in Stono Inlet:

Journal entry: Off Charleston, Sunday, June 8, 1862.

Toward dusk the Augusta was seen standing towards the

blockading vessels off Charleston in company with a vessel

under sail. It was thought to be a prize and the Augusta

followed [her] to our anchorage. Captain Parrott came on

board and reported that the vessel that had accompanied him

was H.B.M. Steamer of War Rinaldo, Captain Hewitt, bound

to Charleston to communicate with the British Consul.4

Parrott volunteered to go on board her tonight and tell the

captain that there was no objection to his so doing.

Marchand allowed Parrott to do so, but the next day he issued a pointed warning that he would not tolerate any attempt by the

rebels to use the presence of the Rinaldo as a subterfuge which

would allow other vessels to run the blockade.

Journal entry: Off Charleston, Monday, June 9, 1862.

The Rinaldo remained at anchor all day near the

Rattlesnake shoal. About 6 p.m. she hoisted a large English

Ensign at the fore [and] I fired two guns [as] a signal for the

English Consul to come out. Parrott in the Augusta ran near

the Rinaldo and went on board. I steamed up near to the

Augusta and directed her executive officer to send word to

Captain Parrott to tell Captain Hewitt that should a flag of

truce come out of Charleston at night in obedience to his

signal I could give no assurance that it would not be fired

upon.

4 Comdr. William N.W. Hewitt, RN. Steam sloop Rinaldo, 17 guns, 951 tons.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 217

No boat appeared. The Confederates apparently were unwilling

to risk running out among the Union fleet even under a flag of

truce. That night, therefore, a lieutenant from the British ship

called aboard the Alabama, being closest to them in the anchorage,

and told Commander Lanier that "they wished to send a boat into

Charleston." Their reasons appeared legitimate enough to

overcome his ready objections.

Journal entry ofJune 9, 1862 continued

[They desired] to land a Reverend Mr. Malet, brother to

Sir Alexander Malet who had a passport from Mr. Seward,

Secretary of State, to travel in any part of the U.S. which

[passport] was shown [to] Lanier together with a letter of

instructions from Lord Lyons to Captain Hewitt to land Mr.

Malet in Charleston to communicate to his sister the

intelligence of the death of her father. This was also shown to

Lanier [as well as] a letter from Mr. Adams, our minister in

London, recommending such a course to our government.

Marchand could not reject such impressive credentials. He agreed

that a boat could be sent into Charleston the next morning.

Journal entry: Off Charleston, Tuesday, June 10, 1862.

The boat sent from the Rinaldo to Charleston returned to

that ship after eight in the morning and soon after a small

tugboat came out of the harbor having the English Union

Jack flying also a flag of truce in which boat was the British

Consul who went to the Rinaldo and, remaining an hour,

returned to Charleston. On his departure a consular salute

was fired by the Rinaldo and that ship got underway under

sail. When passing us Captain Hewitt called to see me and

gave the information that he was bound to Savannah and

New Orleans and that the Charleston Mercury of this

morning had stated that "Stonewall" Jackson had united . . . [his] Rebel armies and defeated General [John Charles]

Fremont in the Valley of the Shenandoah but continued

[his] retreat; also that the same paper mentioned that

General [John] Pope had captured 10,000 soldiers of

Beauregard's army about Corinth. 5

5 See Marchand's official report, O.R.N. , XIII, 85-6, and the Charleston Mercury, 10

June 1862. In the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic, a slowly retreating Stonewall
218 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

To his mind, Marchand had acted cautiously, allowing only

what seemed to be minimum courtesy to the Rinaldo. Even so,

not everyone approved of his course of action. Though there was

no official reprimand, an anonymous Union sympathizer in

Charleston wrote the New York Herald that Marchand's decision

to allow Bunch to communicate with the Rinaldo had been

irresponsible. The informant noted that after visiting the Rinaldo,

Mr. Bunch was "immediately conveyed to General [Roswell S.]

Ripley's office where he is closeted for an hour at a time with the

general ... or others of the Rebel leaders." The purpose of their

conversations was clear: "what is the nature of their business if it

is not to convey to them intelligence of the blockading fleet?"6 Marchand determined to be even stricter the next time. He did

not have to wait long.

Journal entry: Off Charleston, Thursday, June 19, 1862.

A steamer was seen approaching from the north and east

burning soft coal, escorted part of the way by the Alabama. I fancied it an English man-of-war but upon her anchoring off

the Rattlesnake Shoal and being boarded by the Keystone

State and visited by the Flag whose guard it is today, she

proved to be the French man-of-war Steamer Renaudin five

days from New York bound to Charleston with dispatches to

the French Consul.

Here was a new wrinkle. Unlike Bunch, the French consul,

Baron Durant de Saint- Andre, was still the recognized agent of his

government in Charleston. And while the Renaudin was officially

designated a "man-of-war," it was in reality nothing more than a dispatch vessel. It seemed unlikely to Marchand that the Renaudin

intended to act as a guideship or a spyship for blockade runners.

In his 6 months on the blockade, he had not yet seen or even

heard of a blockade runner claiming French registry. The

Renaudin's captain was Lt. Jean Augustin Marie LeCardinal, who

told Commander LeRoy in the most polite terms that his

Jackson threw himself upon Gen. John C. Fremont's incautious and divided corps. Though the Union armies were badly mauled, the purpose of Jackson's valley campaign was not to annihilate the Union army there, but only to prevent their joining McClellan's

forces near Richmond. He therefore continued to retreat south down the valley drawing

Fremont's bewildered army after him. Pope's "victory" was rather exaggerated. His

troops fought a brief skirmish with elements of Beauregard's army near Corinth, but

captured only a few Confederates. See O.R.A., X, 744, 762.

6 O.R.N. XIII, 139-140.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 219

assignment was merely to deliver official dispatches to the consul

and then to go to Fort Royal to pay an official call on Flag Officer

Du Pont. Marchand decided to permit the delivery, and 2 days

later the Renaudin left for Port Royal. This time there were no

unpleasant consequences. 7 From dealing with neutrals, Marchand turned to dealing with

blockade runners, a more familiar and less perplexing activity.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, June 20,

1862.

For a wonder we have a pleasant day. In the morning the

Alabama came in with the Prize Schooner Cataline of

Charleston which she captured at daylight some 10 or 12

miles outside of Fort Sumter in presence of the Keystone

State. It was a very small schooner carrying only 33 bales of

cotton which had, during the storm of the past night, run out

of Charleston. As she was being boarded her paper (and

possibly her flag) was seen to be thrown overboard. Her

Captain would answer no questions, not even would [he] tell

the name of the schooner, which had to be found out on her

stern and which had been painted a lead color, the schooner

herself was painted white. She was sent to Philadelphia for

adjudication.

At the same time the Keystone State came in with another

prize, the English schooner Sarah of and for Nassau. She

came out of Charleston towards 11 o'clock last night in the

rain and storm [and] passed close to the Keystone State

[which was] at anchor [and] who fired some guns at her,

then she passed quite near to the Roebuck who also fired at

her. By this time the Keystone State had slipped her chain,

stood after and captured her some 10 miles from Fort

Sumter about 2-1/2 o'clock this morning. Her cargo is 156

bales of cotton. At the time of the capture her captain and

supercargo were found beastly drunk in the cabin. She also

was sent to Philadelphia for adjudication. 8

Organizing the blockade, dealing with neutral warships, and

dispatching prizes were the increasingly familiar daily activities of

7 Du Pont himself entertained LeCardinal on board the Wabash on 24 June. See the

Du Pont Papers, II, 135n.

8 See Marchand's official report, O.R.N., XIII, 120-121.
220 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

managing the growing squadron off Charleston. Supply was

another. The 13 ships of Marchand's squadron were dependent on

consumables such as coal, food, and drinking water and were

constantly running out of one or all three. Rather than dispatch

them to Port Royal, Marchand asked Du Pont to send a coal ship,

the Sea Lion, to Charleston. For food and water, ships of the

squadron often supplied each other when one became critically

low. Occasionally, however, Marchand was caught unawares by

unlooked-for shortages. That night, for example, Marchand "was

utterly astounded" when Commander Lanier told him that he had

"less than 80 tons of coal on board and that his consumption was

16 tons daily." He assigned Lanier a safe berth for the night where

he could drop his anchor and conserve fuel.

That night, with all his ships finally in place, Marchand sat in his

cabin until past midnight writing orders for the next day's

assignments. He then fell into bed and slept soundly until dawn.

Gratefully, the Alabama had no need to use her engines during the

calm night, and she completed coaling from the Sea Lion the next

morning. The 20th of June had been a busy day for Marchand, but

no more so than many another day to follow. In fact, it would

soon become a rarity for him to be able to sleep from midnight to

dawn though even those 4 or 5 hours were scarce enough.

Supervising the blockade before Charleston was unquestionably

a full-time job. Even so, Marchand was desirous of achieving more

than a passive blockade, however successful. Despite the army's

repulse at Secessionville, he still hoped that Charleston could be

wrested from the Confederacy. To provide the army commanders

in Stono Inlet with up-to-date information or perhaps even to

discover that vital weak link in the city's defenses, Marchand

wanted to conduct a close range reconnaissance of the harbor.

He had been told by deserters from Fort Moultrie that many of

the formidable looking batteries around Charleston Harbor were

incomplete, particularly those on Sullivan's Island and near Breach

Inlet. These deserters also said that the women and children had

all left Charleston, the money had been taken from the banks and

sent to Columbia, and the officers had all sent their families into

the interior. 9 On the basis of their testimony, Marchand approved a

9 From the journal entry of 8 June. See Marchand's report to Du Pont. Ibid., 82-83.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 221

reconnaissance by Lieutenant Commander Ammen in the Seneca

to determine the strength of the batteries.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, June 21,

1862.

Soon after noon, the Seneca, Lieutenant Commander

Ammen, succeeded in passing through Pumpkin Hill Channel

into the Main Ship Channel, and ran up until about two miles

from Fort Sumter then turned and stood back. After running

back a few hundred yards, a gun from the Fort was

discharged at the Seneca, the range of the shot being just

where she turned. During the time she was in the Main Ship

Channel, she fired 13 eleven-inch shells and half as many

more Parrott ones into the encampment of the enemy on

Morris Island and one of the latter projectiles into Cumming's

Point battery. There were nearly 100 tents in the

encampment a mile or less above the site of the Lighthouse

and the soldiers incontinently fled as the shells burst amongst

the tents. One object of the reconnaissance was to ascertain

the existence of batteries on Morris Island. One only was

found and that at Cumming's Point and an important

discovery was made that the guns of that battery could not

directly command the Main Ship Channel as far as the Seneca

went on account of the sand hills, but possibly might annoy

[passing ships] by shot thrown at an elevation.

The projectile thrown by the gun at Fort Sumter was a

solid shot and had a long range. Only one encampment was

seen, but [there were] a few straggling tents more to the

south, probably for pickets. No guns were seen mounted on

Lighthouse Inlet battery. A floating battery was seen across

Morris Island but nobody near.

1 °

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, June 22,

1862.

A very warm day. About noon a breeze set in from the

east. Made an inspection of the crew in quarters in the

forenoon. Until eight in the morning being on guard duty,

the James Adger was gotten underway before daylight in the

morning and ran off seaward five or eight miles but was

10

See Marchand's report to Du Pont on Ammen's reconnaissance. Ibid., 131-2.
222 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

unsuccessful in seeing any vessel that had attempted the

breaking of the blockade during the night. After eight in the

morning [I] signalized the Alabama to take the guard duty.

Early this morning the Seneca seemingly ran into Maffitt's

channel to make a reconnaissance of Sullivan's Island—no

guns were fired and she came out and anchored half a mile

from us, sending a boat to the James Adger with official

papers and a message that Ammen would call tomorrow and

report the events of this morning. The Flambeau came from

off Cape Romain [and] reported that she is nearly out of

coal. I will be compelled to withdraw her from that station

until another coal vessel reaches from Port Royal and have

directed her to take a station in front of Charleston.

[I] signalized [to] the Sumter and on her approaching,

Lieutenant Commander [Thomas] Pattison came on board

who I sent to place dispatches for the Flag Officer on Board

the Buoy schooner off Stono Inlet and see if Commander

Drayton from the Stono River wanted anything.

From sunset until 11 at night, Marchand was "employed

together with two clerks in preparing papers for dissemination

amongst this . . . squadron." He fell into bed at midnight but at 3

o'clock was awakened by the sound of gunfire.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, June 23,

1862.

About three in the morning the discharge of a couple of

guns were heard [and] supposed to be on shore. I was called,

went on deck and in a short time saw a steamer seaward of us

and the Keystone State going out. Some black smoke came

from the outside steamer, and knowing it to be an attempt to

break the blockade, the James Adger's chain was slipped and

we also stood out. The stranger then started off towards the

southeast, our two vessels following in chase. In a short time

the Alabama also started but in an hour returned to her

anchorage. Then we saw the Flag off Dewee's Inlet also join

the chase. I in the James Adger followed for 40 miles and

finding that we had not speed to keep up with the stranger or

the Keystone State, returned off Charleston and anchored a

little after noon. About 3 p.m. the Flag also returned for the

same reason after going about 60 miles in pursuit. Thus the
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 223

Keystone State also kept in pursuit and when last seen was

holding her own, possibly gaining on the chase.

The Keystone State was the fastest ship in the blockading

squadron, and Commander LeRoy was determined to chase down

the blockade runner. In a few hours, the sun rose and the chase

was identified as the Nashville ! Her name had been changed to the

Thomas L. Wragg, but there was no doubt about her identity. Here

was a test for Le Roy's ship. The coal heavers worked furiously;

LeRoy dumped his drinking water and several lengths of anchor

chain over the side to lighten his ship and the Keystone State

slowly began to gain on her quarry. But on board the Nashville the

crew was fleeing capture and possible imprisonment. The sailors

tossed their entire cargo, estimated at $1 million, overboard. They

tore apart the deck cabins and burned the wood in the boilers to

raise more steam. Slowly the Nashville began to pull away again.

The chase lasted all day and into the night. For more than 300

miles they plowed toward the southeast at full speed. But finally

in the falling darkness, the Nashville slipped into a rain squall and

was lost to sight. She reached Abaco in the Bahamas the next

morning where an exhausted but thankful crew related tales of the

speed of the Keystone State to other would-be blockade runners.

LeRoy, much disappointed, began his long cruise back to

Charleston. 1 1 Marchand, meanwhile, had returned to the blockade to discover

to his great embarrassment that the blockade had been violated in

his absence.

Journal entry of June 23, 1862 continued

Upon returning from the chase at noon I saw a large screw

steamer painted lead color . . . near the Moultrie House close

to [the] Beauregard Battery . . . and under the guns of Forts

Sumter and Moultrie and the Battery on Cumming's Point.

The steamer [was] showing English colors and two tugboats

[were] engaged trying to haul her off. I signalized for, and

Lieutenant Commander Ammen of the Seneca came on

board.

11 See LeRoy's official report. Ibid., 136-7. Also Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, off

Charleston, 10 July 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 161.
224 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

From him I learned that at 2-1/2 o'clock this morning he

was sent for by an acting masters mate who was officer of the

deck and [who] informed him that a steamer had passed

from the east by then and was then bearing southwest and

that it was one of the blockading vessels but showed no

lights. When Ammen looked, the stranger was off the Swash

Channel and hauled up suddenly to the north for Maffitt's

Channel. He knew it to be a vessel breaking the blockade

[and] went to quarters, but it was too late; the stranger had

entered the latter channel and was beyond reach of his guns

in the intricacy of the passage. Immediately afterward

another large steamer was seen following both having come

close along the southern edge of the Rattlesnake Shoal at

which he fired a couple of guns when the latter steamer

trimmed and stood seaward again. This latter steamer was the

one that the Keystone State, James Adger and Flag pursued

at the break of day this morning.

The ship aground under the guns of Fort Moultrie was the

Memphis, a notorious blockade runner, and Marchand was

mortified that it had succeeded in passing the blockade. Though

the Navy Department had not expected Charleston to fall as a

result of the army's movement across James Island, it did expect

that the blockade would remain inviolate. The escape of the

Memphis was an embarrassment for all concerned, a professional

embarrassment to the navy, a diplomatic embarrassment to the

government, and a personal embarrassment to Marchand. Du Pont

too was "greatly distressed" 1

2

though he defended Marchand in a

letter to Secretary Welles:

Letter: Du Pont to Welles, June 27, 1862. 13

It is unnecessary for me to state to the Department how

much I regret this occurrence, but having myself visited the

Charleston station, and given personal attention to the proper

placing of the blockading vessels, I am satisfied that no

improvement can be made in this respect, and in justice to

the officers off there, I do not hesitate to say that greater

vigilance could not be exercised.

1

2

Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 30 June 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 141.

