James Dearing at Plymouth

Over the past few months as I have worked on the Plymouth project, I discovered that no one really understands the role of Col. James Dearing. It is like he was every place, and in command of everything. How much of this is actually true? Maybe we should dig a little deeper into this story. 

James Dearing (Avoca Museum)

   Dearing was born in Campbell County, Virginia, on April 25, 1840. He entered West Point in 1858, and when Virginia seceded, he resigned on April 22, 1861, and returned to his native state.  Dearing first served as a lieutenant in the Washington Artillery, seeing action at the first battle of Manassas. In April 1862, he was promoted to captain, followed by a transfer to Latham’s battery. Dearing saw action during various portions of the Peninsula Campaign, although he was reported out sick during the Seven Days battles. Dearing was back with his battery during the battle of Second Manassas, this time as a part of James Longstreet’s command. Dearing missed the battle of Sharpsburg, being sent to southeastern Virginia. By December of 1862, Dearing was in command of three batteries. Following the battle of Fredericksburg, he was promoted to major.

   It was back to eastern Virginia for Dearing and his artillery battalion. While there, he was given command of a scouting expedition of infantry and cavalry, and captured several Federal pickets close to Suffolk. Dearing had his battalion broken up, and a portion of it was captured. With the reorganization of the army after Chancellorsville, Dearing’s battalion was enlarged. It was still assigned to Longstreet’s command. Following their involvement in the battle of Gettysburg, Dearing returned to Virginia. Dearing was back in Southeast Virginia that fall and early winter, this time in command of a cavalry battalion. He was also promoted to colonel and commanded a small group of mixed cavalry and artillery, and participated in the failed attempt to capture New Bern.[1]

   Dearing was a part of Robert F. Hoke’s force that invested and captured Plymouth in April 1864. He commanded the 8^th Confederate Cavalry with the Virginia Horse Artillery. Since no official record from Dearing, or Hoke, or the other two Confederate brigade commanders survives, it is really hard to say what his role in the battle was. Letters and diaries have him every place, fighting on every part of the field. Some of Dearing’s cavalry opened the battle by capturing Federal pickets.

   On April 17, Hoke ordered Kemper’s brigade, under Col. William R. Terry, with Dearing, to the Confederate left, testing the defenses of Fort Gray to the north of town. One historian writes that Dearing was ordered by Hoke to attack the fort. However, Terry outranks Dearing and the command to attack the fort should have gone to Terry.[2]

   Portions of Dearing’s command were sent to the Confederate right to scout the Columbia road, but just who these Confederates were serving under is not clear. On April 18, the second day of the battle, Dearing was ordered to take his artillery and reposition towards the Confederate center, this time facing Fort Wessells. Terry also repositioned Kemper’s brigade, and his brigade supports Hoke’s brigade, under the command of Col. John T.  Mercer, in their attack that captures the fort. One account has Dearing’s artillery arriving after the first charge to take the fort had failed.[3]

   After the Albemarle arrives and sinks the Southfield and drives off the Miami, early on the morning of April 19, it is Dearing that is sent to demand that Brig. Gen. Henry Wessells surrender the garrison at Plymouth, a demand that is refused. Late in the day, all of Dearing’s Cavalry, with Ransom’s brigade, is sent to the Confederate right. Dearing is in the area in the darkness, scouting the Federal lines and looking for a way over Conaby Creek. Ransom’s brigade makes its way over the creek, and early on the morning of April 20, launches an attack that captures the redoubt on that side of the town, in which Dearing is in front during the attack. After the works are successfully captured by the Confederates forces, Dearing and an unnamed officer from the Albemarle are seen rowing up the river toward Fort Gray. They are bringing a message from Hoke to the commander of the small fort, stating that further resistance is futile.[4]

   As already stated, if Dearing, Ransom, Lewis (who took command of Kemper’s brigade after Mercer was killed) or Hoke wrote an official report after the battle, they appear lost to history. Dearing was promoted to brigadier general soon after the battle. He spent the next couple of months in North Carolina, then in July, was transferred back to the Army of Northern Virginia and placed in Rooney Lee’s division. Beauregard recommend Dearing for promotion to major general, but that never happened. Dearing was mortally wounded at the battle of High Bridge on April 6, 1865, dying in Lynchburg on April 22.[5]  

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[1] Parker, General James Dearing, 1-50.

[2] Newsome, The Fight for the Old North State, 208.

[3] Roanoke Beacon, July 26, 1895; Richmond Dispatch, May 2, 1864.

