In the summer and early fall of 1864 a Confederate iron clad ram, the CSS Albemarle, prowled the outlet of the Roanoak River at Plymouth NC, wreaking havoc on the wooden steamers and gunboats of the U.S. Navy. After attacking, the Albemarle would quickly return to its heavily defended port to avoid capture or sinking by its pursuers. Union Naval commanders were evaluating several plans to penetrate the harbor defenses of Plymouth and destroy the Albemarle. Young Lt. William Cushing devised and proposed a daring plan to sink the ironclad ram. It was bold, it was risky, it was dangerous. The commanders accepted the plan. In the wee hours of the morning of October 28, 1864, Lt. Cushing and 13 volunteers in a light steam launch with a small howitzer and a “torpedo” fastened at the end of a 14 foot spar, silently approached the Albemarle. Slipping past outposts along the river, the Albemarle loomed closer and closer, protected by a ring of floating logs and armed sentries. Ordering the pilot of the skiff to apply full steam to generate enough speed to propel them over the logs, Cushing crawled forward to pull the cord that would detonated the torpedo beneath the hull of the Albemarle. The sentries began to fire upon Cushing, shredding his uniform coat and shooting off his boot, but a blast from the howitzer sent them scattering. Cushing’s launch went up and over the log barrier, he lowered the boom and detonated the charge beneath the ram. At exactly the same moment, the ram fired on the skiff. The twin explosions sent Cushing and all of his men into the water. Two of Cushing’s men drowned trying to swim to shore, 11 men were fished out of the water and captured, Cushing miraculously was unscathed and managed to avoid capture. The Albemarle sank. With the loss of the Albemarle, the Confederates had to relinquish control of the sea and rivers around Plymouth. Cushing received the Thanks of Congress for his daring accomplishment. Today, 28 October 2020, is the 156th Anniversary of the sinking of the Albemarle.

William Cushing’s brother, Alonzo, received the Medal of Honor for his leadership and skill directing the efforts of his artillery battery at the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863. Alonzo Cushing’s battery was located next to the Copse of Trees that served as the target of Pickett’s Charge on 3 July 1863. Suffering from several serious wounds, Cushing refused to relinquish command of his battery. As Pickett’s men swarmed over the wall in front of his battery, Cushing himself fired a cannon at point blank range into the Rebels. Alonzo Cushing was shot in the face and killed.

I have written about Robert Smalls before. This entry was written in response to a prompt for The Chatham Writers Group. The prompt was what program or series would we like to see on TV.

Ferry To Freedom

May 13, 1862

The bell in St. Phillip’s Church chimes twice.  It is 2:00 AM and most of the inhabitants of Charleston, South Carolina are sound asleep.  Most, but not all.  At Northern Wharf, the 7 crew members of the steamer C.S.S. Planter are making final preparations to cast off.  The ship’s cargo of 4 cannons and 200 missiles for those cannons are to be delivered to the Confederate garrison on Morris Island.  Casting off, the Planter makes one stop at the West Atlantic Wharf to pick up 11 passengers.  By 3:25 AM, the Planter is slowly maneuvering its way past the 5 forts that protect the harbor from Yankee invaders.  As it approaches each fort, the Planter sounds it’s whistle 3 times.  The occupants of the fort wait to verify the Planter’s markings & note the shipping schedule to confirm destination then signal passage to the ship.  At 4:15 AM, the Planter looms from the early morning mist and approaches the last of the 5 forts, Fort Sumter.  The guards on Sumter’s parapet wave a signal lantern, the Planter responds with the 3 snorts from its whistle.  As the Planter draws closer to the fort, the guards observe the familiar form of the Ship’s Captain, C.J. Relyea, leaning against the pilot house, arms folded, his signature wide brimmed straw hat on his head and his linen cloak over his shoulders.  With the ship’s identity and destination verified, Sumter’s guards wave to Relyea.  Relyea waves back and disappears into the pilot house.  The last of the forts being passed, the Planter chugs faster in the direction of Morris Island.