13 Du Pont to Welles, Port Royal, 27 June 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 134-5.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 225

I have already informed the Department that an arc of 13

miles has to be covered, and although it might be supposed

that eight steamers and four sailing vessels would cover this,

nautical men know that a ship may pass within two cable's

lengths on an ordinary dark night without being seen.

That night, Marchand remained on deck all night determined

that the Memphis would be the last ship ever to run the blockade

into Charleston.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, June 24,

1862.

It was a sleepless night with me, having kept watch all the

time 'till daylight, when Lieutenant Foster took the James

Adger five or six miles out to see if any vessels were in the

offing that would or had been attempting to violate the

blockade. In a couple of hours she was anchored again, but

further out than ordinary, to practice at target, but

circumstances prevented its being done.

A fresh south-southwest wind sprung up rendering

communication between the ships unpleasant, still the

Pocahontas sent a boat and obtained from us a load of

firewood and Ammen called aboard on business.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, June 25,

1862.

There was a fresh south-southwest wind all the past night.

Today it has been almost calm. I was up, and nearly all the

time during the past night with spyglass in hand, watching for

vessels attempting to run the blockade. It was broad daylight

at four when I went to bed. [I] slept 'till nearly nine and had

a little touch of headache during the forenoon, but having so

much to do, I forgot the pain.

Ammen came on board and I gave him permission to run

north of the Rattlesnake Shoal to examine the sunken wrecks

that in the event of him giving chase in that direction he

might know how to avoid danger of them.

[In the afternoon,] a steamer was seen in the offing over

which was a dense cloud of black smoke. Soon the FJag was

seen near the stranger, [and] I signalized the Flambeau to go

in chase. Soon all the vessels came in. The stranger was
226 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

H.B.M. Steam Sloop of War Racer. Her commander, Captain

Lyons, called on me. He reported [that he was] just from

Annapolis, bound here, and wished to communicate with the

English Consul. He said he was going to remain about this

part of the coast whilst Charleston was about being attacked

but as there was no probability of that being close until the

attack in Richmond was made, he would in a few days go to

Port Royal.

Marchand assigned the Racer a position south of Swash Channel

for the night and vowed to watch her carefully. He asked

Lieutenant Commander Upshur of the Flambeau to anchor near

the British ship and ensure that nothing untoward took place. But

the Racer remained quietly at anchor apparently quite satisfied to

do so. Marchand himself was once again up all night.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, June 26,

1862.

As usual during the dark night I did not lie down to sleep

until after daylight and indeed 'till nearly sunrise when we

shifted our berth further out to keep away from the

Englishman. I was aware that a steam tug would come out

with Mr. Bunch, the Consul, and did not wish the spies in her

to be near to see the armament of our vessels, knowing that

some would be around the James Adger during the day. As I anticipated, a tug came to the Racer having the English Jack

and a flag of truce flying.

Not long after nine in the morning the U.S. Supply

Steamer Massachusetts, Lieutenant Commander Cooper,

arrived from Philadelphia.

The Massachusetts was one of several vessels acting as a supply

ship for the blockade squadrons. Periodically she would bring

fresh fruits and vegetables, nearly fresh meat, and most cherished

of all -mail! The arrival of these supply ships among the

blockading squadrons was usually the highlight of the week.

Journal entry of June 26, 1862 continued

Fresh provisions and vegetables were procured for the crew

and officers and I purchased some stores from the Sutler on

board as my provisions are fully well exhausted. Mr. Fox, 3rd
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 227

Assistant Engineer, who was sent home in the captured

steamer Elizabeth [also] came in the Massachusetts and

rejoined this ship. About two in the afternoon the supply

steamer left for Stono and Port Royal. The only officers who

visited the ship today were Balch of the Pocahontas and a master from the Seneca, the latter with a message from

Ammen.

After sunset shifted berth much closer in and not far from

the Racer.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, June 27,

1862.

Very little wind and a smooth sea today. It was not until

nearly sunrise that I lay down to sleep being as usual on deck

and below alternately the whole of these moonless nights. At

the dawn of day stood seaward to take a look around for

anything suspicious; finding nothing [we] returned and

anchored.

Captain Lyons of the Racer came to see me to give the

information that he would take his ship into Charleston

Harbor in a few days. He informed me that the steamer

which succeeded in running into Charleston in the morning

of the 23rd inst. was the Memphis and [it was] the only

vessel that has succeeded in getting into [Charleston]

.

The Flambeau went upon the fishing ground and caught

about 1200 fish. Captain Upshur sent a number to all the

officers on board this ship.

In the afternoon [we] ran beyond our outer line of

blockading vessels, anchored, sent out a target made of two

barrels and a flag at a distance of 1150 yards, and fired five

rounds with the Starboard battery of which three were round

shot and two of five-inch shells. Four rounds were fired from

the Parrott gun. The target was not hit but the firing was

good. It was observable that the crew requires practice.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, June 28,

1862.

A pleasant day. As usual I was up all this past night and

turned into my bed at 4-1/2 in the morning. Early, too early

for my comfort, Lanier came on board having just returned

from cruising outside. He went without authority it not being
228 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

his guard and I made signal for him. He reported that the

Shepherd Knapp had made signals that he understood a stranger and suspicious sail was outside and that he went in

pursuit with the Alabama. Lanier breakfasted with me.

Had target practice with muskets by the whole ship's

company except the Engineer [ing] Department and the

Contrabands. The target was a ball 22 inches in diameter

moored upon barrel 100 yards from the ship and the swell

was considerably felt, both in the ship and by the target, the

practice was as good as could be expected.

The quality of his crew's marksmanship was the least of

Marchand's problems. That afternoon he received an angry

communication from Lieutenant Commander Upshur of the

Flambeau who objected most strenuously to the presence of the

Racer among the blockade squadron:

Letter: Upshur to Marchand, June 28, 1862. 14

I have to report that last night between the hours of 8 and

9 o'clock, it was reported to me by the officer of the deck,

that the English vessel of war Racer, now lying within our

lines exhibited a very large and brilliant light for some

seconds and then flashed the same five distinct times. The

aforementioned, officer and others who witnessed this,

supposed it to have been a signal to the shore. I can scarcely

credit this—but, to say the least of it, the presence of this

ship among our Blockading Squadron is, to me, one of the

Commanders, exceedingly embarrassing.

The Racer had exposed lights during the whole of last

night, which might serve as a guide to vessels running the

blockade.

I protest, therefore, that the efficiency of this vessel to

prevent the egress or ingress of vessels attempting the

blockade, is greatly impaired by the immediate presence

during the night, of any foreign vessel; and I beg that, if in

consonance with your views, the Racer be removed further

out.

14 Upshur to Marchand, off Charleston, 28 June 1862. Marchand Papers. Also printed

in O.R.N. , XIII, 150.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 229

Upshur's letter presented Marchand with a potentially

embarrassing set of alternatives. He could confront Captain Lyons

with the accusation and risk a personal and official rebuff, or he

could politely suggest that lights aboard the Racer be shuttered at

night and only hope that the British ship would comply. In

addition, Marchand felt bound by a previous commitment he had

made to Lyons that the Racer would be allowed to run into

Charleston Harbor. He decided to wait until after the Racer

returned from that visit before raising the question to Captain

Lyons.

Journal entry of June 28, 1862 continued

H.B.M. Steam Sloop of War Racer got underway and ran

into Charleston Harbor, a tugboat under the English Union

Jack and a white flag having a short time previously come out

with a Pilot for her, or at least I so inferred as Captain Lyons

had yesterday informed me that such would be the case. The Flag came from her station and Commander Strong

made me a visit. It was dark before we regained our

anchorage in the blockading line.

In the end, Marchand's cautious avoidance of the problem saved

him from having to face it at all. The Racer left Charleston the

next day and steamed off to the south making a great deal of

black smoke.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, June 29,

1862.

[There was] but little wind in the early part of the day,

[but] towards noon it freshened and after night half a gale

was blowing from [the] south-southwest with much lightning

all around the heavens and threatening weather. I anticipate a northeast gale. During the past night a heavy rain squall was

over us and, as I kept watch during the entire night, [I] was

quite dampened although partially protected in the gangway.

At four this morning [when] I first lay down to sleep, the

daylight was not perfect at that time, hence I was called

when it became so, and until six reports were made at short

intervals. At 6-1/2 the Keystone State was reported as being

near and anchoring [but] I was very sleepy having had no

sleep for 21 hours and did not turn out. At seven it was
230 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

reported that Commander LeRoy was coming on board and

having in company Commander Raymond Rodgers. Without

sleep I turned out and in dishabille entertained them 'till eight. I wanted them to breakfast with me and so expressed

myself, [but] both united in saying I had better go to sleep

and they returned to the Keystone State.

Raymond Rodgers gave the startling intelligence that the

army was evacuating James Island and the Stono River [and]

consequently the attack upon Charleston, without even

General Hunter communicating with the Flag Officer. It was

the accidental circumstance of one of the officers of the

Wabash being ashore at Hilton Head in the Quartermaster's

office, hearing that transports were being sent to bring the

army, that the Flag Officer knew anything about it. Consequently Raymond Rodgers came in the Keystone State

to communicate with Captain Drayton as to ulterior

movements of the naval forces in the Stono River.

For a full week after the Battle of Secessionville, the army had

remained encamped on the banks of the Stono River near the

Grimball plantation. Confederate forces near Secessionville had

spent the week strengthening their fortifications across the island;

the Union army was as securely hemmed in as if it had been

locked in a prison. News of the army's evacuation was received

with almost universal delight by the men of the army and with

disgust by the officers of the navy. Marchand was shocked that the

army was surrendering such a valuable foothold to the "key of

Charleston." Commander Drayton was even more outraged. He

wrote Du Pont that "what is being done will not only greatly

inspirit the enemy, but depress our own troops, who must look

upon themselves as beaten off, and by a force little, if any,

superior to theirs." 1

5

He was even more forthright in speaking to

the Union generals. He asked them sarcastically if they would next

abandon Fort Pulaski and Fernandina, two more places which he

claimed had been captured by the navy and handed over to the

army. 1 6 His sense of outrage grew as time passed. Two days later

he wrote: "My disgust at this wretched evacuation is more than I

15

Drayton to Du Pont, Stono Inlet, 30 June 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 158.

16 Quoted in Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 4 July 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 150.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 231

like to express, although I have done so pretty freely." 17

Commander Steedman added his voice to the general chorus of

disapproval. The army, he wrote, has "shamefully and

unaccountably" given up "the key to Charleston .... It makes me

sick at heart...." 18 Du Pont, while more politic in his

statements, agreed that the evacuation was unwise. "What you say

about the army is very true," he wrote to his wife, "there is

something inculcated at West Point which is mean . . .." 1

9

General Hunter's rationale for the abandonment of Stono Inlet

was based on the unlikelihood of reinforcements and a fear of

tropical disease:

Letter: Hunter to Wright, June 27, 1862. 20

Hearing from Washington that there is no probability of

our receiving reinforcements and it being all-important to

provide for the health of the command in the sickly season

approaching, I have determined to abandon James Island, in

order that the troops may be placed where, insofar as practicable in this climate, they may be out of the way of

malarious influences, and where the picket duty will not be

so exhausting on our men as at present.

Disappointed that the plans on which he had pinned such grand

hopes had born such bitter fruit, Marchand resignedly returned to

the familiar tasks of managing the blockade. He was busy "all day

writing [orders] for the guidance of the blockading squadron."

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, June 30,

1862.

This has been generally a good day. A moderately fresh

south-southwest wind has been blowing making quite a swell

and a rain squall or two in the afternoon caused some

discomfort. As usual I was up all the past night and begin to

feel the inconvenience. In conversation with Commander

17

Drayton to Du Pont, Stono Inlet, 2 July 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 165.

18 Steedman to Mrs. Steedman, Stono Inlet, 4 July 1862. Steedman Papers, 308-9.

None of Marchand's personal letters have survived, but it can be safely assumed that his feelings echoed those of his "ancient friend" Steedman.

1 9 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 30 June 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 143.

20

Hunter to Wright, Hilton Head, S.C., 27 July 1862. O.R.A., XIV, 47.
232 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Raymond Rodgers yesterday, he told me that the Flag

Officer had suggested it being better that all light spars

should be shut down. Consequently this morning our yards

and topmasts were sent on deck and the smoke stack white

washed.

After noon, the U.S.S. Mohican, in a serious state of disrepair

from long service on the blockade, arrived off Charleston on its

way north for overhaul. Marchand learned that her commander,

Capt. Sylvanus Godon, would soon be leaving that vessel for

another command2 1 and Marchand thereupon announced that he

"would make application for the command of the Mohican . . .." He had never despaired of being transferred from the James Adger

to a better ship. He had repeatedly written the Navy Department

asking for one of the new steam sloops that were under

construction, but he now decided that the Mohican would be

perfectly acceptable. It was smaller than the James Adger, but

newer, and unlike Marchand's present command, it was not a converted merchantman, but a real ship of war. He wrote

Secretary Welles asking that he "be transferred to the command of

her or any steamer whose guns can be useful." He added an

apologia for his "ingentle" request on the grounds that he had "so

long been in an inefficient vessel."2 2 But until succored by orders

from Welles, it was Marchand's lot to continue the blockade in the

"inefficient" James Adger.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, July 1,

1862.

A very warm day. As usual [I] was up all night and am

beginning to feel the wear and tear of this duty. About six

this morning a battery on James Island commenced firing a

salute and which was successively followed by all the forts

and batteries around Charleston. Whether these salutes were

fired on account of the army so dastardly evacuating the

Stono or some victory elsewhere gained by the Rebels I am in

doubt; I hope however it is only for the former. The army

has acted shamefully but I am delighted to know that the

navy is not to give up the Stono.

2 1 Godon was transferred to the Powhatan, a first-rate screw steamer of 2,415 tons. 22 Marchand to Welles, off Charleston, 5 July 1862. Marchand Papers.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 233

The Pocahontas and Sumter both came near and

permission was given them to coal from the schooner.

Received a letter from Captain Eytinge stating that the

Shepherd Knapp is nearly out of water: the James Adger ran

near and delivered her about 800 gallons.

The Rebel steamer Carolina towed a floating battery from

Charleston around Fort Sumter and into the channel between

Morris and James Islands. Whether they design keeping her

there or taking her into Folly Island Creek I am unable to

determine. [I] wrote to the Flag Officer and Commander

Drayton about it. 2 3 The battery had one heavy gun mounted

forward and the other aft, but we were uncertain if broadside

guns were mounted. The Rebel steamer Aid was busily

employed flying around the harbor and I fancied she was

employed transporting troops to Sullivan's Island.

The private trading schooner Delphine, bound to New

York, arrived from Stono Inlet and delivered us a small mail.

Towards ten at night a vessel was seen in the offing by her

lights. The Onward made signal and fired a gun. The James

Adger slipped, ran out, [and] spoke [to] the Onward, but we

could see nothing and returned to our anchorage. The

Alabama fired two guns and hoisted lights as if going in

chase. Subsequently [I] learned that the strange vessel was

the Bienville which had supposed to have seen a vessel about

dark and went in pursuit and the lights seen were from the

former searching the way to her anchorage.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, July 2,

1862.

Another burning hot day. As usual I was up all night and

the effects are breaking me down .... The surveying steamer Bibb, on her way from Stono to

Hampton Roads, stopped a short time. Captain Boutelle

made me a visit of an hour and explained the disgraceful

course of our commanding general in evacuating the Stono

and leaving our gunboats without any previous notion to the

Flag Officer. The steamer Massachusetts on her return trip to

Philadelphia stopped a short time but her supplies being

nearly out, could furnish fresh provisions to but few vessels.

23 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 1 July 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 162-3.
234 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Our steamers as usual crowded around the Massachusetts

in expectation of being supplied. Lieutenant Commander

Ammen came on board and explained the improbability of

his making a reconnaissance through Pumpkin Hill Channel as suggested in my note to him yesterday24 to look for the

position of the floating battery towed down by the enemy

yesterday.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, July 3,

1862.

A still more heated day. Had a little sleep upon deck the

past night but as it was in the heavy dew, the consequence

has been my feeling more unwell today than usual from long

watchfulness. The moonlight nights will soon come round

and I will have more sleep and less watchfulness. This

morning I felt really sick and had much fever. I pray thee

Heavenly Parent to preserve me in health during my mission

here for my dear wife and children's reputation but Thy will

not mine be done.

Ammen made me a visit, I am always happy to see him as he ever imparts information. The Flambeau came from her

anchorage and went out to the fishing ground: in the evening

she returned and Upshur brought me a number of black fish

but what distressed me was his report that the driving wheel

of the engine had most of the wooden cogs broken [and]

therefore the engine [was] almost broken down. I directed

him to anchor for tonight to the south and east off shore that

in the event of bad weather and the engine entirely breaking

down he might claw off shore under sail.