[4] Johnston, Four Years a Soldier, 298; The Smithfield-Herald, April 19, 1901; The Standard Union, August 2, 1890; The National Tribune, September 25, 1884.

[5] Parker, General James Dearing, 60-95.

Quantrill goes to Richmond

   In the 1860s, with a war going on, the theater of operation for William Quantrill was a long way from the Confederate capitol in Richmond. Some might even say they were worlds apart. Yet the famed Confederate leader took that long trip in January 1863.

   The war waged beyond the Mississippi was brutal, spanning back a decade prior to April 1861. “Bleeding Kansas” had spilled over into the surrounding areas between 1854 and 1859. There were instances of electoral fraud, raids, and violent clashes carried out. The violence continued into the 1860s, spreading over the entire country. William C. Quantrill arrived in Kansas in 1857, and in 1858, joined an army expedition headed to Utah. Quantrill served as a teamster, and most of the group died during the trip. Quantrill returned to Kansas, associated with the Free-Staters, then the proslavery group. At the start of the war, Kansas Jawhawkers, described as “antislavery Unionists,” crossed over into Missouri “to burn and plunder.” Quantrill and others in Missouri organized guerrilla bands to fight against the plunderers.[1] 

William Quantrill (LOC)

   Quantrill served in different groups at the beginning of the war, including Mayes’s 1^st Cherokee Regiment and then Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard, fighting with the latter at Wilson’s Creek. When Quantrill’s enlistment expired, he was allowed to go home to wage war locally, including cutting telegraph lines, attacking foraging parties, Union garrisons, and disrupting Union activities whenever possible. He returned to Blue Springs, recruited ten men, and joined with others in an attempt to root out Federal forces from their home counties. Quantrill was commissioned a captain in Confederate service.[2]

   In the winter of 1862-1863, with his men in winter quarters, Quantrill set out to visit Richmond and Jefferson Davis, lobbying the Confederate president for a colonel’s commission. It was Quantrill’s argument that he was already commanding enough men to warrant the promotion. Quantrill made his way to Little Rock, catching a train toward Memphis. He was traveling with two fellow soldiers. Memphis was in Federal hands, and at some point, Quantrill moved overland to a train that took him to Jackson, Mississippi. Another train took him to Atlanta, then Columbia, South Carolina. Quantrill then entered North Carolina, passed through Petersburg, and eventually reached Richmond. (It is unclear why Quantrill followed this route, rather than the closer route through Knoxville and Bristol.)[3]

   Jefferson Davis was not in Richmond. He had left Richmond on December 9, reaching Chattanooga on December 11. He visited Murfreesboro, Atlanta, Montgomery, Vicksburg, Augusta, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Davis did not return to Richmond until January 4, 1863.[4]

   Outside of “Christmas time,” it is unclear just when Quantrill arrived. Davis was not present, and Quantrill met with Secretary of War James A. Seddon. There is no really good account of the meeting, but one biographer reported that Quantrill asked Seddon for a colonel’s commission under the Partisan Ranger Act. A much later account had Quantrill stating that he would “cover the armies of the Confederacy all over with blood. I would invade. I would reward audacity. I would exterminate. I would break up foreign enlistments [in indiscriminate massacre. I would win the independence of my people or I would find them graves.” When it came to prisoners, Quantrill stated that he would take no prisoners. “Do they take prisoners from me?” he reportedly questioned Seddon.[5]

   Quantrill was soon on his way back to his command in the Trans-Mississippi department. There is no documentation that the Confederate War Department ever promoted Quantrill to the rank of colonel. However, as Petersen pointed out, several of Quantrill’s men affirmed he was promoted to colonel, something that Quantrill’s commander, Sterling Price, had the authority to do.[6]

   For the next couple of years, Quantrill fought his war. Neither side in the Missouri – Indian Territory-Texas theater took many prisoners. Accounts paint a picture of some of the most vicious violence of the conflict. Quantrill met his end in Kentucky in June 1865, attempting to reach Confederate lines. His trip to Richmond in December 1862 to meet with Jefferson Davis is little documented, both then and today.

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[1] Fellman, “William Clarke Quantrill,” Encyclopedia of the Confederacy, 3:1289.

[2] Peterson, Quantrill in Texas, 49, 52; William E. C. Quantrill, CMSR, NA.

[3] Paterson, Quantrill in Texas, 72-75.

[4] Cooper, Jefferson Davis, American, 417-18.

[5] Schultz, Quantrill’s War, 130-31.