However, something is amiss!  As the earliest blush of dawn appears on the horizon, the guards notice that the Planter has changed course!  Rather than Morris Island, it is heading towards the open sea!  Steaming directly for the Union ships that blockade the harbor!  The Planter is now out of range of Sumter’s cannon and cannot be stopped.  Things are definitely not as they seem.  Upon entering the pilot house, Captain Relyea discards the broad hat and linen cloak to reveal that he is instead, 22 year old Robert Smalls, now a runaway slave.  His six crew members are also now runaway slaves.  The 11 passengers consist of Roberts wife Hannah, and their two children , the wives and child of four crew members and 3 additional men – all runaway slaves.  It has been a harrowing trip past the forts.  Smalls, of similar height and stature to Relyea, spent months studying his movements and gestures while planning this escape.  He hoped and prayed that the dim light and early morning mists would help shield his true identity.  As the Planter steams towards the Union naval vessels stalking the harbor entrance, Smalls has the Confederate flag & South Carolina state flag pulled down.  In its place he runs up the largest white bed sheet his wife has, to indicate his desire to surrender the Planter to the blockading Yankees.  However in the misty morning, the white flag is almost invisible. As the a Planter approaches, Union officers on the U.S.S. Onward order the gun ports opened and cannons run out stop the Rebel ship.  At virtually the last moment, a breeze flips the white sheet sideways, a gunner on the Onward sees it and shouts to his mates that the approaching ship is flying a white flag.  The Onward stands down.  The Captain and the officers of the Onward crowd the deck to observe the approaching ship.  As the Planter pulls alongside and cuts its engines, Robert Smalls steps forward holding his hat.  He calls up to the Captain of the Onward, “Good morning sir!  I have brought you some of the United State’s guns sir!”.  More importantly, Robert Smalls has ferried himself and 17 others from slavery to freedom.

This prelude introduces us to the sweeping 10 part miniseries that will chronicle the incredible life of Robert Smalls.  You will follow his rise from slavery, to his life as a river pilot, learn of his thrilling escape and join him in the halls of Congress.  You will also meet Robert’s mother, Lydia Polite, who asked the slave owning patriarch to put Robert to work in the cotton fields, so he could experience what the horrible world of slavery was really like.  Henry McKee, the aforementioned patriarch was, in all likelihood, Robert’s father, would treat Robert with kindness, even after Robert purchases the McKee house after the end of the Civil War.  Henry’s wife, Jane, will suffer from dementia and move back into her old home to be cared for by the Smalls’ family.  You will meet Robert’s wife, Hannah Jones, a slave and hotel maid in Charleston, South Carolina.  Unable to purchase her freedom, Robert plans his fantastic escape to carry her from slavery’s clutches.  You will witness the dereliction of duty by the C.S.S. Planter’s Captain, C.J. Relyea, as he leaves his ship under the control of 7 slaves, without any white officers to watch over them.

This is but one vignette of a truly remarkable story that I would love to see as a mini-series.  I am struck by the fact that no attempt has been made to produce a series illustrating the adventurous and successful life of Robert Smalls.

Gettysburg: July 1, 1863 – Daybreak
The humidity at dawn on July 1, 1863 was already thick. Pickets (patrols) of General John Buford’s Calvary Division of The Army of the Potomac were in situated in a large arc, scouting the roads to the north and northwest of Gettysburg, looking for units of Robert E. Lee’s Army of the Northern Virginia. Picketing the Chambersburg Pike heading northwest from Gettysburg was Lt. Marcellus Jones and his company of troopers from the 9th Illinois Cavalry. Peering through his field glasses, Lt. Jones observed movement along the Pike, coming in his direction. The shimmering morning heat made the figures approaching him appear almost ghostly. At about 600 yards from his position, the figures became clearer. What Jones was seeing was the advance elements of Confederate General Henry Heth’s division. Lt. Jones asked to borrow the Sharpe’s carbine from the trooper standing next to him, Sgt. Levi Schafer. Taking aim at an officer atop a white horse (believed to be Col. Burkett Fry), Lt. Jones squeezed off a shot. He missed Col. Fry, at 600yards it was not an easy shot for a carbine. It was 7:30 AM. Lt. Marcellus Jones just fired, what is believed to be, the first shot of the 3 day Battle of Gettysburg.