In the evening saw the Rebel steamer Carolina at anchor

behind Morris Island. When she went there I do not know as some of the officers of the deck make few reports to me.

Also saw the Aid plying between Charleston and Sullivan's

Island as if transporting more soldiers to the latter place.

Since the army has too disgracefully abandoned the Stono

and gone God knows where, leaving the navy there alone, the

enemy has been fortifying Morris and Sullivan's Island.

Today it has been reported to me that one of the two large

ships in Charleston Harbor and which had been there almost

Not found.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 235

during the [entire] war, has had her sides painted lead

colored as if designing to run out. This evening I could see the English steamer Memphis still alongside of a wharf in

Charleston.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, July 4, 1862.

Till two in the afternoon a succession of rain squalls then

a northeast breeze sprung up which at dark was blowing

heavy.

At noon the James Adger, Alabama, and Keystone State

fired each about 34 guns in commemoration of the day, all

the vessels of the squadron having been dressed with flags at

eight in the morning.

By my orders, the Chief Engineer of the Keystone State,

James Adger, and Sumter made an examination and reported

the driving wheel of the Flambeau to be wrecked. I ordered

Upshur to start out early daylight in the morning for Port

Royal, the Flambeau to be towed by the Bienville. I should

have sent the Keystone State or Alabama but both are comparatively slow and I expect the Bienville to be off

Charleston Harbor tomorrow night again before the moon

goes down.

Wishing to have a reunion of all the Commanding officers

of this division I had sent out invitations for them to dine

with me if the weather was good. It was raining and only

Commanders Strong and LeRoy and Lieutenant Commanders

Ammen, Pattison and Upshur dined with me, the remaining

eight did not come. I thought the dinner a very nice one and

I was highly pleased to point out to my guests the various

good things sent by Maggie.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, July 5,

1862.

Never even attempted to sleep until nearly sunrise and

then from the numerous reports made, did not succeed 'till about seven. Therefore I breakfasted at 11-1/2 in the

forenoon. It was blowing quite strong all the past night from

the northeast. After sunrise it moderated, yet throughout the

day the fresh wind continued from the eastward creating an

ugly sea.
236 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Last night lights were frequently seen seaward and in the

squadron. At one time the Onward made numerous signals by

lights and fired a gun at a vessel near [her] which

immediately anchored and was examined by a boat from the

Onward. It was the American bark West Wind bound to

report to the senior naval officer off Charleston [or to] the

Commanding Naval Officer at Stono, if the army had

abandoned that place.

Other lights and a gun from the Flag indicated something

going on north and east of the Rattlesnake Shoal. It was a schooner, also designed for the army at Stono, which by

mistake had so nearly reached Rattlesnake Shoal that had the

gun from the Flag [not] compelled her to anchor, she would

have grounded. Still so near was she to the Shoal that to

prevent her loss the Blunt had to tow her clear.

About seven in the morning the Bienville came in from

cruising, took in tow the Flambeau, and started for Port

Royal. The Blunt came from her station to receive some

ammunition for her guns and in the rolling motion of that

vessel one of the four boxes was lost overboard whilst being

taken out of the boat.

Captain Nickels of the Onward made me a visit in the

Blunt. Lieutenant Commander [Clark H.] Wells of the

Vandalia sent an officer with his orders from the Flag Officer

to report to me2 5 and later in the evening he called himself.

Made signal to the Roebuck to go to Port Royal and in the

afternoon she left.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, July 6, 1862.

A pleasant day but [a] rough sea. [I] slept on [my] couch

'till nearly two in the morning then went on deck and

remained until sunrise. Afterwards [I] slept in my bed so late

as barely to give me time to make my toilet, go on deck at 10

a.m. have the Articles of War read, the crew mustered, and

inspect the ship. The Bienville returned after towing the

Flambeau to Port Royal .... The captain of the Bienville,

Captain Mullany, did not call but sent his First Lieutenant

with a message that he was sick.

25

SeeO.R.N., XIII, 155.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 237

The Alabama had anchored 200 yards off and Lanier sent

me a most piteous letter . . . representing that he was sick. I wrote him a long cheering letter and sent a late newspaper.

Lieutenant Commander Balch of the Pocahontas came on

board, remained 2-1/2 hours, dined with me, and I told him

that from the condition of the boilers of his vessel he must go

to Port Royal tomorrow morning. The return of the Bienville

entailed another assignment of the vessels, she took a position in the evening next southward of the Keystone State

whilst the latter closed to the north nearer the Seneca. Wrote

numerous letters to go to Port Royal by the Pocahontas

tomorrow morning .... Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, July 7,

1862.

Still another pleasant day. Was writing 'till one this

morning, when I lay down, at two was up again, at three

again went to sleep and a little before four was called and

informed that a steamer was running into Charleston. Almost

instantly I was on deck and between Forts Sumter and

Moultrie was a steamer (probably) painted lead colored with

nothing but lower masts [raised] . She was changing her

course frequently, heading sometime one way then another

and a gun or two was fired, the usual signal that a steamer

had run the blockade. I felt mortified that a vessel had passed

the blockading squadron and lay down to sleep after sunrise

when I was awoke by the officer of the deck, Mr. Huse, [who

informed me] that the steamer was the Memphis, the same

which had been lying alongside of the Charleston wharf for

some time of which fact he was assured by that vessel not

occupying the place she did last night and her great

resemblance to the one seen between the forts. When I first

saw the suspicious movements of the steamer this morning

and had a good view of her I was satisfied it was a steamer in

all respects like the Memphis if not her with exception only

that she was much lighter in the water being without cargo.

And as I am aware that no cotton is permitted to be

exported, [I] am satisfied that it was the Memphis

unsuccessfully attempting to run out. At least I lay that

flattering unction to my mind. 2 6

2 6 See Marchand's official report. Ibid., 175.
238 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

The James Adger having several days ago attempted and

[only] partially gave water to the Shepherd Knapp, [we] ran

there again and recommended that service when it was

reported to me that the Donkey Engine had become broken

down and no longer could be used for condensing fresh

water. We delivered a few casks and [then] desisted as we

were partially out and would have to depend upon other

vessels for our own supply.

Captain Eytinge came on board, the most miserable

complaining man, and [I] had to half quarrel with him. But

before leaving he had received spirits as he accompanied me

as a guest towards a strange sail. That strange sail was a ship

seen all morning. I inferred that the light wind prevented her

getting to the north in which direction she seemed bound.

Her movements were suspicious and [were] so signalized

from the other vessels of the blockading squadron. I had the

anchor weighed and we stood for her. On approaching, a gun

was fired at right angles from her as a signal to heave to

which she did, having previously hoisted English colors. Mr.

Carr boarded, but [was] seemingly delayed a long time [and]

I ran alongside and ordered her to go on the other tack or

anchor as she would not be permitted to pass our lines. Soon

after she anchored and Mr. Carr returned with the ship's

papers. She was the British ship Lochinvar of Swansea,

England, Captain Wane of 684 tons, bound from Havana to

St. Johns, New Brunswick in ballast. She had been an

American vessel built in Castine, Maine, and sold and

obtained English papers at Swansea on 1 7 February last and

early in May had sailed from that place with coal for Havana.

Her Log Book proved the correctness of this representation

as well as the discharge of the coal at the latter place and

taking in ballast and her leaving on the 1st of July. Mr. Carr

was sent back to examine her hold [to see] if anything

contraband was observable and returned without finding

anything. The Lochinvar came in with her colors at half mast.

Mr. Carr reported that a man was dead on board, that the

Captain and two of the crew were sick, but the former

moving about. [He also reported] that the ship had come in

for medical treatment for the sick and that the Captain

desired permission to anchor and remain 'till he died or

recovered. I sent word [that] he might remain and I would
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 239

call or send to him tomorrow but that no lights were to be

shown from the ship or the vessel gotten underway during

the night, the penalty for violating which would be drawing

the fire of our guns.

I must confess little humanity existed in my heart. They

were, or pretended to be, Englishmen. The English are our

natural enemies. Under their flag our country is violated by

[vessels] attempting to break the blockade and nearly every

vessel wishing to run into Charleston clears for St. John's.

Tomorrow morning I will myself go and see the sick on board

the Lochinvar.

After finishing with the stranger [we] ran [to the

Shepherd Knapp] and put Captain Eytinge on board his ship

and anchored amongst the vessels around the coal schooner.

About 9 p.m. when preparing to write this journal, the 1st

Lieutenant, Mr. Foster, hurried into the cabin and reported

that the ship was on fire. [We] went to quarters, the hose

and water passed down the fore hatch and it was supposed

the fire was in the fore hold. So unconcernedly was the

whole affair managed that even the officer of the deck,

independent of the crew, thought it a false alarm and a large

number even retired without knowing to the contrary. The

fire was in the forward port coal bunker in the skin of the

ship occasioned by the coal heavers hanging a lamp

unattended against the ship's side which [it] only burned a small hole. The speedy stream of water thrown by the

Donkey [Engine] put it out.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, July 8,

1862.

A pleasant day. I am as usual up all night either on deck or

writing. At sunrise, [I] went to bed but not before seeing the

Hope at a distance coming towards us. Half an hour later I was again roused upon her arrival with the mail and

dispatches from the Flag Officer. I had scarcely time to read

the dispatches when a Brig was reported standing in, and as it

was our guard duty we had to weigh and stand out towards

her. She was a Brig ladened with coal sent from Port Royal to

this place at my request, and [she] anchored near the

Vandalia.

Whilst we were again anchoring, the Flag came from her
240 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

station accompanied by a river steamer burning black smoke,

the former signalizing a prize. Both anchored near and

Commander Strong breakfasting with me as soon as he came

on board, reported that the boats of the Flag and Restless

succeeded yesterday (7th inst) in capturing and bringing out

of Bull's Bay the British Side Wheel Steamer Emilie of

Nassau, D.B. Vincent, Captain. She was formerly the William

Seabrook of Charleston and [had] obtained a British register

on 3 June last. She has an assorted cargo which by bill of

lading cost $21,548.41 and left Nassau on 3d inst officially

bound for Beaufort, S.C. By report from the crew, specie and

Confederate bonds are concealed in the cabin and . . . Enfield

rifles and other arms are on board not enumerated in the bill

of lading. Before being captured, a large portion of the crew

escaped to the shore and only the Captain, Supercargo, and

four of the crew was found on board. Commander Strong

reported that the Captain and Supercargo (both having

previously violated the blockade) desired to be put ashore as their families are in Charleston, which proposition could not

be entertained.

The capture of the Emilie was a colorful episode in the history

of the blockade. Her smoke had been spotted at dawn from the

deck of the Restless, the northernmost of Marchand's squadron.

Immediately, Lt. Edward Conroy had ordered his crew to quarters

and signaled the nearest friendly ship, the U.S.S. Flag. As he

watched, the Emilie could be seen attempting to navigate into one

of the shallow inlets that led from Bull's Bay to Charleston, and

Conroy realized that there might be a chance to cut her out before

she reached the safety of Charleston Harbor. He sent two of the

ship's boats to attempt it. They were soon joined by two more

boats from the Flag under the command of Acting Master D.F.

Mosman, and at 8:45 all four boatcrews boarded simultaneously,

"took possession and hauled down her flag, which was English."2 7 The Emilie 's supercargo, Henry A. McLeod of Charleston, later

claimed in a deposition signed before the British consul in

Philadelphia that when he protested the hauling down of the

English flag, "Lieutenant" Mosman replied "Damn your protest;

it's good for nothing." Then, according to McLeod, the "flag was

2 7 From Mosman's official report, ibid., 178.
UNREMITTING VIGILANCE 241

removed, and in a passion, jumped upon, the officer [Mosman]

saying 'This (an American flag in his hands) flag will take its

place.'" Then, according to the deposition, a scene of general

dissipation ensued:

All Lieutenant Mosman's men made a general rush . . . the

cabin was torn out, champagne and other liquors were taken

and drunk profusely, causing intoxication and riotous

conduct. The seamen's trunks were broken open and their

contents scattered about and a great deal stolen; one sailor,

on returning to the Flag, being intoxicated, fell overboard

and was drowned. An officer, in a quarrel with a sailor, drew

a knife and cut him severely in the arm.

2 8

In an obvious attempt to make themselves appear the injured

party, the claimants protested that their cargo was made up

entirely of "dry goods, boots and shoes" with only a little

"sporting powder" and "a few thousand sporting caps." They also

claimed that they had been in Bull's Bay only because they had

run aground there quite by accident on their way to Beaufort,

S.C., a port declared legally open to trade by President Lincoln

because it was occupied by Federal troops.

Commander Strong dealt with these claims in a letter to Du

Pont a month later.

Letter: Strong to Du Pont, August 14, 1862. 2 9 They say the steamer ran aground. So she did, but it was

several miles inside of Bull's Island, in the inland channel

leading to Charleston. It was owing to its being low tide that

she grounded. As to the robbing, etc., it has been reported to

me that the robbing, if there was any committed, was by

their own crew, who loaded their boats and left on the

approach of my boats. As to the man that was "wounded

with a knife by one of the officers," as sworn to in the

affidavit, it did not come to my knowledge 'till I learned it

through this affidavit. I made inquiry of the man himself. He

says he hit his arm against the point of a sword bayonet and

scratched it a little, but it was not of sufficient consequence

to go to the doctor with; it was not done by an officer.

28 The deposition was signed by McLeod, the first and second mates, the captain's

steward, and three of the crew. Ibid., 181-2.

29

Strong to Du Pont, off Charleston, 14 August 1862. Ibid., 182-3.
242 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Yet even Du Pont had to admit that "some irregularities appear

to have occurred," though he was willing to excuse them because

of "the inexperience of the officers, particularly in permitting

their crews to go into the cabins and saloons of the prize, where

the liquor . . . was scattered about."3 ° In any case, the rich cargo

of the Emilie was enough to cover a multitude of minor

indiscretions.

That night, Marchand himself dealt somewhat more gingerly

with another British ship, the Lochinvar.

Journal entry of August 14, 1862 continued

In the evening [we] ran alongside the Lochinvar, the

English ship which came in and anchored yesterday on

account of the sickness of the captain and two of the crew

and death of one man. When near, [I] sent a boat, the officer

of which I directed to give my compliments, ask the

condition of the captain and crew and inquire if I could

render assistance. On return of the boat, [I] was informed

that a medical officer's assistance was requested, and Dr.

Atwood volunteered and went. On returning, he reported

that the disease was the yellow fever of a light kind, that the

captain and the two men were improving, that all who had

taken the disease was affected before leaving Havana or the

same day they started, and [he] did not think the vessel

infected, also that the ship was perfectly clean. Upon inquiry

the Doctor informed me that not a word of thanks was given

for his attention.

The good doctor's ministrations must have had a benevolent

effect, for the next day, the Lochinvar "left her anchorage and

stood to the northward and eastward beyond sight."3

* Marchand

noted in his journal that "Bullish like, no acknowledgement was

made for the attention bestowed."3 2

30 Du Pont to WeUes, Port Royal, 21 August 1862. Ibid., 183-4.

3 1 From a note at the bottom of a letter from Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston,

7 July 1862. Ibid., 174.

32 From the journal entry of 9 July.
CHAPTER XII

"RELIEVED FROM COMMAND"

9 July-8 August 1862

For Marchand the blockade of Charleston now became

increasingly tedious. He no longer entertained any hope that the

city would be captured by the army, and he could not foresee any

alternative to interminable blockading duty. He also became

increasingly dissatisfied with the James Adger. She had not been

built for such demanding and constant service as blockading duty

required. After 6 months off the south Atlantic coast, she was

beginning to fall into disrepair. Her engines and boilers were

cranky and increasingly unreliable. Like many another ship on the

blockade service, she needed a thorough overhaul.

The men, too, were in need of a respite from the monotony of

shipboard service. In the confined quarters of a ship of war there

could be no real privacy and there was seldom a break in the

monotonous yet demanding daily routine. To cap it all off, it often seemed that their prolonged labors were useless. Blockade

runners continued to steal into Charleston on dark nights. Only if,

quite by chance, a Union vessel lay directly in the intruder's path

was she even sighted; and each ship that succeeded in running the

blockade was then trumpeted in Confederate newspapers as proof

that the blockade was ineffective. Accusingly, northern newspapers picked up the refrain. English newspapers reprinted the

stories, giving encouragement to those who would make further

attempts to sell their goods at inflated prices in the Confederacy

and return with a precious cargo of cotton. The number of ships

which attempted to run into Charleston increased rather than

diminished, and the blockade runners were now better officered

and less likely to blunder into the Union fleet. But the biggest

factor in the new-found success of the blockade runners was the

steam engine. On an earlier visit, Lieutenant LeCardinal, surprised

by the strength of the squadron off Charleston, had suggested to

Du Pont that two frigates should have been able to securely
244 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

blockade Charleston. Du Pont's reply was that frigates were useless

against steam vessels. The steam engine, he claimed, "had changed

the nature of blockades" forever. 1 The blockade runners now had

the ability to run into port in any kind of weather and with either

a rising or falling tide. They could time their approach to the most

advantageous moment, slipping in or out on dark moonless nights

unseen by the blockaders. Unable to cut off these elusive ghost

ships, the men and officers of the blockading squadron grew sour

and belligerent in their frustration.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, July 9,

1862.