[6] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 74-77.

Untold Civil War

Friends - I had a chance recently to sit down with Paul at Untold Civil War. We chatted about Lee's Body Guard: The 39th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. Give it a listen! https://untoldcivilwar.squarespace.com/podcast-and-videos

Bad Mitchell County History

    As many of you know, from time to time I make comments on interesting things I find on the internet. This is not one I found, but it was emailed to the general staff of a place where I work. If you must, you can see the original here, although I have copied the whole thing below. After talking it over with a couple of friends (including people at the Mitchell County Historical Society), we believe that this is AI- generated. The saddest thing, or the one thing that induces anger, is that people are going to stumble across this on a general internet search and believe it! It is on the internet, so it has to be true, correct? My comments are red.

 7 Pieces Of History Near Spruce Pine, NC

 Spruce Pine, North Carolina is a small mountain town located in the western part of the state. This picturesque town has a rich history that spans a range of significant events, including Native American settlements,  battles during the Civil War, and mining booms. Here are seven historical events and landmarks that have taken place near Spruce Pine:

1. Native American settlements – Before European settlers arrived in the western part of North Carolina, Native American tribes inhabited the region, including the Cherokee, Catawba, and the Creek. Arrowheads and other artifacts have been discovered in the area, indicating a rich and complex history of indigenous people nearby.

Kind of true, except, the artifacts found in these areas date back hundreds of years, not at the time of European settlement in the mountains. The area was frequented by hunting parties but was kind of an in-between land of the Catawba and Cherokee.

2. Battle of McDowell - During the Civil War, Spruce Pine was the site of a significant clash between Union and Confederate forces. On May 9, 1862, in nearby McDowell, Union General John C. Fremont led his forces into battle against Confederate forces under General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The Confederates ultimately won the battle, which was one of the first major engagements of the Civil War in western North Carolina.

Um, this would be the battle of McDowell, Virginia. This battlefield site is about 350 miles from Spruce Pine.

3. Roan Mountain Massacre - In 1863, Confederate soldiers from the 64th North Carolina Regiment carried out a massacre near Roan Mountain, located a few miles from Spruce Pine. The soldiers killed nine Union sympathizers, including elderly men and women, children, and a baby.

No, there was never a “Roan Mountain Massacre,” although Roan Mountain did have a couple of deserter and bushwhacker camps. I wonder if this is trying to connect the Shelton Laurel Massacre in Madison County in January 1863? It is a couple of counties to the west. People in other parts of Madison County got tired of being robbed by those in Shelton Laurel. They got the 64^th North Carolina involved, and thirteen were executed, including a couple of teenage boys. One article from the time period went as far as to say that a gang of 10-15 year olds was worse than the adults.

4. Spruce Pine Tobacco Barn Murals- In the 1980s, artist Brenda Councill created a series of large-scale murals on the sides of tobacco barns in Spruce Pine. The murals depict scenes from the town's history, including the Battle of McDowell, the town's mining history, and the area's Native American past.

Um… (how many times can I say that?) I asked Brenda Council, a wonderful artist who does murals, if she had ever worked on barn murals in Mitchell County. Nope. She never has. As far as I can remember, there are no murals in Spruce Pine that deal with the battle in Virginia, the town’s mining history, or their Native American past.

5. Mining Boom- In the late 1800s, Spruce Pine became a hub for mica mining. The area's rich deposits of high-quality mica attracted miners from all over the world. In the early 1900s, the mining industry expanded to include feldspar, quartz, and other minerals. Today, the mining industry remains an important part of the local economy, with many companies still working in the area.

This one is almost true. Spruce Pine was a hub for mica, feldspar, quarts, and other mineral mining in the late 1800s into the mid-20^th century. Except for a couple of mines, that industry has pretty much dried up as of 2023.

6. Flood of 1940- In July 1940, Spruce Pine was hit by a devastating flood that killed 29 people and caused extensive damage to the town. The flood was caused by heavy rains that caused rivers to overflow their banks. Many buildings and homes were destroyed or damaged, and the cleanup and recovery efforts lasted for several weeks.

The flood of 1940 was bad, but I’ve never seen where 29 Spruce Pine residents were killed.

7. Little Switzerland- Located a few miles from Spruce Pine, Little Switzerland is a quaint mountain town that has been a popular tourist destination since the early 1900s. The town was named by a group of Swiss immigrants who settled in the area in the late 1800s. Today, Little Switzerland is known for its scenic beauty, charming shops and restaurants, and outdoor recreation opportunities.

