Tag Archives: James River

24 April 1865: “the vessel and ways were put in order under my direction”

Item Description: Two telegraph reports from the U.S. Navy regarding the seizure of the C.S.S. Beaufort by the U.S.S. Maumee, and the seizure of a confederate tug boat by U.S.S. Phlox in the James River. These telegrams display of the actions … Continue reading

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3 April 1865: “You will be careful and thorough in dragging the river for torpedoes and send men along the banks to cut the wire.”

Item Description: Report of Lieutenant Commander R. Chandler, United States Navy, 3 April 1865, regarding the removal of obstructions in the James River, transmitting instructions to Union navy ships on the James River in Virginia for similar operations. [Scans courtesy of Google Books … Continue reading

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28 September, 1864: “He desires you to move to the North side of James River”

Item Description: Letter to General R. H. Anderson commanding him to move across the James River to take command of the line of defense and establish a line of communication between General Lee and Major Generals Field and Pickett. Item … Continue reading

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5 June 1864: “I have your private note stating that Colonel Jourdan proposes to attack Wilmington.”

Item description: A letter from acting Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee to Commander A. G. Clary of the U.S.S. Dacotah transmitting a copy of a confidential letter (previously sent to Captain Benjamin F. Sands) concerning a proposed attack upon Fort … Continue reading

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29 May 1864: “One colored regiment at each place to hold against great odds these important positions, which the army is fortifying.”

Item description: Sent from Acting Rear-Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee to Gideon Welles, who was U. S. Secretary of Navy, this telegram discusses military movements in the Fort Powhatan and Wilson’s Wharf region of Virginia, especially that of African American Union … Continue reading

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12 March 1864: “The report is to day that Kinston and Goldsboro are taken by our troops.”

Item description: Letter, dated 12 March 1864, from James “Jim” Gifford to his parents.  Gifford, a U.S. Naval officer, writes of his life in the navy while stationed near Beaufort, including ship movements and fighting near Kinston and Goldsboro, N.C. … Continue reading

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12 September 1862: “The time of ironclad being ready is very indefinite. It is questionable if she will be finished for some time to come…”

Item description: Report, dated 12 September 1862, from Charles Wilkes, commanding officer of the James River Flotilla, to Gideon Welles, United States Secretary of the Navy. Item citation: Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.. … Continue reading

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1 August 1862: “Merrett is an old man-of-warsman; his discipline, courage, and patriotism would not brook inaction when his ship was in actual battle.”

Item description: “Letter from Commander Woodhull, U. S. Navy, to Commodore Wilkes, U. S. Navy, commending Gunner’s Mate John Merrett for devotion to duty in engagement at Harrison’s Landing.” To read more from the Official Records of the Union and … Continue reading

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24 July 1862: “Stonewall Jackson is a rigid Presbyterian and does not believe in the infallibility of this Pope . . .”

Item Description: editorial, The Daily Journal (Wilmington), 24 July 1862. Transcription: THE DAILY JOURNAL. CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. WILMINGTON, N. C., THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1862. The Yankees have a last got a hero.  They have got a “coming man.”  They … Continue reading

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8 July 1862: “The remainder will march to the cannons mouth and Stab The yankee gunners to The heart Unawed by superior numbers or the display of burnished weppons and dazling unaforms”

Item description: Letter, 8 July 1862, from William C. McClellan of the 9th Alabama Infantry to his brother, Robert Anderson McClellan, in which he described the Seven Days Battle with McClellan’s forces near Richmond. He wrote of the heavy Confederate … Continue reading

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