I slept all night being the first time since the dark nights

commenced two weeks ago and as the moon was bright I done so with a clear conscience. The early part of the day

was pleasant but towards noon a stiff south-southwest breeze

sat in making the sea rough.

We were getting underway when the Alabama anchored

near and Lanier came on board. He complained that I always

got underway whenever he came near. I saw he was on a growl and as he had eaten would not breakfast with me. My

object in getting underway was to go near the coal schooner

to assist in coaling the prize steamer Emilie which we did.

The Flag also came from her station to coal and fit out that

prize. Commander Strong came on board and we

uneffectually attempted to rally Lanier but it was useless.

Even the commodore's flagship was not exempt from the

general mood of despondency. The Wabash had been on blockade

duty in the south Atlantic since May 1861, and Du Pont was

concerned for the morale and physical well-being of her crew.

Though he was loath to send his own flagship north while he

himself remained at Port Royal, he decided that any other course

of action would constitute selfishness on his part and would

therefore be unfair to the crew.

Letter: Du Pont to Henry Winter Davis, July 8, 1862. 2

I am sending home the Wabash; it's like digging a pit under

me, but flesh and blood could stand it no longer. They have

1 Du Pont to Fox, Port Royal, 14 August 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 254.

2 Du Pont to H.W. Davis, Port Royal, 8 July 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 157.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 245

never landed (the crew) since they enlisted last March a year

ago except to fight or work. I shall go with her as far as Charleston and, after looking to things along the coast, will

return and hoist my flag in the Vermont until the return of

this ship. The men have never uttered a grunt, and this is one

reason why I send them. I am much worked, by broken

steamers particularly; five came in since yesterday. I never

send them home when I can help it, for they rarely come

back, and the facilities for repairing here are few.

The Wabash appeared off Charleston in the predawn darkness of

10 July:

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, July 10,

1862.

The past night, although moonlight, did not afford much

sleep to me as I was employed writing 'till 10-1/2 [then] up

at 12 to take a look, turned out [again] at two on approach

of the Hope, and for [the] full day at three. At 1-1/2, a red*

light from the Vandalia showed that a vessel was seen. I turned out and after some time a schooner was seen

approaching; it was the Hope bringing information that the

Flag Officer was coming and at three the U.S. Frigate Wabash

arrived and anchored near the Vandalia. The James Adger

was gotten underway to meet her, but much delay was

experienced in weighing our heavy anchor, nor not 'till long

after her anchoring was our ship standing towards her, then

we [first] took a look seaward and [only] at sunrise

anchored near the Wabash.

After breakfast I called on Commodore Du Pont. [I]

had . . . several papers to show [him] which had been

received yesterday, and . . . my correspondence which was

voluminous. Much was to say and little time as the Flag

Officer had many calls from the commanding officers of this

division. I blushed to tell him that the James Adger was also a "lame duck" and at my suggestion he sent the senior engineer

of the Wabash [on board] who reported that the condition

of the boilers and of the James Adger was such as to require

her immediate return to Port Royal. I then received

instructions to take the James Adger to Port Royal upon the

arrival of the Augusta.
246 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Letter: Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, July 10, 1862. 3 We anchored about daylight in the midst of the blockading

fleet. The captains have been on board and with the old story

of broken engines—the squadron is half crippled. The James

Adger, Marchand's ship, is following suit and has to be sent

to Port Royal; Sumter ditto.

Despite Du Pont's permission to return to Port Royal,

Marchand's departure would have to wait until the Augusta

returned from Wassaw Sound. He might have felt a twinge of

jealousy as he watched the Wabash up anchor and steam north.

Journal entry of July 10, 1862 continued

In the afternoon, Flag Officer Du Pont . . . shifted his flag

from the Wabash to the Keystone State and in passing . . . , the Wabash cheered, the Seneca and James Adger done so

also. Near sunset the U.S. Steam Frigate Wabash, C.R.P.

Rodgers commanding, steamed away for Philadelphia to give

her crew liberty, they having been 14 months on board.

Before leaving, Du Pont mentioned to Marchand that he had

forwarded his application for command of the Mohican "with a favorable recommendation." Meanwhile, however, the blockade

routine continued.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, July 11,

1862.

I turned in at 11 o'clock last night as the moon was bright

and at three this morning was on deck as suspicion was

attached to something dark seaward. We got underway and

stood out but found nothing. The Keystone State bearing the

flag of Flag Officer Du Pont left at four in the morning and

stood to the south .... After taking a look around, the James Adger was anchored

near the Fernandina to relieve her of part of her deck load of

firewood, which was accomplished during the day. To me

this was a day of rest as the sea was too rough for visitors and

I employed my time preparing written instructions for this

division of the squadron for the coming week and preparing

to turn over charge of the blockade to Parrott.

'Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, off Charleston, 10 July 1862. Ibid., 160.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 247

Towards evening . . . the Augusta appeared in sight to the

south and west and we stood towards her. For an hour or

more we lay drifting close to each other, the wind and sea preventing communication by boats or by voice. Just before

dark the wind lulled considerably and Commander Parrott

came on board. Until 9-1/2 p.m. we talked explanatory of

the mode of carrying on the blockade of which he will take

charge tomorrow morning.

The night being rainy and dark, we cruised all night in

hopes ... of capturing the Memphis should she attempt to

come out .... Our lights were not kept burning as the

squadron kept [track of] the run of this ship, knowing the

object in view. That a faithful lookout should be kept, I remained on deck 'till nearly sunrise.

Journal entry: Charleston and Port Royal, Saturday, July 12,

1862.

This morning I finished the remarks of yesterday after

turning out at 7 o'clock. I found the weather very pleasant, a moderate southwest wind caused an agreeable coolness in the

air and I awaked with a little impatience for Parrott in the

Augusta to reach [here] that we might start for Port Royal.

In the meantime we ran near the coal brig and took in tow a

large boat which two days ago had been picked up adrift by

the Sumter having in it a gas generating apparatus for

inflating balloons and which had without doubt been cut

adrift by some of the army transports in the hurried

desertion of the Stono by our army. Two days ago,

Lieutenant Commander Pattison of the Sumter gave an

amusing account of getting the boat with that apparatus.

When seen floating, he thought it an infernal machine to

blow up some of the blockading vessels and cruised round it

for some time. At length his boat approached when they

made the discovery of its intention.

On Parrott 's arrival he breakfasted with me and at nine he

returned to the Augusta and we started for Port Royal.

On our way we did not see a single vessel at sea until

getting near Port Royal but we saw our blockading vessels in

North Edisto and [at] St. Helena and the gunboats in Stono.

The condition of our boilers did not permit our going fast

and it was not 'till 3 p.m. that we reached the entering buoy
248 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

of the southeast channel off Port Royal and stood in. The

buoyage is good and I had no difficulty in piloting the ship

inside.

Upon approaching the anchorage, we saw the flag of the

Commander in Chief flying from the Vermont and alongside

of which we ran for instructions. The captain of that ship,

Commander Baldwin, said that the Flag Officer's instructions

were for me to anchor wherever I chose, and soon we

dropped our anchor to the north of the flagship. I found the

Vermont, Keystone State, Flambeau, Wyandotte, Norwich,

Pocahontas, Unadilla, Huron and Roebuck and other vessels

of the navy, some preparing to leave for blockading purposes,

others for the north having broken down and one or more

aground to prevent sinking.

It was four before we anchored. I was fatigued and having

little sleep last night and on deck all day, after dinner lay

down and rested. At six [I] washed, made my toilet, and

called on the Flag Officer. He appeared more than usually

kind. [I] talked with LeRoy who was on a visit, drank ice

water with him and Baldwin, returned to the James Adger at

eight, [and] wrote several letters .... Our late cruise

blockading Charleston was of 59 days duration and I feel

much broken down by watchfulness and care.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Sunday, July 13, 1862.

A pleasant but warm day. Nobody has come to see me

today. It is the Sabbath and everything is quiet. A good deal

of back work in writing accumulated during the last few days

and I brought it up.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Monday, July 14, 1862.

Nearly calm in the morning and a fresh south wind after

noon. Early and before sunrise, the First Lieutenant and

Chief Engineer were at work, the former careening the ship

to reach a suction hole form put below the water's edge, and

the latter preparing and taking apart the appendages to the

engine. I felt a responsibility in careening the ship to a greater

extent as the First Lieutenant had exhausted all proper

means and it was insufficient. But by a little management the

object was effected and it was found that the sleeve of the

suction hole was not in as bad a condition as anticipated: a
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 249

few minutes work restored it to a condition to prevent

leakage for a couple of months. The ship was then partiallyrighted, hands were employed cleaning the copper and the

operation of pumping the water out of the hold commenced

(which had been turned off from the boilers to give

additional list to the ship) but which was not accomplished

until the middle of the day.

Du Pont was seriously concerned about the dilapidated

condition of his squadron. The side-wheel steamers in particular,

like the James Adger, seemed to be breaking down all at once. He

feared that if the Navy Department did not send replacements for

them that Charleston would be "pretty much uncovered."4 Before

sending the Wabash to Philadelphia, he had asked C.R.P. Rodgers

to impress upon the Department the impossibility of maintaining

an efficient blockade with a fleet of broken down steamers and a few sailing ships. Dutifully, Rodgers told Welles that Du Pont's

forces were insufficient to the task assigned him. Even the "new"

ships arrived in a broken down condition, he said. And if they

were sent back for repairs, they frequently never returned.

Rodgers' pleas had their desired effect. Welles fired off a letter to

Commodore Hiram Paulding at the Philadelphia Navy Yard

ordering him to give preference to ships designated for the South

Atlantic Squadron.5 Welles also dispatched several newly

commissioned ships to Port Royal. He ordered the Commandant

of the Boston Navy Yard to send the Housatonic and the

Canandaigua to Port Royal "the moment they are ready for sea."

Letter: Welles to Captain John B. Montgomery, July 15,

1862. 6 Your last weekly report states that they will be ready by

the 25th of this month. The Department desires you to press

forward the work on them. It is important that they should

sail before the 25th if possible, as Flag Officer Du Pont's

"Our Flag Officer is worried to death. All of his sidewheel steamers and several of

his gunboats are breaking down. I hope the department will send him two or three fast steamers for blockading purposes. If not, Charleston will be pretty much uncovered."

Steedman to Mrs. Steedman, Port Royal, 22 July 1862. Steedman Papers, 313.

5 Welles to Paulding, Washington, 19 July 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 200.

6 Welles to Montgomery, Washington, 15 July 1862. Ibid., 191.
250 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

force has been much diminished by the necessary return of

vessels for repairs.

Welles also wrote to Du Pont:

Letter: Welles to Du Pont, July 28, 1862. 1 Rest assured, my dear Sir, we will do the best we can to

reinforce and support you, and notwithstanding you are heavily pressed, I know you will make all reasonable

allowance for the additional demands that are made upon us. Du Pont did not let the fact that he was "heavily pressed"

prevent him from participating fully in the nearly continuous

social activities of the squadron in Port Royal. On 14 July, he

hosted Marchand at a dinner on board the Wabash:

Journal entry of July 14, 1862 continued

In the afternoon [I] dined with Flag Officer Du Pont in

company with LeRoy, Commander Baldwin of course being

at the head of the table. About four we sat down at the table

and it being the first time for 62 days that all troubles of ship

or blockading duty being off my mind, I forgot myself and

after 8 o'clock, LeRoy first rose to return to his ship which

reminded me of my forgetfulness being the senior officer as guest.

In the evening Marchand received two long-delayed letters from

a brother-in-law, Comdr. George F. Emmons, captain of the

Hatteras. They were dated 3 April and 6 June, respectively, and

had lain undelivered in the post office at Port Royal since they

arrived because of insufficient postage. Marchand spent the

evening catching up on his family correspondence. 8

Journal entry: Port Royal, Tuesday, July 15, 1862.

The morning as usual [was] very hot, but towards noon

the sea breeze sat in making the weather pleasant.

7 Welles to Du Pont, Washington, 28 July 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 175.

Marchand, Emmons, and Comdr. Thornton A. Jenkins had all married daughters of

Paymaster Francis A. Thornton, U.S.N.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 251

It had been arranged at the Flag Officer's dinner talk

yesterday that LeRoy, Baldwin, and [my] self were to call on

Mrs. and General Hunter, so at ten this morning I pulled to

the Keystone State [and] thence to the Vermont where a tugboat was waiting for the purpose of conveying us over to

Hilton Head. Mrs. Hunter was indisposed and we did not see

her, but the General was hospitable and for a while [we]

enjoyed iced champagne and watermelons. Then we called on

other army officers and returned to our respective ships at 1

p.m.

While Marchand enjoyed this social interlude at Port Royal,

Congress was enacting legislation in the national capital which

would soon provide changes not only in the routine of blockade,

but in Marchand's naval career. On 14 July, Congress approved an act abolishing the liquor

ration in the U.S. Navy. Henceforth liquor would be permitted on

board U.S. ships of war for medicinal purposes only. Throughout

the navy, professional officers welcomed the new legislation with

satisfaction, united in their belief that it would add to the

efficiency of naval ships as well as improve the character of the

enlisted men. Only one rather feeble protest was raised against it. The petty officers and men of the U.S. Ship Onward presented Lt.

Comdr. J.F. Nickels with a petition protesting the "tyranny" of

the act. Nickels forwarded their petition to Du Pont without

comment, but the Flag Officer rejected it out-of-hand, reminding

the complainants that they had all sworn to "oblige" themselves

to any laws "that may be established by the Congress."9 Two days later, another congressional bill was enacted which

reorganized the rank structure of the navy. It established for the

first time the rank of rear admiral and set limits on the number of

officers to fill each subsequent grade. There were to be 9 rear admirals, 18 commodores, 36 captains, and 72 commanders. The

grade of lieutenant commander was formally recognized, and the

title "ensign" was selected to replace that of "acting master." Of

the lowest three commissioned ranks, there were to be 144

officers each. Three of the rear admirals were to be senior to the

other six-these last to be officially listed as "retired." The three

9 Du Pont to Nickels, Port Royal, 23 August 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 275. Also printed in Du Pont Papers, II, 192-3.
252 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

senior admirals were Goldsborough, Farragut, and Du Pont. C.R.P.

Rodgers, in Philadelphia with the Wabash, first heard the news 2

days later. He wrote Du Pont a congratulatory letter claiming that

"your commission will be sent to you within a month." But even

more important, from Marchand's point of view, was news that

Comdr. Samuel F. "Hazard has, I learned, been ordered to relieve

Marchand, who I suppose will get a better command." 1 ° But this

letter, dated 18 July, did not reach Port Royal for another week.

Congress passed a third act which was of less immediate concern

to the men of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The

Militia Act authorized the first conscription in American

history. 1 x What long term effect this new law might have on the

navy was unclear. But Marchand had more immediate worries. On

the day of its passage, he was still occupied with repairs for the

James Adger.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Thursday, July 15, 1862.

As usual burning hot until the sea breeze sat in about ten

in the forenoon. The crew being short in consequence of

sickness and going home in prize vessels I did not like to

reduce the working hands in coaling by taking away the gig's

crew, therefore did not go out of the ship today.

That afternoon, Marchand was pleased to learn that the crew

had completed coaling though "the engineers and mechanics

[were] still employed on the boilers and engine." 1

2

Later, H.M.S.

Racer arrived from Charleston and fired a 13-gun salute to Du

Pont. That night Marchand was once again busy writing for several

hours before going to bed.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Friday, July 18, 1862.

The weather was very warm with light south westerly

winds until four in the afternoon when clouds rose from the

westward and lightning soon after from every quarter of the

compass, then it was that rain commenced falling and has

continued until this hour (11 p.m.). Yesterday night the

10 Rodgers to Du Pont, Philadelphia, 18 July 1862. Ibid., 163-5.

Dated 17 July 1862. It also provided a disability pension for sailors.

1 2 From the journal entry of 17 July.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 253

Henry Andrew arrived from the Stono River bringing

Commander Drayton to have an interview with the Flag

Officer. I met him today and arranged things with regard to

cooperation of the naval forces in the Stono and off

Charleston.