Nope. No Swiss immigrants. The community was founded in 1910 by Charlotte Judge Heriot Clarkson. It was so named due to the fact that the mountains resembled the mountains of Switzerland.  

Spruce Pine, NC is a town with a rich and varied history that spans centuries. From Native American settlements to the Civil War clashes, mining booms, and devastating floods, the town has witnessed many significant events that have shaped its character and identity. Whether you're a history buff or simply curious about this beautiful part of the country, Spruce Pine has plenty to offer visitors seeking a deeper understanding of its past.

Yes, Spruce Pine has plenty to offer visitors seeking a deeper understanding of the past, but not from articles like this one! What do you think? AI generated? Or just a dupe pulling material off web searches?

The Slave on the Ten Dollar Note

   We have talked about Confederate currency once before – Lucy Pickens, the first woman on American paper money. You can check out that post here. Another interesting story is found on a Confederate ten dollar note – that of Oscar Marion, the slave of Francis Marion. Francis Marion, of course, was known as the Swamp Fox. Starting in 1780, he often led small bands of men against British supply lines and gathered intelligence for Gen. Nathaniel Greene. Marion’s men would often hide out in the swamps of South Carolina after conducting their raids. In one episode, an officer, wishing to discuss a prisoner of war exchange, was blindfolded and led to Marion’s headquarters in the swamp on Snow Island. As the meeting began, the blindfold was removed, and Marion offered the officer a seat on a log. After the meeting, Marion asked the officer to remain for dinner, which was a sweet potato, roasted on the fire, and served on a piece of bark. The British office then learned that Marion and his men served without pay. According to one Marion biographer, the British “officer was so much impressed with what he had heard and seen, and so convinced of the impossibility of overcoming soldiers who fought thus upon principle, and for the pure love of liberty, that he decided to” resign his commission.[1]

   In 1840, South Carolina artist John Blake White painted this very scene. There is Francis Marion, the British officer, and Oscar, Marion’s slave, cooking the sweet potatoes on the fire. This image was later cut into a plate and appeared in the center on the 1861 Confederate ten dollar note. To the image’s left is Robert M. T. Hunter, Confederate Secretary of State and later Confederate senator and to the right is a statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, and victory.[2]

General Francis Marion Inviting A British Officer to Share His Meal or The Swamp Fox

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[1] Marion, The Swamp Fox, 149-50.

[2] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-107sdoc11/pdf/GPO-CDOC-107sdoc11-2-83.pdf

The 1861 election of T.A.R. Nelson and Joseph B. Heiskell

   Politics always makes strange bedfellows, and the August 1861 contest in District 1 in east Tennessee might make one of the most interesting contestss of the war. It pitted Tennessee state senator Joseph B. Heiskell against US Congressman T.A.R. Nelson. Both Heiskell and Nelson were from east Tennessee and both were pre-war Whigs. Heiskell is described as being a “staunch Union Whig in politics.” However, after the firing on Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s call for troops, he “cast his lot with the Confederacy.”[1]   

    Once Tennessee left the Union and joined the Southern Confederacy, the state was allowed to elect representatives in the Confederate House and Senate. Heiskell ran for Confederate House. Strangely enough, Nelson was also running. Except, Nelson was running for the same district in the US House: two men, from the same area, running for the same designated seat, but in two different bodies politic. The remaining sources are somewhat silent on the actual campaign, although one post-war scribe told of a secession meeting held in Elizabethton in May 1861. Nelson, with US Senator Andrew Johnson, spoke one week, while Heiskell, with former US Congressman William Cocke, spoke the following week. For the Congressional seats, it appears that they ran pretty much unopposed.[2]

   Of course, both men won. Had they been contending for the same seat, Nelson would have steamrolled Heiskell. The numbers looked like this: Johnston County - Nelson, 1129, Heiskell, 109; Carter County – Nelson 1229, Heiskell 81; Greene County – Nelson, 2352, Heiskell, 831; Jefferson County, Nelson 1509, Heiskell, 727. The only two counties that Heiskell won were Washington County – Nelson 979, Heiskell, 1061 and, Hawkins County – Nelson, 841 and Heiskell, 957.[3]

   Heiskell would soon make his way to Richmond. Nelson would head to Washington, D.C., but wound up in Richmond as well. He was arrested in Wise County, Virginia, on August 5, 1861, and jailed in Richmond. Nelson wrote Jefferson Davis, asking to be released, promising to return to east Tennessee and live peaceably. Davis ordered Nelson released on August 13, 1861. Heiskell would go on to be elected to serve in both the first and second Confederate Congresses.[4]  

   Outside of the presidential election of 1860, the race between Heiskell and Nelson might just be one of the more interesting elections of the 1860s.

