HH104 American Naval History

Civil War

 

Agenda – (1) Opening Naval Stations (and 2,3,4?)

 

Factors Leading to War

                (1) Political, (2) Social and cultural slavery, (3) Economic, (4) Sectionalism

                Fugitive Slave Law, MI Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott Decision, Crittenden Compromise

 

Timeline to War

                1860 – Lincoln elected, SC secedes 20 Dec

                1861 – Davis elected as Southern President; 4 Mar (Lincoln sworn in); Apr 4 – Fort Sumter attacked

 

A Divided Nation

                Allegiance to state, US Navy fragmented, 1600 officers in Dec 1860 (373 resign and go South; can’t take their ships)

                Common training and naval heritage though

 

Union Navy

                Main Task: Blockade … Also conducted amphib ops and transport funcs … peaked in ‘64 w/45k enlisted, 5-600 ships

 

Confederate Navy

                Main Task: Protect coast, ports, inland waterways

                Commerce raiders had little success … used subs, mines, ironclads … had to build the navy from scratch

 

US SecNav

                Gideon Wells (’61 to ’69)

                Served Chief of Bureau of Provisions and Clothing in the late 1840s; journalist post-Mexican war

                Started out of touch (no plans for ironclads); good administrator and did well under the circumstances

 

Confederate SecNav

                Stephan Mallory – Chair of Sen. Comm. On Naval Affairs

                Current on naval matters; wanted ironclads; did well from scratch

 

General Scott Winfield – “Old Fuss and Feathers”

                Top military leader and hero from War of 1812 / Mexican War

Lincoln asks him for plan à strangle the south through blockade; take MS river; large army to protect DC … good plan, but is criticized because it is lengthy and believe the war will last long

 

Paper Blockade

Announced 9 Apr ’61 … Welles argues legality (blockade most be enforcable and union navy has only 90 vessels with three ships ready).

 

King Cotton

Cotton key to south; “King Cotton” theory; Southern embargoes itself à hurts self instead of Europe as planned

This saves the blockaders much trouble

 

Why Union Fights – Preserve union, abolish slavery, immigrants chose this country and will fight for it

Why Confed Fights – Protect homes and agriculture; begin to hate north as south is invaded

 

Loss of Norfolk (by Union)

Abandoned 20 Apr ’61 with little damage done and 200 naval guns left and dry dock intact

 

First Bull Run (First Manassas) – 21 Jul ’61 à 1st major land battle

 

Trent Affair – Nov ’61; nearly made Brit against US as Wilkes of USS San Cacinto stops HMS Trent to get Confed commissioners off

 

Opening Action

                Union lacks strategy; importance to maintaining ports/supply depot needed within Confed for Union

                Capture Confed ports; A/N ops in South Atlantic coast Aug-Nov ‘61

 

1st Port Seizure: Port Royal by Dupont 6 Nov ’61 bringing all guns to bear by steaming in an elliptical pattern

 

Firm Blockade – As time passes, more ports captured; by the end of the first year, all Atlantic ports captured or sealed off excepted Charleston and Wilmington

 

Union Takes Fort Henry and Donnellson – breaks down Confed line of defense in southern KY.

 

West Gulf Blockading Squadron Advances into MI River towards New Orleans

                Largest US squadron ever

                Confeds defend w/2 forts from 1812, chain and boom, CSS Pioneer ironclad (a floating battery)

                Squadron runs by forts and takes New Orleans w/o a shot fired

 

Grant asks Porter to ferry troops to Vicksburg à “running the gauntlet”

                Porter agrees, though he didn’t have to; loses one vessel

                Grant wins 5 battles as a result including Vicksburg on 4 Jul ‘64

                Lincoln thought Vicksburg was the key to the war

 

Gettysburg (1 Jul – 3 Jul) – a turning point along with Vicksburg

 

Charleston Harbor

                Mined buoys in harbor, heavily defended

                RADM Dupont tries to take it with 8 monitors; fires only 214 shots / 55 hits and takes 50+ hits per ship, sinking one

                Dahlgren relieves him and blockades the port

 

Mobile Bay – many forts, well protected, CSS TN (best Confed ironclad), 3 wood gunboats

Many blockade runners; Farragut ordered to take it à uses formation with irons on right side with small ships just on their left and big woods ships to their far left; protected the wood ships (namely small ones) from incoming fort fire

                1st ironclad (US) hits mine and sinks; Farragut’s flag ship sails around

                CS TN rammed by wooden ships until its steering shot out and it surrenders

                Defenders overwhelmed and surrendered

 

Fort Fisher – protects Cape Fear River which goes to Wilmington, NC (1862)

                Strongest # of Union squadron ever

400USMC + 1200USN charge and are beaten back but simultaneously the Army succeeds and takes the fort from its back door.  As a result, Wilmington lost and Grant corners Lee

 

Confed Commerce Raiders

International powers outlaw privateering (except US, Spain).  Confed call for privateering with little success.

Blockade running profitable

300 Union ships captured à insurance up àUS ships change flag to other countries

 

CSS Florida – Captured in Brazil and Union takes her to DC and says it cannot be returned as it “un”

CSS Alabama – “Ghost Raider” started in England and captured 69 prizes / 22 months.  First CSS to fight USS warship (sinks USS Hatarus.  USS Kearsage wins largely b/c Alabama gunpowder is old now – a shell hits the USS gear but doesn’t explode.

 

Blockade Running

300 Confed ships made 1300 attempts with 1000 success and 136 captured and 85 destroyed

Supplies from this gave the South 60% of their weapons

 

Surrounding of Big Part of Confed Army on the East Coast

9 Apr ’65 à Wilmer McLean’s house; Lee Surrenders

 

New Naval Sciences – Ironclads, mines, torpedoes, subs/semi-subs … USS Cairo first ship sunk by a mine (Yazoo River)

 

CSS David – Soft, long range, cigar-shaped, rams other vessels (later versions have torpedo on spar)

 

Dahlgren Guns – Higher caliber, muzzle loaded, smooth or rifled, primarily for use on land against ships

Explosive Ordnance

Fuse lit when gun goes off; explodes with fuel runs out

Grapeshot has “shotgun effect” … is a canister with sawdust and metal balls in them

 

“The Dictator” – Used on land; used for sieges; weighed 17000 tons and fired 220 pound shells over two miles

 

“Aircraft Carriers” – Balloon tethered to ship, 1000 ft above ship, could see 20mi (first used by USS Fanny)