During the relaxation from blockade duty off Charleston I have abandoned myself to sleep . . . and it was not 'till 9-1/2

this morning that I had turned out of my berth, completed

toilet, and breakfasted. At 10-1/2 [I] went to the flagship

Vermont but did not see the Commodore for a long time as Captain Lyons of the English ship Racer was with him and I did not wish to see him. On board the Vermont [I] met

LeRoy, Whiting, Balch, Downes, and Ammen. After an

interim with the Flag Officer, I returned to the James Adger

in Ammen's boat as I had sent the gig to Hilton Head to

deposit letters, both public and private, in the mail which left

at two this afternoon.

Journal Entry: Port Royal, Saturday, July 19, 1862.

Changeable and rather unpleasant weather. [I] was

awake [ned] by information of the arrival of the Supply

Steamer Massachusetts at 7 o'clock and that Lieutenant

Commander Cooper was coming alongside. He only delivered a letter from Maggie dated 12th inst. and notice of two boxes

from her which proved to be as usual most good things for

my table.

Twice [I] went to the Massachusetts and once to a schooner for [private] stores and in the evening to the

Seneca. Ammen, commander of the latter, was not on board

[so] I could not scold him for his not dining with me today.

[I] invited him for tomorrow.

Journal entry: Port Royal, Tuesday, July 22, 1862.

About one, Steedman called and begged off dining with

me as the Flag Officer had invited him to an excursion in a tugboat up the river. At three Ammen came and we sat down

to dinner and had about half dined when the tug with the

Commodore came alongside to invite Ammen and myself to

join the party which we did. Then the tug called at the other

vessels and all commanding officers [were] taken on board.
254 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

We had a pleasant steam up the river and seeing a very

shady spot near a fine looking house suitable for a pick nick

place we all landed (provisions and everything).

On stepping ashore, we were amazed to see three persons

dressed as ladies on the bank above us. These were the first I have seen since leaving Baltimore on the 13th December last.

A couple of army officers were there. Soon we found that we

had stumbled upon a school established by the Abolitionists

of the North with the patronage of the army for the

education of young and old "Contrabands." The ladies which

we accompanied to the house were the teachers, but such

ugly three ladies I did not expect to meet together. They

made themselves very agreeable but it could not be removed

from my mind but that they had come from Massachusetts

and New York with the view of "catching" some army

officer or at least gaining eclat that on their return home they

would not be compelled to remain in a state of "single

blessedness." Besides education, the Negroes worked the land,

for miles around, raising corn and cotton, the latter more

especially. I examined the cotton, the bolls had formed and

in about two months they would open. The sun was

descending, we returned to the tug, ate and drank the good

things provided by the Flag Officer and wardroom officers of

the Vermont and delighted with everything. We all returned

just at sunset. I went to the Paul Jones and remained with

Steedman 'till 8-1/2 in the evening.

In the early part of the afternoon I sent Lieutenant Foster

to Bay Point with my regrets for the misconduct of two of

the crew of this ship on liberty yesterday and to ascertain the

amount of pecuniary injury they done the inoffensive

Negroes.

Journal entry: Port Royal and at Sea, Wednesday, July 23,

1862.

The work on the appendages of the engine was incomplete

but Mr. Douglas, the chief engineer, informed me that we

could go to sea and the unfinished work might be sent

afterwards. I called on the Flag Officer at eleven, reported

that we would be ready for sea this afternoon, had a long talk

about . . . conducting the blockade of Charleston, received
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 255

my written orders to reassume it, and returned to the James

Adger. 13

Early [I] sent to the Express and Post Officer for the

[mail for the] blockading squadron off Charleston and [I

also sent] money to Bay Point amounting to $30 for the

injury inflicted upon the Negroes' property by two of our

liberty men a couple of days ago.

[The] day before yesterday, [I] promised to dine with

Steedman today at four if I did not get to sea. Finding that

we could leave, [I] notified Steedman and about 3 p.m. he,

LeRoy, and Ammen called to take leave. At 4:30 we weighed

anchor, stood out, and soon after six passed the outer buoy

of the southeast channel, I acting as Pilot. A course was

shaped to carry us 10 or 15 miles from the land in hope that

we might pick up a prize.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, July 24,

1862.

A pleasant but warm day. All last night we steamed slowly

along at a distance of about 10 miles from the land. At

daylight nothing was in sight seaward but inshore could be

seen the masts of the blockading squadron off Charleston and

for which we ran. Not long after [ward] , the Bienville stood

out for us and Commander Mullany reported the condition

of things. We both ran in and anchored near the Augusta.

Parrott came on board. It was 6 o'clock [and] both he and I had been up most of the night and were sleepy, [but] he

declined sleeping in my room 'till breakfast and returned to

his ship. After breakfast Commander Mullany came on board

and we had a long talk.

Commander Lanier, still "in a growl," also came on board

and remained until evening.

Mullany had left for some time when Parrott again

returned to the ship by invitation and after a vast amount of

trouble, Lanier was persuaded, or rather forced, to dine with

Parrott and myself. When Lanier left in the evening he

"You will please proceed as soon as the James Adger is ready for service again, and resume the blockade off Charleston and its approaches as senior officer. "I need add nothing to this order, except to invoke a continuance of that earnest zeal which has hitherto marked your efforts in conducting this most difficult service." Du

Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 23 July 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 207.
256 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

involuntarily expressed himself to the effect that he had for

one day forgotten his sickness and was particularly contented

with his being off Charleston.

Upon my arrival in the morning it was reported that a steamer had succeeded in running the blockade during the

past night. 1 4 From the confused information I could obtain,

the strange steamer was first seen a little before four in the

morning. Those at the northern end of our line said she was

then in the Main Ship Channel some distance south of a line

with Cumming's Point on Morris Island. Those on towards

the southern end of the line before Charleston represent that

she bore on a line east of the Moultrie's house on Sullivan's

Island and therefore was either in the Swash or Maffitt's

channel. Each party [was] desirous to show that the steamer

did not pass near them. From the different accounts I am

under the impression that the steamer passed through

Maffitt's channel.

The Commander of the America [Acting Master John

Baker] represented that about midnight, he then being at

anchor towards Dewee's Inlet and north of the Rattlesnake

[Shoal] , saw a steamer attempting to pass westward between

him and the Rattlesnake. He slipped his chain and fired three

shells. Upon the first discharge the stranger, which had barely

headway and seem[ed] to be feeling his way along, turned

suddenly and in a few minutes was lost to sight in the

darkness. The wind being light he [Baker] could not make

progress and soon anchored supposing that the inner vessels

would see and hear the discharges of his guns. Whether this

was the steamer that succeeded in violating the blockade is

uncertain as experience proved that they come but rarely

singly .... The U.S. Steamer Massachusetts Commander

Cooper which we yesterday left at Port Royal arrived and

this division of the squadron obtained fresh provisions.

Before sunset the James Adger took position in front of

Pumpkin Hill channel and the Augusta off the Swash. Before

night the Pembina gave chase to a steamer which proved to

be the army transport McClellan bound to Port Royal.

1 4 Parrott described it as "a rather large three-masted propellor." Parrott to Du Pont,

off Charleston, 24 July 1862. Ibid., 209-10.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 257

The only event Marchand deemed worthy of notice in his

journal on 25 July was the arrival of a privately owned trading

schooner, the Delphine. She appeared in the afternoon and

"commenced making sales among the squadron." 1

5

The Delphine

and vessels like her operated under permits from the Secretary of

the Treasury and therefore had legal sanction. But often their

arrival presaged an outbreak of drunkenness on board ship.

Marchand therefore distrusted these "floating grogshops" though

he was impotent to act against them for he feared a mutinous

reaction among the crew.

1 6 In reality, the Delphine was nothing

more than a sophisticated bumboat, the logical development of

those that had hawked their wares to sailors for hundreds of years.

The next day Marchand was pleased to be able to report to Du

Pont an unsuccessful attempt to break the blockade.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, July 26,

1862.

[I] lay on deck all night and soon after sunrise ran the

steamer out to the fishing ground near the coal vessel. [I]

heard the discharge of a gun about 1-1/2 o'clock in the

morning, and we were all ready for a run. [It was later

reported that] a steamer resembling the Planter made an

attempt to run in; that the Crusader saw [her] fired two

shots, slipped her cable and stood after [her] but was so

slow . . . that the stranger soon ran out of sight seaward. The

Crusader then ran to the Alabama [and] on giving the

information Lanier got underway at three in the morning in

chase. Lanier sent me word that after getting underway he

ran 25 miles in unsuccessful search for the steamer, and that

he found a large life boat adrift which he now has. Captain

[Alexander C] Rhind sent me word that when the steamer

turned to go back after his firing at her she was in about six

feet water. l 7

That afternoon, the U.S.S. Wyandotte appeared from the

southwest. She was another of Du Pont's "lame ducks" and was

From the journal entry of 25 July.

16

Drayton to Du Pont, Fernandina, 14 April 1862. O.R.N. , XII, 741.

1 7 See Marchand's official report. Ibid., XIII, 216-7.
258 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

on her way to New York for extensive repairs and overhaul. Her

captain, Lt. Comdr. William D. Whiting, brought "numerous

official communications from the Flag Officer and two personal

ones from the Navy Department." 18 These contained welcome

news:

Journal entry of July 26, 1862 continued

The first of the latter . . . acknowledged the receipt of my

application for a transfer to the Mohican bear[ing the] date

15 inst. the other was dated two days afterward detaching me

from the command of the James Adger upon the arrival of

Commander [Samuel F.] Hazard, then to proceed by the

first opportunity north and report by letter to the Navy

Department. The presumption is that the Mohican will be

assigned to me and I have not the least doubt but that it was

done through the influence of Flag Officer Du Pont although

I had been unremitting in writing to friends (many of them,

however, proved not to be such) to give their aid getting me

transferred to a vessel that carried suitable guns for war

purposes .... I wrote my thanks and devotion to the Flag

Officer for the exchange. 1

9

Parrott, Wells and Whiting were on board and remained a couple of hours, when the latter left, got the Wyandotte

underway, and stood towards New York. By her [I] sent a

letter to Maggie which . . . was commenced when the

Wyandotte first appeared in sight [and which began by]

complaining of the little probability of my getting clear of

the James Adger, and was closed by the agreeable news of my

detachment. 2 °

Having learned of his imminent relief from the James Adger,

Marchand could hardly think of anything else. He began

preparations immediately.

Not found.

1 9 Marchand's acknowledgement of his official orders is in the Marchand Letter Books, but no copy of his letter to Du Pont has survived.

Not found.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 259

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, July 27,

1862.

A quiet day. Being the Sabbath, nothing was done other

than usual morning inspection. No visitors came but sadly

must I confess that I desecrated God's day by working

preparatory to leaving this ship.

Though Marchand was thoroughly ready to depart the James

Adger and leave the Charleston blockade in the care of another,

his job was not finished yet. On 26 June, Du Pont had learned

from a young English refugee from Charleston that in addition to

the Memphis, two other ships had slipped through the blockade

into Charleston during the past week.2 1 This increased flow of

illicit trade into Charleston threatened to compromise the

government's legal position on the blockade, for international law

experts agreed that "if the number [of ships] entering or leaving

be large in proportion to the number prevented, a strong

presumption is at once raised, that the blockade is not efficiently

maintained, and, as a consequence, the blockade cannot have legal

effect...."22

Du Pont was distressed that the seemingly formidable squadron

off Charleston was apparently insufficient to stop the flow of

trade into the city. Having already returned the U.S.S. Flag to

Charleston, he now dispatched three more ships to Marchand-the

Sebago, the Blunt, and the Mohawk—but he could do no more

because so many of his vessels were still in various stages of

disrepair. 23 He wrote Marchand a private letter protesting that "I

am doing all I can to increase your force, but everything . . . comes

in broken down." He also had a complaint about violations of the

blockade occurring elsewhere on the South Atlantic coast:

Letter: Du Pont to Marchand, July 28, 1862. 24

A steamer got out the other day, midday, from Ossabaw,

Collins having deliberately left his station. Strong saw her and

could have caught her from Wassaw, but considered her the

21 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 28 July 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 171.

22

Deane, The Law of Blockade, ix. 23 Du Pont to Mrs. Du Pont, Port Royal, 27 July 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 167-8.

See also O.R.N., XIII, 217-8.

24 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 28 July 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 219-30.
260 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Darlington. A Contraband told Steedman and Goldsborough

she was coming down, and they took her for something else,

and went on eating their dinner together.

This has been pretty hard to swallow, I confess.

Even before he received this plaintive appeal, however,

Marchand had decided to return to his practice of staying all night

on deck even though he continued his preparations for leaving the

James Adger.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, July 28,

1862.

As usual [I] lay on deck all night either watching or ready

for a call. The day has been pleasant with exception of some

heaving threatening rain squalls.

Was engaged all forenoon in packing my trunks

preparatory to being relieved from the command of this ship.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, July 29,

1862.

A pretty warm day with squally appearance. As usual [I]

lay on the settee on deck after ten last night with little sleep

'till daylight when I turned into my berth, but every few

minutes had to receive reports of strange vessels, direct

signals, or hear of one of our vessels moving.

The 1st Lieutenant [was] engaged all day painting the

bulwarks of the ship . . . preparatory to his and my own relief

coming soon. [We] wish to give a favorable impression to

them.

Early in the afternoon accessions to this division of the

squadron commenced arriving from Port Royal. First was the

U.S. Steamer Flag, Commander J.H. Strong, next the U.S.

gunboat (double ender) Sebago, Lieutenant Commander E.W.

Henry, next the Pilot boat schooner G.W. Blunt, Acting

Master J.R. Beers commanding, and fourthly the Steamer

Mohawk, Lieutenant Commander Aaron K. Hughes. The

commanding officers of the new arrivals of course called and

[so did] several of the others. My time was as customary

much employed in duty and entertainment.

In the evening [I] sent the Flag, Mohawk, and Blunt

cruising off as it was too late to alter [the] position [of the
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 261

squadron] and [I] placed the Sebago between the James

Adger, off Pumpkin Hill channel, and the Augusta, off the

Swash channel . . .? 5

[I] received a private letter from the Flag Officer

commenting upon [how] the mode the blockade is kept up

elsewhere under his command and mentioning certain

steamers having succeeded in running into Charleston some

time ago.

2 6

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, July 30,

1862.

[I was] on deck all night as usual and just before sunrise

went below to turn into my berth. Scarcely had I taken off

my clothes when a signal was reported from the Crusader

that her engine was disabled. I again dressed, directed signal

for the Alabama to come within hail, and sitting down wrote

a long dispatch and a private letter to the Flag Officer2 7 and

a short letter to Maggie .... Whilst so engaged, the Alabama reached me and Lanier

came on board reporting that he had sent a boat to the

Crusader and ascertained that her engine had entirely broken

down. Lanier was not at all dissatisfied when I ordered him in

the Alabama to tow the Crusader to Port Royal. By eight in

the morning both vessels were off.

25 This morning the following vessels composed my command. [From the journal

entry of 30 July.]

Steamer James Adger

Steamer Flag

Steamer Augusta

Steamer Ala bama

Steamer Bienville

Steamer Crusader

Steamer Mohawk

Gunboat Pembina

Gunboat Sebago

Ship Vandalia

Ship Onward

Ship Shepherd Knapp

Bark Restless

Bark Fernandina

Schooner G.W. Blunt

Schooner America

Commander

Commander

Commander

Commander

Commander

Lieutenant

Lieutenant

Lieutenant

Lieutenant

Lieutenant

Act. Vol. Lieut. Act. Vol. Lieut. Act. Vol. Lieut.

Acting Master

Acting Master

Acting Master

Marchand

Strong

Parrott Lanier

Mullany

Rhind

Hughes

Bankhead

Henry

WeUs

Nickels

Eytinge

Conroy

Moses

Beers Baker

26 Du Pont to Marchand, Port Royal, 28 July 1862. O.R.N., XIII, 219.

27rThe official dispatch is in the Marchand Letter Books and O.R.N. , XIII, 222. The

'private letter" has not survived.
262 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Marchand wrote to Du Pont that "there is no reason to think

that any effort has been made to violate the blockade of this place

since the morning of the 26th . . ,."28 He also reported that the

French steamer Renaudin which had been in Charleston Harbor

since his return from Port Royal had finally steamed out of the

harbor that afternoon. LeCardinal sent word to Marchand that he

was bound for New York with the French consul and his family

on board, and that a "grand battle" before Richmond was

expected soon. After his departure, Marchand was visited by

"quite a number of the Commanding officers . . . making it a busy

time."

Once again Marchand stayed on deck all night. He slept fitfully

suffering from the stifling humidity of a South Carolina summer.

In Charleston, meanwhile, the captain of the Memphis decided to

attempt an escape. Sometime in the early morning hours of 31

July, the Memphis slipped out of Charleston Harbor and passed

through Maffitt's Channel into the open sea. Despite Marchand 's watchfulness, nothing was seen or heard on board the James Adger

and the next day her absence from the harbor was not even

noticed.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, July 31,

1862.

