U.S. Navy officer William B. Cushing is perhaps best known for his daring October 1864 raid that destroyed the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle at Plymouth, North Carolina, but he had a number of additional adventures along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina in the Civil War. Though the terminology didn’t exist at the time of [...]
Continue reading about Lt. William B. Cushing’s Attack on Jacksonville, N.C. November 1862
Following the historic clash between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) on March 9th, 1862, Virginia returned to port in Norfolk, Virginia for repairs and refitting. Besides repairing battle damage, the vessel was given a heavier ram, and 100 tons more ballast which increased the ship’s draft to 23 feet. The [...]
Continue reading about The Destruction of the CSS Virginia May 1862
150 Years Ago in the Civil War After several months of relatively little action, the pace of the fighting picked up in February 1862. Although the Army of the Potomac stayed in winter quarters around Washington, Federal forces in other locations took to the field in several significant offensive operations. Surrender of Fort Henry and Fort [...]
In March of 1864, a land force consisting of the Union Army’s 19th Corps and portions of the 13th, 16th, and 17th Corps under the command of Major General Nathaniel Banks headed northwest up the Red River in Louisiana. Accompanying the army was Admiral David D. Porter and the Mississippi Squadron, a fleet of vessels designed [...]
Continue reading about Colonel Joseph Bailey’s Red River Dam
On the morning of June 19, 1864 the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama left the port of Cherbourg, France and prepared to do battle with the United States Navy’s sloop of war USS Kearsarge. The Alabama had entered port on June 11th for repairs and refueling, and the Kearsarge found her there three days later. [...]
Continue reading about The Battle Between the USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama June 19, 1864
By the winter of 1863, Union forces controlled the Mississippi River with the exception of the approximately 110 miles between the Confederate strongholds of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Port Hudson, Louisiana. Between these two points, the Red River emptied into the Mississippi from the west. The Red River was an important supply line, not only for [...]
Continue reading about Admiral Farragut Passes the Port Hudson Batteries March 14, 1863