Nelson                              Heiskell

 

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[1] Warner and Yearns, Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress, 115.

[2] Scott and Angel, The Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, 38; The Tennessean, August 11, 1861.

[3] The Tennessee, August 11, 1861.

[4] OR, Series II, Vol. 1, 824, 826.

Don’t know much about flags…

 The below article was published by Newsweek in July 2015. Yes, it is older, but it is one of the first items that pops up when one begins researching “Confederate flags” online. You can see the full article here. I chose to respond because of its top-tier ranking, and because it errs several different times. If you are interested in reliable sources on Confederate flags, I recommend the 1995 edition of The Returned Battle Flags and Deveraux Cannon’s The Flags of the Confederacy. My comments are in red.

It was April 1865 and the Union had just declared victory. Except, they did not. The war lingered for months. President Andrew Johnson did not declare the war officially over until August 20, 1866. A rebel soldier with the 9th Virginia Cavalry was preparing to hand over his weapons. He kept only the clothes on his back and probably his blanket, canteen, haversack, etc. A certain number of Confederate soldiers in the Army of Tennessee were even allowed to keep their rifles to protect groups of veterans from roving bands of outliers and Federal deserters as they traveled home. and, in a final act of rebellion, hid a Confederate battle flag by tying it around his torso. Union soldiers who were captured in battle often did this as well. It’s less an “act of rebellion,” than one of of love and devotion, for both sides. Over a century later, the flag, deemed one of the rarest relics from the Civil War, sold for $82,000 at auction.

For years, the Confederate flag has served as a powerful symbol, one that's meant wildly different things to different folks. For some, it harks back to the old South, for others it's a reminder of the sanctity of states' rights. For memorabilia enthusiasts, the flag is an intriguing antiquity, while for another ilk it's a decal to put atop a Dodge Charger that proudly proclaims membership in Redneck Nation.

But for white supremacists, the Confederate flag represents a preferable alternate reality, one in which the South won the Civil War and slavery was never abolished. Debate about the Confederate flag's true meaning flared up after Dylann Roof was arrested in connection with the Charleston, South Carolina, church killings, in which nine African-Americans were gunned down in the middle of Bible study. Roof, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, authored a racist manifesto that has photographs of him holding the Confederate flag, posing in front of a Confederate museum and visiting a Confederate cemetery.

Legislators rushed to debate whether the flag ought to be taken down from statehouse flagpoles, and many businesses removed the flags from their shelves. Even reruns of the late-'70s TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, in which the car driven by the main characters is emblazoned with a Confederate flag, were dropped from the TV Land schedule because of the controversy. All the while, Confederate memorabilia collectors squirmed. 

Experts estimate that there are only 20 to 50 authentic Confederate battle flags on the private collectors' market today. These flags, also called the rebel flag and colloquially called the Confederate flag, are marked by a large blue 'X' and adorned in white stars. Though this flag is today primarily associated with the Confederacy, it was only the flag used during combat. There were actually dozens of different types of Confederate flags used in battle, or as battle flags. It was rejected as official flag of the Confederate States of America, which used four other flags, all variations of the American flag. There were only three National Confederate flags. Only one resembled the flag of the United States.  Nonetheless, that battle flag is the enduring icon of the Confederacy.

These flags were often destroyed by Union soldiers following a battle that went in the North's favor. Considering there were over 500 battle flags that were captured during the war and survived, this is not true. Did it happen? Yes. Often? Probably not. Flags were valued as trophies, so it is unlikely that a Federal soldier would destroy a prime prize rather than carrying it home. That’s why so many flags ended up in the North. The Confederate soldiers were more likely to cut up their flags rather than surrender them to the enemy. Others were turned over to the United States Congress Actually, they were sent to the Adjutant General’s office, then in 1867 to the War Department building. and eventually made their way into the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. Surrendered or captured, yes. “turned over”? Rarely. President Grover Cleveland tried to return the flags to various Southern states in 1887. There was such a cry against this that he rescinded the order. Finally in 1905, the flags were returned. Those that could be identified went to their respective states. Those that could not, or were flags identified to Virginia, went to the Confederate Memorial Literacy Society in Richmond, later called the Museum of the Confederacy.  The remaining flags wound up at auction, though a few are believed to be with the families of the soldiers who brought them home after the war. There are flags in various museums across the South, and even some held in museums in the North. A museum in Iowa has dozens, testimony to the trophy-hunting aspect of flag capturing by Union soldiers.