As usual the past night [I] lay down and rose up from the

settee on the quarter deck. The heat was great, my

underclothes were wet with perspiration, whilst the outer

were wet with the heavy dew. At daylight I turned into my

berth and slept nearly two hours .... A few hours later, however, 40 miles southeast of Cape Romain,

the Memphis was sighted by the U.S.S. Magnolia, Lt. William Budd

commanding. After a 2-hour chase during which the Magnolia

steadily gained on the blockade runner, Lieutenant Budd ordered

his crew to open fire on the Memphis. A shell "exploded close to

his starboard quarter, the fragments flying over his poop," and the

Memphis finally hove to.

2 9 Lieutenant Budd took possession and

sent her to New York for adjudication. His action elicited a

2S

Ibid. 29 Budd to Welles, New York 4 August 1861. O.R.N. , XIII, 225-6.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 263

personal congratulatory letter from Welles, 30 but at Charleston,

Marchand remained ignorant of either the escape or the capture

and believed the Memphis to be still in Charleston Harbor. Not

until 2 August did he discover his error. Mortified, he wrote Du

Pont that the Memphis had escaped "at a time when I fancied it impossible without [her] being seen by the blockading vessels."3 1

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, August 1,

1862.

As customary [I] lay on deck watching all night and at

daylight ran further out to give room for such vessels as might think proper to approach without risk of getting on

the shoals about Pumpkin Hill Channel off which we had

been lying at anchor.

About 9-1/2 o'clock last night, being on deck [I] saw the

flash and heard the report of two cannon towards the south

and west and supposed they were from the Blunt arriving in

that direction. Immediately I saw the Bienville run out and as

it was her duty [day] knew she would attend the case as other vessels could not leave their stations. This morning I was informed that the guns were fired by the Shepherd

Knapp upon the supposition that a vessel was coming from

Charleston through the Main Ship Channel and that Captain

Eytinge thought that she did not get out. Of the latter fact

we toward the end of this line are entirely convinced for

hundreds of eyes were watching.

The Sebago, Huron, Flag, Augusta, Bienville and other

vessels came near for information and most of the

commanding officers were on board to visit me.

Not all of Marchand's headaches stemmed from blockade

runners, however. He also had problems with some of his own

officers. A curious incident concerning Lt. Comdr. Clark Wells of

the Vandalia and drinking water began on the first of August.

Wells came on board the James Adger that afternoon to ask

Marchand where he might obtain drinking water since he had only

7,000 gallons left. Marchand pointedly reminded him that he had

volunteered to supply the Vandalia from the James Adger several

30Wellesto Budd, Washington, 14 August 1861. Ibid., 227.

3 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 2 August 1862. Marchand Papers.
264 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

days before, but Wells had rejected that offer as inconvenient.

Apparently it was still inconvenient, for Wells now insisted that he

be supplied from the U.S.S. Flag which was nearer his anchorage.

Marchand gave his approval and Wells left. But the next day he

was back again asking ingenuously "where he was to get water."

Though Marchand once again offered to supply him from the

James Adger, this time Wells wanted to be supplied by Bienville.

Again Marchand gave his consent. But Wells, apparently thinking

that it was Marchand 's responsibility to order the Bienville to

comply, did nothing about it. Later in the day, the James Adger

got underway and gave Wells 1,250 gallons of water. Marchand

took the opportunity to talk to Wells "plainly" about "the

unnecessary quantity of water consumed by his crew and

officers." Marchand noted in his journal that Wells left

"considerably miffed."

That evening the U.S.S. Marblehead arrived from Port Royal.

Her captain, Lt. Comdr. Sommerville Nicholson, brought Marchand late newspapers from which he learned of the passage of the

"Navy Grade Bill" (see above). After careful scrutiny, Marchand

despaired that "promotion is now distant than ever." He could not

have been more wrong. Though he was not to know it for another

month, he had, in fact, already been promoted, his commission as captain to date from 16 July. Perhaps part of the reason for his

prompt selection was the lobbying of C.R.P. Rodgers, who noted

that he had "spoke[n] to Fox about Marchand" while in

Philadelphia with the Wabash. 3 2 Though ignorant of his promotion, Marchand was fully aware of

his imminent relief, and that knowledge made his last few days as senior officer off Charleston more bearable. Daily he looked for

the arrival of Commander Hazard. But meanwhile Charleston

remained his chief concern and ships continued to test the

blockade, succeeding with embarrassing frequency.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Saturday, August 2,

1862.

A black ugly rainy and squally night has just passed. For

more than an hour after daylight it was so rainy and misty

that objects only at intervals could be seen and then, in one

of the short intervals, a two masted lead colored steamer was

32

C.R.P. Rodgers to Du Pont, Philadelphia, 18 July 1862. Du Pont Papers, II, 165.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 265

seen inside of the Moultrie house in Maffitt's channel. She

was either at anchor or aground but an hour afterward she

stood up the harbor. Whether she succeeded in running in

through the blockade or attempted to come out is uncertain.

I am afraid it was the former. 3 3 Early in the morning, the Vandalia's boat came alongside

and brought four Contrabands, one a female. They left

Charleston at ten last night in a boat taken from the Navy

Yard . . ..

The Contrabands supplied Marchand with valuable information

about the defenses of Charleston, though the information proved

scant comfort to the blockaders. Marchand passed the information

on to the Flag Officer.

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, August 2, 1862. 34

They represent that there are about 3,000 soldiers in the

city preparing to leave for Richmond; that a guard alone

remains on James Island, but do not think that the number

of soldiers in the forts has been changed.

They state that two pile drivers are employed daily in

driving piles in the harbor from Palmetto or Log Fort on the

middle ground northwardly across Folly Island Channel to

the southern edge of Hog Island Channel, and that these piles are close together. A row of piles also runs between Palmetto

or Log Fort on the middle ground southward to Fort

Johnson, but are at such a distance apart that vessels pass

between them in daytime.

They also report about the two vessels building, one

designated as a ram; the other, the Ladies' gunboat. 3 5 Both

are expected to be completed in a couple of months. The

former is very sharp forward, is of two feet thickness of

wood, and the sides are roof-shaped. The Ladies' gunboat is

built like an ordinary gunboat. She is intended to be plated

with iron. A portion of the iron for covering them is on hand,

See Marchand's report to Du Pont below.

34 Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 2 August 1862. Marchand Papers. Also

printed in O.R.N., XIII, 240-1.

3 5 So named because its cc South Carolina. A list of contributors is printed in Orvin, In South Carolina Waters

So named because its construction was financed by donations from the ladies of
266 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

and is six inches wide and two inches thick, but a sufficient

quantity has not yet arrived from Richmond. A portion was

obtained from vessels running the blockade. They added that

they heard everybody say that when iron plated they would

sink so deep into the water as to be unable to get to sea, and

could be used only in the harbor. 3 6 They also state that at intervals steamers succeed in getting

into Charleston and escaping from that place, and enumerate

the frequency that vessels have been turned back on account

of our blockading force.

It is painful to report the latter statements after every

mortal exertion has been made with the vessels you have

intrusted to my charge to prevent the occurrence of a violation of the blockade. I feel almost hopeless of

success .... Marchand spent the rest of the day reorganizing the squadron

hoping that he could increase the efficiency of the blockade.

Journal entry of August 2, 1862 continued

Made signal and Lieutenant Commander Henry came on

board, I directed him to take the Sebago and assume the

position of the Mohawk off Lawford's Channel whilst the

latter took his station south of the Swash Channel. In the

afternoon, [I] signalized the Marblehead to chase a schooner

approaching our line, [but] by mistake he must have gone

after another vessel and did not return at night. After supper

[I] ran up to the Huron and directed her to take a more

northerly position. Downes coming on board I explained it to

him. On our return to position off Pumpkin Hill channel, [I]

spoke [to] the Augusta and Mohawk and gave sundry

directions.

At night, Marchand was "as usual" on deck "alternately snoring

and watching." But again nothing suspicious was seen. All day on

3 August, the nearly constant refrain was the breakdown of ships

in the squadron:

3 6 In fact, the two gunboats proved to be eminently seaworthy. On 31 January 1863,

they steamed out of Charleston Harbor and attacked the blockading fleet. Two of the

Union warships, including the Keystone State, were forced to surrender and the

Confederate ironclads steamed back into the harbor claiming that the Union blockade

had been raised. See O.R.N. , XIII, 577-622. 660.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 267

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Sunday, August 3,

1862.

... a boat came with Lieutenant Commander Hughes who

informed that the starting bar had broken off in the socket

and would require three or four hours to have restored. She

did not leave for North Edisto until about one in the

afternoon. The Huron came from her berth and anchored

near. Leave was given to put out her fires for three or four

hours to repair a hole in her starboard boiler. It was

completed and she again is in her berth west of the

Rattlesnake [Shoal] before sunset. I was extremely busy

writing to the Flag Officer until after 1 p.m. when I sent the

dispatch schooner Hope back to Port Royal. So busy was I that I had not time to be present at mustering the crew and

hearing the Articles of War read.

In his letter to Du Pont, Marchand lamented once again the

frustration of blockade duty

:

Letter: Marchand to Du Pont, August 3, 1862. 3 7 The last three nights have been extremely dark with rain

squalls and mist. Signal lights and rockets from Fort Sumter

are of frequent occurrence, and yesterday morning, when the

mist thinned, a lead-colored sidewheel steamer was

discovered either at anchor or aground in Maffitt's Channel

inside of the Moultrie House. Soon after, she stood into

Charleston Harbor. Whether she succeeded in running in or was attempting to come out is uncertain, as the thickness of

the weather prevented her from being recognized by any of

the blockading vessels,, although the Huron, Augusta, and

Sebago were at anchor close in to the entrances of Maffitt's,

North, and Swash Channels, and in plain view had the

weather been clear.

The blockade of this place is most worrying. I view it a personal affair whenever it is violated, but such feelings are not unexpected, and would be proud to endure them if the

government can only understand the difficulties to be

encountered.

37Marchand to Du Pont, off Charleston, 3 August 1862. Marchand Papers. Also

printed in O.R.N., XIV, 241-2.
268 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Du Pont sent this letter and the one dated 2 August on to

Secretary Welles. In a letter of his own he added: "I have no

reason to doubt the watchfulness of any of the officers of this

division of my squadron, and having been myself on two occasions

off Charleston, I can fully appreciate the great obstacles in the

way of maintaining a perfect blockade."3 8

Journal entry of August 3, 1862 continued

Commanding officers Hughes, Nickels, Beers, and others

called on board. A strange steamer approaching our lines, the

Augusta spoke [to] her and her signal showed her to be the

army transport Arago from New York to Port Royal; she ran

near two or three vessels and threw late newspapers

overboard for them. One contained the information that Flag

Officer Du Pont was made a Rear Admiral.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Monday, August 4,

1862.

Was up on deck all the past night as usual. At one in the

morning saw lights of one of our steamers towards Breach

Inlet moving seaward. At 2-1/2 [I saw] another. I did not

like the idea that [that] important place should be left

unprotected and longed for daylight to solve the mystery.

When daylight came, the weather was dark and heavy with a great rain and when it cleared up the Augusta came near and

reported that the Huron had captured a schooner and which

she towed in and anchored near us. Lieutenant Commander

Downes reported that about one this morning a schooner was

seen coming out of Charleston through Maffitt's Channel,

passed between the Huron and Buoy at [the] west end of

Rattlesnake [Shoal] and stood eastward; that he slipped [his

anchor chain] and quietly following after, captured her. She

was the schooner Aquilla of and from Charleston bound to

Nassau ladened with 300 or 400 barrels of turpentine. She

was 77 tons burden and seven years old. No papers were on

board and the written leaves of the log book [were] torn out.

Neither could a flag be found on board. She had a crew of

five persons and the captain, W.H. Ward.3 9

38 Du Pont to Welles, Port Royal, 7 August 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 240.

39

See the official reports of Downes and Marchand, ibid., 235-6.
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 269

Most of the vessels clustered around for information .... A

number of the commanding officers came on board.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Tuesday, August 5,

1862.

[I] lay and watched on deck as usual last night and turned

into bed after daylight. Again I went on deck before

breakfast and finding the orders [that] I had given the 1st

Lieutenant neglected, I set people to work myself and he

hearing me give the order came on deck much miffed and

tried to bluff me off. He had been visiting another vessel

yesterday and turned into his bed very early last night. After

breakfast, got underway and again anchored on the fishing

ground near the coal brig. Soon after nine commenced target

practice with muskets. The target was a barrel head elevated

five feet and anchored about 60 to 70 yards from the ship.

The officer of the division conducted the practice and every

enlisted man except three Contrabands fired three rounds,

the Marines four. The practice was not as good as could be

desired. It was nearly three in the afternoon before it was

finished.

The Bienville ran out and spoke [to] a steamer. It was the

U.S. Gunboat Paul Jones, Commander Steedman, on a short

cruise in search of a couple of steamers that had been

prevented from running into Savannah River by the guns of

the Martello tower on Tybee. Steedman wrote me a long

note. The Bienville also spoke [to] the Star of the South, an

army transport bound to New York from Port Royal, and

obtained dispatches for me from the Admiral.4

° One was to

send the Sehago to Wassaw and I immediately signalized her

to come within hail. On her arrival [I] sent on board the four

Contrabands who came off the Vandalia on the 2nd inst. and

directed Lieutenant Commander Downes to put on board her

the four remaining crew of the prize schooner Aquilla

captured yesterday. Then dispatched the Sehago with orders

to stop at Port Royal and report to the Admiral.

About 2 p.m. the prize schooner Aquilla sailed for

Philadelphia, we having sent three of our best men whose

time had nearly expired to form six of her crew.

40

Ibid., 233.
270 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

The vacant space left in the blockading line by the

departure of the Sebago was filled by the Blunt which place

was off Lawford Channel.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Wednesday, August 6,

1862.

A very pleasant day. Lay as usual on a settee on deck all

night. Today for the first time for months on the blockade I had nothing to do with business without the ship.

Commander Strong called upon me. The Augusta [was]

employed coaling, and the Bienville watering the Vandalia[\]

The Flag, Augusta and Bienville were the only vessels in the

squadron that moved today. I was busily preparing papers

and my own traps in anticipation of the arrival of my relief,

Commander Hazard, in the Wabash which is now hourly

expected from Philadelphia.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Thursday, August 7,

1862.

Pleasant but exceedingly hot day. [I] tried to sleep 'till the

moon went down at 2-1/2 in the morning, but it was utterly

useless. From that time until daylight [I] did not care about

it. At 4-1/2 in the morning [when I] turned into my bed it

was then broad daylight but scarcely had I laid down before

the officer of the deck sent a message by a stammerer that a small steamer like the Ellen was in sight outside. [I] gave

directions to call me on her approach and then lay tumbling

about on my bed with occasional naps of sleep 'till nearly 8

o'clock.

On going on deck the officer informed me that he had sent

me word that the steamer was very suspicious and he fancied

black smoke from the funnel. That the Flag and Bienville

both gave chase and on the former nearing the stranger again

separated. I confined the stammerer for neglect of duty in

bringing a wrong message. During the day I learned that the

suspicious vessel was an army transport bound from Port

Royal to New York and was boarded by both the Flag and

Bienville.

Early, that is 8 o'clock, [I] made signal for the Huron to

come within hail and dispatched her off Stono to

communicate with the squadron inside ....
RELIEVED FROM COMMAND 271

The Bienville brought a letter from Acting Volunteer

Lieutenant Commander Conroy, of the Restless, full of

complaints. In the evening, the Adger ran to east end of

Rattlesnake Shoal and I had a talk with Strong about the

complaints. At dark, resumed our old anchorage off Pumpkin

Hill Channel.

Journal entry: Blockade of Charleston, Friday, August 8,

1862.

As usual [I] lay on deck watching although the night was

moonlight. At daylight the steamer Isaac M. Smith . . . came

near and from her came Commander Hazard to relieve me

from the command and Lieutenant Owen to relieve

Lieutenant Foster.

The Isaac M. Smith brought a mail in which was a letter

from Maggie dated 27 ultimo and a private letter from the

Admiral suggesting that I should go to Port Royal instead of

going north in the Smith and suggesting that I should take

the Marblehead to convey me there. Watmough, Wells,

Nicholson, and Parrott called, the latter dined with me.

At 8 o'clock in the evening Commander Hazard relieved

me from the command of the U.S. Steamer James Adger,

having been attached to her since 31st August 1861.

For once Marchand slept soundly, free at last from worry about

the blockade. He rose at dawn the next day and, after hurried

ablutions, went on deck to bid goodbye to the officer of the deck.