Rarity is usually a good thing for collectors, but memorabilia experts say the Confederate flag market is "softening"—a polite way of saying sales are plummeting. And that can't be pinned on the recent controversy. In 2007, a Confederate flag in moderate condition commanded $77,000 at Heritage Auctions in Dallas. A similar flag brought only $50,000 in 2010. "Had it sold at the same auction in 2007, it would've been in the $77,000 price range as well," says Marsha Dixey, the consignment director for the auction house. Heritage, founded in 1976, boasts over $900 million in revenue a year and employs hundreds of memorabilia experts. It's also the largest collectibles auctioneer in the world, which is why so much Civil War memorabilia ends up there. The market has not softened. The flag of the 4^th North Carolina Cavalry was sold at auction in 2018 for $96,000.

A lot of factors contribute to the changing market, the most obvious being the economic downturn of 2008. However, the generation that typically collected Civil War memorabilia in general—and Confederate flags in particular—is also dying out without being replaced by a younger generation of collectors. "A 40-year-old is not as interested as an older person who remembers their grandfather talking about the war," Dixey explains. I actually know many of the under 40 crowd who are interested in history.  

Collectors say the culture is also changing. History teaches us that the “culture” is always changing. "It has a lot to do with political change, especially with what happened recently with Charleston. That will impact flag sales," explains Michael Collins, executive director of the Civil War Antiques Preservation Society. "That flag should never have been flying on the statehouse. It's a battle flag, and that sends the message that you are going against the Union."

He says backlash against antique Confederate flags has changed the policies of auction houses. Some houses often specify what kinds of items they will and will not trade in: Ivory and looted items are among common items auction houses refuse to sell under their social responsibility policy. The largest and most venerable auction houses in the world, Sotheby's and Christie's, rarely deal in Confederate flags. "They want to make it clear that they do not agree with the philosophies associated with the flag being offered up for sale," says Collins.

With the biggest auction houses voluntarily out of the game, two houses—Heritage and James D. Julia Incorporated, based in Fairfield, Maine—have established themselves as the leaders of the Civil War market. Heritage deals in so much Confederate memorabilia that a change in its sales policy regarding flags could radically alter the market. Collins says that if it refuses to handle them, "It would actually drive the price [of memorabilia] up because then there would be a very limited place to buy and sell such items."

James D. Julia sells only about 3,000 items a year, but that inventory includes some of the rarest collectibles in the world. A planned October auction will include the only flag known to have been carried by both Confederate soldiers and marines during the Civil War. John Sexton, one of the nation's leading experts in Confederate memorabilia, estimates that even in the softened market, this flag could bring as much as $250,000. "The market can never really hurt rare and desirable objects, even if there's a lack of interest and lack of demand," he explains.

"Confederate flags are still pieces of history," says Sexton. "It's a shame that some racist fool used a mass-produced prop in his violence. But this is still a great, iconic piece of American history that turned out to be on the losing side."

When asked if he would ever ban the flag from his auctions, auction house owner James D. Julia said he would not, just as he has not banned Nazi memorabilia. "I deal in historical items, not symbols," Julia explained. "People who buy these things are institutions, museums, major collectors. They are not reinventing the pre–Civil War South. I understand why some firms don't handle them—because it's not politically correct. But if we did this with relics of every generation that happened before us, we would have no history left. We would know nothing."

 

Confederate submarines

When someone mentions Confederate submarines, everyone thinks of the C.S.S. Hunley, and rightfully so. The Hunley did become the first submersible combat vessel to sink an enemy warship. But the South’s drive to build and successfully implement innovative warships goes far beyond one ship in February 1864. There were several other Confederate submarines and attempts to disrupt the blockade of Southern ports.

An excellent resource on the subject is Mark Ragan’s Union and Confederate Submarine Warfare (1999). The only thing that could make this book more beneficial would have been an appendix, maybe a quick reference guide, listing the barest details of each submarine.

Another note: the Confederacy built both semi-submersible and completely submersible vessels. The former are at times referred to as torpedo boats or David-Class Torpedo Boats. These craft were built of wood, contained a single screw, and had a steam boiler. They were fifty feet in length, had a four-man crew, and boasted a spar torpedo on the end. They were designed to run at night semi-submerged toward a Federal vessel, to drive the torpedo inside the vessel, and to then back away. On October 5, 1863, a “David” vessel attacked the U.S.S. Ironsides in Charleston, seriously damaging the vessel. The Confederate David was able to return to harbor. (135-137)

Information on many of these Confederate submarines is extremely limited. Many of the Confederate naval records were destroyed at war’s end. 

The Hunley by Chapman

Franklin G. Smith wrote to the Columbia Herald on June 10, 1861, about building a fleet of Confederate submarines: “Excepting our privateers the Confederate States have not a single ship at sea. Throughout our southern seaports, men of a mechanical turn and of the right spirit must go to work, maturing the best plans for the destruction or the capture of every blockading ship. From the Chesapeake to the mouth of the Rio Grande, our coast is better fitted for submarine warfare than any other in the world. I would have every hostile keel chased from our coast by submarine propellers. The new vessel must be cigar shaped for speed - made of plate iron, joined without external rivet heads, about thirty feet long, with a central section about 4 x 3 feet - driven by a spiral propeller. The new Aneroid barometer made for increased pressure, will enable the adventurer easily to decide his exact distance below the surface.” Of course, there never was a fleet of submarines built, but there were a few of note.

Pioneer – built in New Orleans, Louisiana, and tested in February 1862. The ship was 34 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high. It was powered by a hand crank that was attached to a propeller. The Pioneer was scuttled in a canal near Lake Pontchartrain when New Orleans was evacuated. The Federals raised and examined the ship, and in 1868, it was sold for scrap.

Bayou Saint John submarine – no one seems to know the name of this vessel. It was dredged out of Bayou Saint John in 1878. When it was eventually opened, three skeletons were found inside. The submarine is now on display at the Capitol Park Museum – Baton Rouge.

Shreveport submarines – there were supposedly five submarines under construction in Shreveport, Louisiana, by the Singer Submarine Corporation in 1863. One of these was sent to Houston, Texas, while the other four were scuttled toward the end of the war. The other four are still submerged but apparently “surface” in the news when they are exposed during low water levels at the Cross Bayou. See https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/24/mystery-of-missing-civil-war-subs-resurfaces/22288817/

Richmond submarines--these include several built by Tredegar Iron Works. One was tested on the James River below Rocketts at the end of 1861. In this test, a diver emerged from the submerged vessels and planted an explosive charge on the bottom of a barge. Once secure in the submarine, the charge was detonated, sinking the barge. On October 12, 1861, an unnamed submarine, possibly the one above or maybe a different vessel, was launched at Sewall’s Point and made for the U.S.S. Minnesota. The craft became entangled in a net and was almost captured. It is not really clear what became of these vessels.  

Pioneer II (American Diver) – built in Mobile late 1862. It started out with some type of electrical motor, and then had a steam engine, and eventually had a hand crank. On its first mission in February 1863, in an attempt to attack the Federal blocking fleet there at Mobile Bay, it foundered in heavy seas and sank. But the crew did survive.

Colonel E. H. Agaman – was the idea of Col. E.H. Agaman. His submarine was rocket powered. It is not clear if the submarine itself was rocket powered, or the torpedo. After the fuel for the rocket was shipped from Augusta, Georgia, to Mobile in April 1863, this vessel disappears from the pages of history.  

CSS Squib also operated in the James River. In April 1864, the Squib placed a torpedo on the hull of USS Minnesota and detonated it. The torpedo was too close to the surface, and the Minnesota was not seriously damaged. The final disposition of the Squib is unknown. The Squib is also referred to as the Infanta. There were also operating at the end of the war three others: the Scorpion, Hornet, and Wasp.

CSS Hunley – most famous. Constructed in Mobile and transported to Mobile, the Hunley sank twice and killed a crew and a half before the attack the USS Housatonic. Of course we know that the final crew of the Hunley did not return and sank as well, somewhere beyond where the Housatonic went down.

CSS Captain Pierce might have sunk the USS Tecumseh in August 1864 in the battle of Mobile Bay. The boiler of the submarine might have exploded shortly thereafter.

CSS St. Patrick was privately built in Mobile and transferred to the Confederate navy in January 1865. The St. Patrick struck the Federal ship USS Octorara with a torpedo, but the torpedo misfired and did no damage and the St. Patrick escaped.

There were at least two submarines under construction in Wilmington, North Carolina, in late 1864, early 1865. But their final dispositions are unknown.