He left the James Adger at 6 o'clock, noting in his journal that he

had been in command for 22 days less than a full year.

Commander Hazard was unable to see him off because of illness,

the seriousness of which was not yet known, but which would

soon deprive him of his new command.

The Marblehead, with Marchand on board as a passenger,

steamed into Port Royal Sound at 2 o'clock that afternoon in time

to witness the salute honoring Du Pont's promotion to rear admiral.

Journal entry: Charleston and Port Royal, Saturday, August

9, 1862.

When off [the harbor entrance] we heard much firing and

the cause was [soon] revealed. Today the flag was shifted
272 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

from the Vermont to the Wabash and hoisted at the main,

being saluted by all the men of war in the harbor as well as by the army at Hilton Head.

Du Pont received Marchand "most cordially" and invited him to

stay on board the Wabash as his guest while he awaited

transportation north, but Marchand declined, thinking that his

presence would be a burden. He stayed instead on board the

Marblehead, sleeping on deck to avoid the unbearable heat below

decks. The next day, he bade farewell to his friend Steedman and

boarded the army transport Arago for the trip to New York.

His journey north was leisurely and a pleasant change from the

constant demands of blockade duty. He spent his days reading

Knickerbocker's History of New York, and in the evenings he

joined the passengers gathered on the quarterdeck for singing. In

the midst of one of these song fests, on the night of 12 August, a sudden rain squall broke over the ship, chasing most of the

passengers to cover. But Marchand was glad for the storm. He

found it a pleasant change from the heavy heat of Charleston and

the next day he noted that the storm had "purified the air"

making it "quite cool and pleasant" on deck.

At daylight on 14 August, the dark line of the Jersey shore was

plainly visible off the port bow, and to Marchand the sight was

beautiful: "Never did I think it more charming, probably from

long looking at the low coasts and neglected lands of South

Carolina, Georgia, and Florida." There were large crowds on the

beaches of Long Island. Proof, wrote Marchand, "that the Civil

War now raging in our land has not drawn away the seekers after

pleasure and health at our great watering places."

At 10 o'clock the Arago came alongside the wharf in New York

Harbor and Marchand disembarked. That night he took a train for

Baltimore where at 4 o'clock in the morning of 15 August he

"rejoined the family at Bolton Mansion."
EPILOGUE

For the officers and men of the South Atlantic Blockading

Squadron, the situation off Charleston went from bad to worse

during the late summer and fall of 1862. l The converted

steamships on blockade duty continued to break down at an

increasingly rapid and alarming rate. The men, too, were beginning

to break under the strain. Marchand's relief on the James Adger,

Comdr. Samuel F. Hazard, fell ill almost immediately. Less than 2

weeks after assuming command he was certified as unfit for sea duty by two ship's doctors, and he turned over command of the

squadron off Charleston to Commander Steedman.

Steedman found the duty as comfortless as it had been for

Marchand. On the second day of his tenure as senior officer he

wrote his wife complaining that "I never take off my clothes until

daylight in the morning and most of the time I make my bed of

the boat oars here on deck."2 Even more unbearable was the fact

that despite his vigilance, ships continued to run in and out of

Charleston. Rear Admiral Du Pont wrote Secretary Welles on 28

August that "some two million sterling of arms and merchandise

have gone in[to Charleston] in the last ten days."3 Part of the reason for the inefficiency of the blockade was the

poor condition of so many of the blockading vessels. Du Pont

wrote Assistant Secretary Fox that "every vessel off Charleston is a lame duck now except the Huron, Bienville, and sailing ships."4 But another reason was that the blockade runners grew

increasingly skillful. They were no longer amateurs hoping to run

through the blockade in privately owned sailing barks. The men

who now navigated the channels off Charleston were professional

blockade runners in specially designed steamships, painted gray to

blend with the sea at night. They were cunning and swift and

^or a firsthand day-by-day account of events in the South Atlantic Blockading

Squadron after August 1862, see S.P. Boyer, Naval Surgeon.

2 Steedman to Mrs. Steedman, off Charleston, August 1862. Steedman Papers, 320-1.

3 Du Pont to Welles, Port Royal, 28 August 1862. O.R.N. , XIII, 287-8.

4 Du Pont to Fox, Port Royal, 21 August 1862. Ibid., 268-9.
274 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

knew their trade. The blockade, though gaining in strength each

day, was growing increasingly inefficient.

The solution to this state of affairs, according to the Navy

Department, was the capture of Charleston itself. Assistant

Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox was convinced that nothing

afloat or ashore could stand up to a bombardment from the new

Union ironclads, and he wrote Du Pont that with a few such

vessels, the reduction of the Charleston forts would be a simple

matter. Du Pont demurred, but Fox urged the plan upon him and

would brook no objections. The urgency of capturing the city was

highlighted by a daring assault on the blockading fleet itself by the

two Confederate ironclads that had been under construction in

Charleston Harbor for several months. In the early morning hours

of 31 January, they steamed out of the harbor and attacked the

Ottawa and the Keystone State. Both wooden ships were forced to

surrender, though the Confederates were unable to take

possession. After an hour the ironclads steamed back into port

unharmed. Southern newspapers announced that the blockade had

been lifted.

Though there were no more sorties from the harbor, Du Pont

pushed forward his plans for an assault on the forts. He developed

ingenious antitorpedo devices- metal barges that could be pushed

ahead of the Union ships to trigger the "infernal machines"

prematurely. After lengthy preparations, the attack finally took

place in April 1863. It was a disaster. The Union fleet was repulsed

with heavy losses and the invulnerability of the ironclad was

dramatically shown to be a myth as the U.S.S. Keokuk, riddled by

nearly 100 hits, slowly filled with water and sank. Though he had

consistently opposed the assault from the beginning, Du Pont was

the only available scapegoat. He was forced into retirement and

replaced by Rear Adm. John A. Dahlgren.

Marchand's own career was untainted by any association with

either the faltering blockade at Charleston or the disastrous attack

on the harbor forts. After a very pleasant month spent at home

with his family, during which he finally learned that he had been

promoted to captain, Marchand traveled to Philadelphia to assume

command of the Mohican. He held command for but 8 days. On

30 September his commission was revoked and he was recalled to

New York to serve on a Naval Court of Inquiry. But the Mohican

had been taken from him only that he might be given a newer and

bigger ship. On 25 October he received orders to proceed to the
EPILOGUE 275

New York Navy Yard and take command of the new steam sloop

Lackawanna. He wrote Secretary Welles that he would proceed

"without delay."5

5 Marchand to Welles, Baltimore, 25 October 1862. Marchand Papers.
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A.H.R.

Drayton Papers

Du Pon t Papers

Fox Papers

J.S.H.

Lee Papers

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 277

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Whitridge, Arnold. "The Trent Affair, 1861." History Today, June

1954, 394-402.

Woodman, John E., Jr. "The Stone Fleet." American Neptune,

October 1961,233-259.
280 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

III. NEWSPAPERS

Philadelphia Daily Evening Bulletin

New York Herald

Charleston Mercury

The New York Times

The Times of London

New York Tribune

Philadelphia Tribune
INDEX

Adams, Charles F. 36, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44,

47,217

Amelia Island 116(map), 121, 122, 124,

125, 126, 130

Ammen, Daniel 82(portrait), 85, 86, 91n,

117n, 212, 214, 221-23, 225, 227,

234, 235, 253, 255

"Anaconda Plan" x Atwood Robert N. 5n, 145n

Azores 49-52

B

Baker, John 256, 26 In

Balch, George B. 117n, 142n, 149, 166,

194, 200, 207, 212, 227, 237, 253

Baldwin, Augustus S. 156, 157, 248, 250,

251

Baltimore, Md. 1, 56-58, 60, 61, 83, 86,

88, 91, 272

Bankhead, John P. 86, 104, 117n, 158,

163-67, 171, 172, 190, 261n

Baxter, Irving B. 66, 68, 70, 73, 76, 79

Beacham, Elisha J. 5n, 145n

Beauregard, de Pierre G.T. 169n, 217,

218n

Beers, James R. 155, 211, 260, 261n, 267

Benham, Henry W. 155, 157, 158, 180

(portrait), 182, 194, 195, ^(character), 197, 200, 201, 203-05,

208-10, 212-13, 213n

Benjamin, Judah P. 52n

Betts, Samuel R. 184n

Bird, Daniel 38

Bird Key 162(map), 167

Bisbie, D.T. 38n, 52n

blockade

boredom of 60-61, 71, 74-75, 136,

138, 243-44

declared by Pres. Lincoln x-xiii, 28-29

effectiveness of, challenged 142-44

legality of 139, 259

night procedures of 69, 75, 215,

225-27, 233

rule of "effectiveness" xi

ships available for 1861 xiii Boutelle, Charles A. 132-33, 170-72, 174,

175, 187, 233

Boyd, Charles H. 174

Bradford, John S. 174

Brannan, John M. 213n

Breese, Samuel L. 3, 4, 6, 8

Brisbee, Eugene 145n

Britton, John 34

Brunswick, Ga. 129, 131, 156

Budd, William 262

Bull's Bay 73, 73n, 74, 80, 140, 142n,

240, 241

Bunch, Robert 139, 142, 215, 218, 226

Canon, John 145n

Cape Henry 53, 55, 62

Cape Romain 66, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74, 80,

146(map), 150n, 152, 212, 222,

262

Cardenas, Cuba 29, 30, 35

Carr, John P. 4n, 101, 145n, 167, 238

Carren, John 5n

Case, Frank M. 5n, 58, 60

Cedar Key 112, 125

Charleston, S.C. x, 10, 33, 60, 63, 65, 80,

89, 112, 120, 130, 134-37, 139,

140, 142-44, 151, 156, 158, 159,

161, 162(map), 163, 164, 168-70,

176, 178, 181, 187, 190, 195, 199,

202, 213, 214-18, 220, 229,

230-34, 243, 245, 255, 256, 264,

265 (fortifications), 268, 273, 274

charts, ocean, unreliability 62

Civil War, American

British attitude toward 36-37

Clark, William R. 59, 127n

coal, need of 22, 24-28, 31-32, 34, 42,

50-51, 54, 76-80, 93, 94, 132-33,

135, 141, 141n, 144, 147, 148,

155-57, 187, 200, 206-07, 220,

233, 239, 244, 252

coastline of the Confederacy xi, 146(map)

Coles Island 163-66

Collins, Napoleon 153, 166, 171, 172-75,

179, 185-92, 259

Conroy, Edward 142n, 148, 240, 26 In, 271

contraband, dispatching of 137, 183-84,

185, 186, 192-93, 194, 219,

240-42, 262-63, 265, 268

Cooper, George H. 6, 7, 204, 226, 253,

256

Cooper, Thomas 90n

Cork, Ireland 22, 25-28

Couch, George 5n, 145n

Crandall, W.H. 145n
282 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

Crane, Lemuel G. 150n

Creighton, Johnston B. 159, 168, 171,

172, 192

Cumberland Sound 115, 117n, 118, 118n,

119, 122, 125, 128

I)

Dahlgren, John A. 40, 274

Dahlgren, William de R. (Capt. de Rohan)

40,40n, 42, 214

Davis, Charles H. 12, 84(portrait), 85, 90,

91, 94, 103, 115, 127, 128n, 153,

154, 161

Davis, Jefferson, Pres. 28-29, 132

de Rohan see Dahlgren, William de R.

Devine, Patrick J. 27

Douglas, Alexander D. 5n, 27, 53-54,

145n, 254

Downes, John A. 117n, 124, 142n, 151,

183, 184, 253, 266, 268, 269

Drayton, Percival 96, 97(portrait), 98,

100, 104-07, 109, 113, 117n, 187,

189, 190, 191, 192, 195, 198, 200,

201-06, 212, 214, 222, 230, 233,

253

Duncan, James M. 204, 212

Du Pont, Samuel F. Flag officer of So. Atlantic Squadron

ix, xii-xiii Head of Strategy Board xii, 112

portrait 14

assumed admiral rank 271-72

3, 5, 6, 7, 9-12, 20-21, 34-35, 56,

59, 60, 62, 64, 73, 75-77, 79, 81,

85, 87-96, 101, 108, 112, 113, 115,

117, 118, 121, 122, 124, 126-31,

135, 140, 141-43, 148n, 150, 151,

153-58, 163, 168-70, 170n, 172,

173, 175, 181, 182, 186-89, 191,

194, 195, 196, 198, 201, 203-07,

209-12, 214, 219, 220, 222, 224,

230-33, 236, 239, 241, 244-46,

248-54, 257-59, 261-65, 267, 268,

273

Eastman, Zebina 43, 44, 214

Ely, Alfred B. 210

English Channel 13, 15-17, 20, 29, 30, 46,

47

Emmons, George F. 250, 250n

Eytinge, Henry S. 194, 200, 233, 238,

239, 261n, 263

Fernandina, Fla. 60, 108, 112, 116(map),

117n, 118n, 119-24, 129-31,

146(map), 187, 189, 196, 230

Fernandina, New, Fla. 125-27

Foote, Andrew 109, 110

Fort Beauregard 90

Fort Clinch 124, 128, 130

Fort Johnson 169, 170, 176, 179, 194,

202, 265

Fort Marion 131

Fort Moultrie 135, 136, 170, 220, 223,

237

Fort Palmetto 165-67, 171

Fort Pemberton 176, 177

Fort Pickens 163, 172, 174

Fort Pulaski 91, 98, 100-06, 108, 109,

110, llln, 132, 230

Fort Sumter 135, 136, 160, 170, 219,

221, 223, 233, 237, 267

Fort Walker 86, 90

Fortress Monroe 89, 138

Foster, James P. 4n, 12, 13, 27, 39, 50,

64, 65, 68, 81, 103, 105, 132,

144n, 158, 225, 239, 254, 271

Fox, Alfred 31

Fox, Gustavus V. Asst.Sec.Nav. 63, 182n,

191, 195, 264, 273, 274

Fox, James 5n, 59-60, 127n, 145n

Fremont, John C. 217, 218n

General Order Number one 95

Georgetown, S.C. 64-80, 98, 146(map),

181, 187, 212

Gillespie, William T. 158

Gillis, James S. 117n, 208-09

Gillmore, Quincy A. 101-02. 102n

Godon, Sylvanus W. 83, 86, 88, 91, 95,

117n, 121, 126, 129, 130, 132,

156, 157, 232, 232n

Goldsborough, John R. 8, 117n, 127,

135-37, 192, 205, 260

Goldsborough, Louis M.