(For more information, please check out Ragan’s Union and Confederate Submarine Warfare in the Civil War, or, Daniel Franignoul’s “Submarine Monsters of the Confederacy,” Confederate Historical Society of Belgium)

The raid on Windsor, North Carolina, January 1864.

   Windsor, the county seat of Bertie County, was just a little village off the Cashie River in eastern North Carolina. It did not have much military importance. Yet the Federals came calling in January 1864.

   Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. George Pickett were campaigning in eastern North Carolina that winter. On February 1, the bulk of his command would move from Kinston to New Bern in an attempt to wrest control of the port town from Federal occupation. When the Confederates arrived in the area, they sent out foraging parties to secure food and forage for man and beast. One of those groups, reported as two companies from the 62^nd Georgia Cavalry.[1]

USS Massasoit (LOC)

   The Federals stationed at Plymouth, on the Roanoke River, soon learned of the Confederate presence and dispatched naval vessels, with 100 infantry on board, towards the town on the night of January 29, 1864.  The USS Massasoit of Lt. Com. Flusser provided the transport. The vessel proceeded up the Roanoke River before taking a right into the Cashie River. The infantry force landed about three o’clock in the morning about six miles below the town. A member of the 103^rd Pennsylvania Infantry recalled that “About daylight, the advance became engaged,” with the Georgia cavalrymen. “My command was in a detachment that made a detour to the left at double quick to come in on the enemy’s flank, but we had not reached our position before they ‘skedaddled.’” Capt. John Donaghy, 103^rd Pennsylvania, who had command of part of the mixed Federal infantry, lost command of his troops. The Federal infantry force was drawn from every company in the regiment. “My men were so eager to get a pop at the rebs that some of them began firing without orders, unmindful of a line of our skirmishers who were between us and them. It took some vigorous language on my part and some blows with the flat of my sword against their guns to make them cease firing.”[2]

   Donaghy eventually gained control of his men and they proceeded through the abandoned camp of the Georgia cavalry. “The enemy, except a few escaped,” Donaghy wrote, “And all that we captured was their camp, with some arms, and the musical instruments of the band. Brass must have been scarce, for the horns were made of sheet iron.” The Federals marched into town, sending out pickets on various roads while the Federal navy, presumably their land force, “practiced with their howitzers for a while shelling the country in every direction the rebels had gone.” In Donaghy’s opinion, they did nothing but “waste some ammunition.” Following that, Donaghy’s men “consumed a few rails cooking their coffee, for the halt gave us the opportunity to eat breakfast.” Donaghy heard the sound of horses nearby and ordered a lieutenant with a squad to go and investigate. They found several horses tied in the woods, removed from surrounding farms as the farmers attempted to keep the animals safe. “It was a lucky discovery for us, and Lieut. Kelly and I, and some of the boys, ceased to be foot soldiers for the time being. A saddle and bridle was found in a barn nearby, and I borrowed them,” Donaghy recalled. [3]

   On returning to the town, Donaghy encountered Flusser, who “had a bottle with him, and we drank several times to his favorite toast, ‘Confusion to the rebels, and damn the Roanoke sheep.’ By the sheep he meant the ram that the rebels were building up the river. We left the captured horses at the landing, without having any harrowing doubts but that their owners would find them. We were back in Plymouth by nine o’clock at night, with nobody hurt on the expedition.”[4]

   Another member of the 103^rd Pennsylvania wrote that “Horses, mules, wagons, clothing, ammunition and two soldiers were captured. Several prominent citizens were brought away to be held as hostages for certain loyal persons incarcerated in Richmond.” Who were those citizens captured? Several North Carolina newspapers commented on the raid. On wrote that the Federals had ‘burnt up some meat and destroyed some salt. . .and captured and carried off Rev. Cyrus Watters [Walters], of the Episcopal church; also Dr. Turner Wilson and L.S. Webb, Esq., Cashier of the Bank and some one or two others.” Both the commanding officers of the 62^nd Georgia Cavalry, and the newspaper articles, reported that the Confederate cavalry was reinforced and “after some sharp firing, the Yankees retired.” What became of Walters, Wilson, and Webb is unknown,  and more research needs to be done on the “loyal persons incarcerated in Richmond.”[5] 

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[1] ORs, Vol. 33, 107.

[2] Dickey, History of the 103^rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 54.

[3] Dickey, History of the 103^rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 51.

[4] Dickey, History of the 103^rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 55.

[5] Dickey, History of the 103^rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 51; The Charlotte Democrat, February 16, 1864; ORs, Vol. 33, 107.