Commander of Hampton Roads Squadron 5, 6, 55, 56, 61, 62, 252

Greenway, William W.T. 5n, 27, 87, 145n

Grimball, Paul 174, 177, 179, 188, 190,

205, 209, 212, 230

Grimball, Thomas 175, 188, 189, 190,

194, 201

Gulf Stream 55, 62, 152

gunnery practice on USS James Adger 7-9,

16,26,49,108,110,227,228,269

H

Falmouth, Eng. 31

Farragut, David G. 95, 139, 147, 252

Haggerty, Francis S. 98, 109, 110

Hale, John P. 139-40, 142, 143
INDEX 283

Hampton Roads, Va. 5, 9, 34, 55, 56, 61,

76, 77-78, 112, 154, 158, 233

Harwood, A.A. 57n

Hazard, Samuel F. 252, 258, 264, 270,

271,273

Hatteras Inlet 120

Henry, Edmund W. 260, 26 In, 266

Hewitt, William N.W. 216-17

Hilton Head Island 64, 81, 86, 91, 95, 98,

158, 230, 251, 253, 272

Hughes, Aaron K. 260, 261n, 268

Hunter, David 180( portrait), 181, 182,

194, 195-96(character), 201, 203,

205, 208, 210, 213

Huse, Samuel 4n, 87, 237

I

interservice rivalry 181-83, 195, 198, 201,

203-05, 210, 212-13

J

Jackson, Thomas J. "Stonewall" 217,

218n

Jacksonville, Fla. 131, 146(map)

James Island 162(map), 164, 179, 194,

197, 199, 201, 203, 208, 213,

213n, 214, 224, 230-33, 265

Johns Island 190, 198, 200

Jones Island 102, 103

Jones, Samuel 169n

K

Kierstad, Charles 5n, 59-60, 127n, 145n

L

Lanier, Edmund 7-9, 88, 91, 94-96, 117n,

121, 142n, 147, 148, 158, 199,

205, 206, 216, 220, 227, 228, 237,

244, 255, 257, 261, 261n

Lardner, James L. 95, 133-35, 140,

142-45, 148, 149, 153, 154

LeCardinal, Jean A.M. 218, 243, 262

Lee, Robert E. 90n, 120, 121, 163

Legareville, S.C. 163, 172, 174, 181

LeRoy, William E. 76, 117n, 155-57, 168,

192, 194, 211, 218, 223, 230, 235,

248, 250, 251, 253, 255

Lincoln, Abraham Pres. xi, xiii, 1, 5 liquor abolished on Naval Vessels by law

58n, 251

Luce, Stephen B. 182n

Lyons, Algernon M'L. 179n, 226, 227,

229, 252

Lyons, Lord Richard B.P. 217

M

Maffitt's Channel 145, 162 (map), 224,

256, 262, 265, 267, 268

Mahan, Alfred T. 3n

Malet, Sir Alexander 217

Marchand, John B. character ix naval career x

portrait xiv

assigned to So. Atlantic Squadron xiii,

1 assigned to intercept USS Nashville

10-30

animosity for the British ix jealous of Du Pont's favorite officers

85

appeal for Divine aid 16-17, 20, 24, 25,

29, 35, 51-54, 62, 67, 69, 79, 81,

105, 111, 114, 234

plan to capture Charleston 169-70

hopes burst as Drayton sent to take

command 190-91

requests command of steam sloop 138,

232

promoted to Captain 264

left the USS James Adger 271

given command of USS Mohican for 8

days 274

given command of USS Lackawanna

275

maps

Tybee Roads 99

Fernandina 116

So. Atlantic Coast 146

Charleston, S.C. 162

Militia Act authorized 252

Mason, James M. 10, 11, 27-30, 41

military incompatability 195, 212-13

Milton, John Fla.Gov. 132

Missroon, John S. 86, 92-94

Montgomery, John B. 249

Morris Island 135, 221, 233, 234, 256

Morse, Freeman H. 36, 38, 39, 42-44

Mosman, D.F. 240-41

Mosquito Inlet 146(map), 148

Mud River (Creek) 100, 101, 103, 105,

107

Mullany, J.M. Madison 148, 150, 151,

183, 185, 186, 236, 255, 261n

McClellan, George B. 138, 154

McLeod, Henry A. 240-41

N

Nassau 142, 146(map), 150-52, 185, 186,

193, 214, 219, 240, 268

Navy rank reorganized 251
284 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

New York Tribune 139, 139n

Nicholson, Sommerville 264, 271

Nickels, J. Frederick 142n, 150n, 236,

251, 261n, 268

Oath of Allegiance 4

Ossabaw Sound 146(map), 259

Palmer, James S. 40

Palmerston, Lord Henry J.T. 37, 41

Parrott, Enoch G. 7, 9-12, 63, 65, 72-73,

73n, 74, 141, 142n, 145, 147, 151,

153, 161, 166, 167, 179, 181, 184,

185, 205, 206, 215, 216, 246, 247,

255, 256n, 258, 261n, 271

Pattison, Thomas 222, 235, 247

Paulding, Hiram 249

Pemberton, John C. 164

Peterson, William J. 5n

Philadelphia Daily Evening Bulletin 139,

139n

Pope, John 217, 218n

Port Royal Sound 34, 61-65, 73, 76, 77,

79, 80, 81, 90-93, 95, 96, 98, 100,

108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 115, 128,

131-33, 135, 139, 140n, 143, 144,

146(map), 147-51, 153, 155, 161,

167, 168, 170, 172, 174, 185-87,

191, 194, 196, 204, 206-08, 212,

213, 219, 226, 235-37, 244-48,

251,267, 271

prize money 1 37

prize vessels CSS Aquilla 268, 269

MS Cambria 185

CSS Cataline 219

MS Cora 194, 197

USS Darlington 1 24

MS Elizabeth (General Miramar)

192-93, 197

MS Emilie 240-42, 244

MS Emily St. Pierre 137

CSS Memphis 262

MS Patras 186, 187

MS Sarah 219

MS Stettin 183, 184

Purviance, Hugh Y. 92, 93

R

Rattlesnake Shoal 147, 148, 149, 152,

153, 184, 200, 206, 216, 218, 224,

225, 236, 256, 267, 268, 271

Reed, Wallace W. 5n, 145n

Reynolds, John G. 86

Rhind, Alexander C. 257, 261n

Rice, George M. 59

Ridgely, Daniel B. 8

Ringold, Cadwalader 65

Ripley, Roswell S. 152, 152n, 163, 218

Rodgers, C. Raymond P. 84(portrait), 85,

90, 91, 124, 131, 156, 182, 230,

231-32, 246, 249, 252, 264, 264n

Rodgers, John 84(portrait), 85, 90, 91,

100, 101, 103, 107, 117n, 126,

130, 154, 161

Russell, Lord John 215

Saint-Andre, Baron Durant de 218

St. Andrew's Sound 114, 115, 116(map),

118n, 122, 131

St. Augustine, Fla. 131, 146(map)

St. Helena Shoals 63, 247

St. Simons Sound 115, 117n, 119, 132,

146(map), 156n, 205

Sanford, Henry S. 44

Savannah, Ga. 89, 90, 106, 107, 112,

146(map), 179

Savannah River 90, 91, 98, 100, 101, 102,

103, 105, 108, llln, 269

Scilly Islands 21, 29

Scott, Winfield x

Secessionville, S.C. 201, 201n, 203, 208,

212, 213n, 220, 230

Semmes, Raphael 38

Seward, William H. Sec. of State xin, 36,

38, 215, 217

Sewell's Point, Va. 153

Sherman, Thomas W. 9, 9n, 91, 101, llln

Shiloh 139

Ships

USS Active 150-51

USS Adelaide 38

CSS Aid 233, 234

USS Alabama 7-9, 88, 94-96, 114,

117n, 121, 124, 142n, 145, 147,

151, 153, 158, 189, 197, 199, 204,

205, 207n, 212, 217-20, 222, 228,

233, 235, 237, 244, 257, 261, 261n

USS Allegheny 57

USS America 256, 261n

CSS Aquilla 268, 269

USS Arago 268, 272

USS Atlantic 96

USS Augusta 6, 7, 9, 12, 63, 65, 72-73,

73n, 74, 141, 142n, 145, 147, 151,

153, 161, 164, 167, 179, 181,

184-87, 189, 205, 206, 216,

245-47, 255, 256, 261, 261n, 263,

266-68, 270
INDEX 285

USS Belle 150n

*AT Belvedere 117n

USS Bibb 132-33, 170, 171, 173, 174,

185, 233

USS Bienville 83, 86, 88, 94-96, 117n,

123, 124, 126, 148, 149, 151-54,

158, 186, 189, 197, 233, 235-37,

255, 261n, 263, 269, 270, 271, 273

USS Blunt 155, 184, 206, 207n, 211,

236, 259, 260, 261n, 263

AT Boston 117n, 131

USS Braziliera 158

USS Buoy 185, 222,268

USS Canandaigua 249

**MS Cambria 185

CSS Carolina 233, 234

CSS Cataline 219

USS Cecil 152

USS Chase 150n

USS Connecticut 75, 76, 79, 136, 147

MS Cora 194, 197

AT Cosmopolitan 117n

USS Crusader 257, 261, 261n

USS Curlew 6, 10

USS Darlington 124, 124n, 260

USS Delaware 208

USS Delphine 233, 257

MS Elizabeth (General Miramar)

192-93, 197

USS Ellen 117n, 131, 187, 188, 191,

209, 210, 270

MS Emilie (William Seabrook) 244

MS Emily St. Pierre 137, 137n

AT Empire City 1 17n

USS Fernandina 246, 26 In

USS Flag 114, 117n, 130, 139, 207,

214, 218, 222, 224, 225, 229, 236,

239, 240, 241, 244, 259, 260,

261n, 263, 264, 270

USS Flambeau 137, 145, 147, 149,

150, 153, 154, 187, 197, 199, 200,

204, 207, 211, 222, 225-28,

234-36, 248

CSS Florida 8, 65, 113, 117n, 124,

135, 137, 185n

USS Gem of the Sea 64-65, 66-74, 76,

79

USS George Creek 131

CSS Gladiator 38-48, 50-53

USS Hale 91, 101, 108, 208, 209

USS Hartford 95, 96

USS Hatteras 250

USS Helen 114

*AT Army Transport

**MS Merchant Ship

USS Henrietta 114, 117n, 131

USS Henry Andrew 1 14, 253

USS Home 206

USS Hope 114, 117n, 131, 212, 239,

245, 267

USS Housatonic 249

USS Huron 117n, 124, 131, 142n,

151-53, 183-88, 248, 263, 266-68,

270, 273

CSS Ida 106, 107

USS Iroquois 40

USS Isaac M. Smith 110, 114, 117n,

131,271

CSS Island Bell 73n

USS James Adger

description of x, 1,3

armament 1, 3

picture 2

assigned to So. Atlantic Squadron

6-10, 13, 15, 17-20, 21, 23,24,

25, 28-31, 33, 34, 36, 39, 41,

42, 44, 47, 48-52, 56, 58, 60,

61, 63-65, 68, 70, 74, 75, 76,

81, 83, 86, 87, 91-93, 96, 107,

110, 112, 113, 117, 117n, 118,

119, 122-27, 129, 130-38, 140,

141, 142n, 144, 145, 147, 149,

150, 151, 153-56, 159, 161,

166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 173,

179, 181, 185-87, 191, 192,

197-99, 202, 204, 206, 207n,

210, 221, 222, 224-26, 232,

235, 238, 239, 243, 245, 246,

248, 252, 253, 255, 256,

258-61, 261n, 262, 264, 271,

273

USS John Randolph 153n

USS Keokuk 274

USS Keystone State 76, 117n, 118n,

155, 157, 168, 172, 189, 192, 194,

197, 204, 207, 211, 218, 219, 222,

223, 224, 229, 235, 237, 246, 248,

251, 266n, 274

USS Lackawanna 275

MS Lauban 184n

MS Lochinvar 238, 239, 242

USS Mackinaw 153n

USS Magnolia 262

USS Marblehead 264, 271

USS Marion 93

USS Massachusetts 204, 226, 227, 233,

253, 256

USS McClellan 110, 114, 117n, 129,

131, 132, 256

CSS Memphis 224, 225, 227, 235,

237, 247, 259, 262, 263

USS Mercury 9

USS Mohawk 259, 260, 26 In, 266
286 CHARLESTON BLOCKADE

USS Mohican 83, 86, 88, 95, 117n,

118, 119, 121, 122, 124, 126, 129,

130-32, 156, 232, 246, 258, 274

USS Monitor 154

CSS Nashville 10-13, 17, 21, 22, 27, 28,

29-33, 36, 56, 60, 223

USS Norwich 187, 204, 206, 207n,

212,248

USS Onward 117n, 137, 142n, 150n,

233, 236, 251, 261n

USS Ottawa 83, 101, 113, 117, 117n,

118n, 119, 159-60, 161, 164, 165,

167, 170, 171, 173, 176, 187-90,

192, 274

MS Patras 186, 187

USS Paul Jones 254, 269

USS Pawnee 96, 98, 100, 105, 109,

110, 113, 117n, 118n, 119, 124,

130, 187, 189, 192

USS Pembina 101, 114, 117n, 131,

158, 163-67, 170, 171, 187, 188,

190, 256, 261n

USSPenquin 114, 117n, 131

USS Pettit 9

CSS Planter 160, 161, 163, 198, 200,

257

USS Pocahontas 110, 113, 117n, 131,

142n, 149, 153, 184, 194, 197,

202, 207, 207n, 212, 225, 227,

233, 237, 248

USS Portsmouth 184n

USS Potomska 110, 113, 117n, 131

USS Powhatan 232n

MS Prince of Wales 67, 68, 73, 74

HMS Racer 179, 215, 216, 226-29,

252, 253

FSS Renaudin 215, 218, 219, 262

USS Restless 138, 142n, 148, 153,

207n, 240, 261n, 271

HMS Rinaldo 216-18

USS Roebuck 142n, 148, 204, 207n,

211, 219, 236, 248

USS Sabine 64

USS St. Lawrence 64, 92

USS San Jacinto 41

MS Sarah 219

USS Savannah 86-87, 91-94

USS Sea Lion 220

USS Sebago 259-61, 26 In, 263, 266,

267, 269, 270

USS Seminole 114, 117n, 122

USS Seneca 85, 86, 91n, 101, 114,

117n, 131, 212, 214, 221-23, 227,

237, 246, 253

USS Shepherd Knapp 184, 194, 200,

202, 204, 207n, 228, 233, 238,

239, 261n, 263

CSS South Carolina 152

AT Star of the South 1 17n, 269

MS Stettin 183, 184

USS Sumter 38, 137, 140, 202, 204,

206, 207n, 222, 233, 235, 246, 247

USS Susquehanna 95, 110, 113,

117-19, 133, 140, JL41, 149, 150,

153, 154

CSS Theodora 30

CSS Thomas L. Wragg 223

HMS Trent 35, 41

USS Unadilla 6, 101, 108, 153, 164,

165, 167, 170, 171, 173-76, 187,

188, 248

USS Uncas 150

USS Vandalia 98, 109, 111, 236, 239,

245, 261n, 263, 265, 269, 270

USS Vermont 155-57, 245, 248, 251,

253, 254, 272

CSS Virginia 154

USS W.G. Bartlett 147

USS Wabash 9, 64, 81, 93, 94, 96, 110,

113, 115, 117-19, 123, 124, 131,

219n, 230, 244-46, 249, 250, 252,

264, 270, 272

USS Wachusett 185n

USS West Wind 236

USS Western World 101, 108

USS Wyandotte 98, 109, 248, 257,

258

slaves attacked by Southern Cavalry 177,

192

Slidell, John 10, 11, 27, 28, 29, 30, 41

Smalley, George W. 139

Smalls, Robert 160

South Atlantic Blockading Squadron

vessels in command

1 March 1862 117n

21 April 1862 142n

12 June 1862 207n

30 July 1862 26 In

xiii, 6, 36, 62, 66, 83, 85n, 86-87,

88-89, 163, 179, 181, 188, 194,

273

South Atlantic Coast 146(map), 243

Stanton, Edwin M. Sec. ofWar 5n

Steedman, Charles 11, 12, 82(portrait),

83, 86, 88, 91, 94-96, 117n,

121-23, 125, 126, 130, 231, 249n,

253-55, 260, 269, 272, 273

Stevens, C.H. 171n, 209, 210

Stevens, George A. 83, 86, 94

Stevens, Isaac 196-97(character)

"Stone Fleet" 63-64, 64n, 90

Stono Inlet 65, 140, 141, 142n, 146

(map), 149, 154, 159, 161, 163,

164, 166-71, 173, 176, 177, 179,

181-92, 194, 197-201 203, 205-08,

210-11, 213, 216, 220, 222,

230-34, 247, 270
INDEX 287

Stout, Peter F. 139

Strategy Board xii, 112

Stringham, Silas 215n

Strong, James H. 207, 214, 229, 235, 240,

241, 244, 259, 260, 261n, 270, 271

Sullivan's Island 135, 153, 160, 184, 220,

222, 233, 234, 256

Sumner, Charles x

"Trent Affair" 11,41

Talbot, Sir Charles 27, 27n

Tatnall, Josiah 102

Thome, Nathaniel i The Times (London) 36-37

Traci, Campbell & Co. 40

Train, George F. 39, 41-43, 214

Trapier, James M. 1 20

Trundy, George A. 142n, 204, 211

Tybee Roads 90, 96, 98, 99(map), 100,

101, 103, 104, 105, 108-114, llln,

269

U

Unified command, need for 195

U.S. Army abandons James Island and

Stono River 230-31

U.S. Army at Stono Inlet to capture

Charleston 198, 200-10

U.S. Naval War College 182n

U.S. Navy rank structure reorganized 251

Upham, George B. 4n, 144n

Upshur, Abel P. Sec.Nav. 58

Upshur, John 139, 147, 149-51, 153, 204,

207, 211,226-28, 234, 235

Vincent, D.B. 240

W

Walsh, George H. 207

Wappo Creek 162(map), 178, 183, 190

Ward, W.H. 268

Wassaw Sound 90, 109, 114, 156, 156n,

205, 206, 246, 259, 269

Watmough, Pendleton, G. 117n, 271

Welles, Gideon Sec.Nav. x, xii, 1, 3, 5, 6,

36, 56-59, 85n, 88-89, 91, 112,

142, 142n, 143, 169, 170n, 181,

214, 215n, 224, 232, 249, 262n,

263, 268, 273, 275

Wells, Clark H. 236, 258, 261n, 263-64,

271

Whiting, William D. 98, 105, 109, 253,

258

Wilkes, Charles 11,41

Wilmington River 90

Woodhull, Maxwell 75, 79

Wool, John E. 62, 62n

Woolsey, M.C. 209, 210

Wright, Horatio G. 90, 115, 126, 127,

180, 196(character), 198, 200, 201,

203-05, 208, 209, 210(portrait),

213, 231

Yorktown Peninsula 1 54

t

•Cf U. S. OOVT. PRINTING OFFICE 1976 - 602-805 #A-0548