Sources: Edwin Coddington: “The Gettysburg Campaign”, Stephen Sears: “Gettysburg”, Bruce Catton: “Glory Road”, Blue & Gray Magazine, issues dedicated to the Gettysburg Campaign.

Gettysburg: July 1, 1863 – Mid-morning

“T’aint no militia! It’s those damn Black Hat fellers!” “Those damn Black Hat fellers” we’re members of one of the elite, and I would say THE ELITE, brigades in the Union army during the Civil War. It was the only brigade in the Army of the Potomac consisting of all mid-Western regiments – the 2nd, 6th, 7th Wisconsin, the 19th Indiana, and the 24th Michigan. Their distinctive uniforms; the tall black “Hardee”, long blue coat and buff gaiters over their boots made them easily recognizable. They were proud of the fact that their official designation was the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac. As such, they imagined that if the Army of the Potomac were lined up for review by President Lincoln, they would be The First unit he would see.

During the opening hours of the Battle of Gettysburg, 153 years ago today, the Iron Brigade was rushed forward to halt the advance of Heth’s Division of theConfederate Army of the Northern Virginia. Up to this point the Rebels thought that only Yankee cavalry and some local Pennsylvania militia opposed them. Upon seeing The Black Hat Fellers, the Rebs knew they were in for a bigger fight than imagined.

The Iron Brigade would be decimated on July 1st of 1863 and would never again function as the elite fighting force they were prior to the Gettysburg battle. The whole 1st Corps of the Army of the Potomac was wrecked on that day, their sacrifice allowed time for the rest of the Yankee army to arrive on the field and change the course of the battle.

Gettysburg: July 1, 1863 – Late Morning

As the fighting the fighting between Archer’s Brigade and the Iron Brigade was raging, rebel troops were observed entering a railroad cut to try and flank the Union position on the right of Seminary Ridge. The 14th Brooklyn and the 6th Wisconsin regiments were ordered to stop the advance. Charging the railroad cut, and with great loss, both regiments were able to stop the Confederate advance through the cut. The rebels lost heavily as well. The commander of the rebel brigade that advanced into the cut was Joseph R. Davis, nephew of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. His advance into the cut without adequate reconnaissance caused the wreckage of his brigade and in the reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia after the battle, he was shunted off to a less important role. The official designation of the 14th Brooklyn Regiment was the 84th Regiment of New York Volunteers, a designation they detested. They were mustered in as the 14th Brooklyn after Fort Sumter, were the 14th Brooklyn at Bull Run, but could not convince the State of New York to allow them to keep the 14th designation. They steadfastly refused to adopt the regulation blue uniform and wore their distinctive uniform, patterned after a French Zouave design. They were ferocious fighters and nicknamed “The Red Legged Devils”. The 6th Wisconsin was part of the famed Iron Brigade, “The Damned Black Hats”. Stopping the assault through the railroad cut gave the Union army only a temporary respite. More rebel troops began to arrive on the battlefield and the Yankees had to retreat through town to occupy the positions they would hold for the remainder of the battle.

Sources: David Martin: “Gettysburg, July 1, 1863”, Lance J. Herdegen & William J.K. Beaudot: “In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg”, Harry Pfanz: “Gettysburg The First Day”.

It was late afternoon, Saturday 2 May 1863. The men of Colonel Leopold Von Gilsa’s Brigade (in Charles Deven’s Division, 11th Corps, Union Army of the Potomac) were at ease. Assigned to hold the far right of the Union line, the 11th Corps was positioned on the Orange Turnpike, near a tavern called Dowdall’s, in a densely wooded area, named “The Wilderness” by the locals. Von Gilsa’s Brigade was the last unit in the Union line, nothing to their right but The Wilderness thickets. It was rumored that Robert E. Lee’s Army of the Northern Virginia was seen to be retreating. Union regiments had tangled with some elements of Stonewall Jackson’s Corps marching along a road in a direction away from the Union lines.

With that knowledge, Von Gilsa’s men were relaxed with rifles stacked, coffee boiling over campfires, eating and playing cards. At about 5:15 P.M., deer began to bolt from the woods into Von Gilsa’s camps. The Yankees tried to catch them in the hopes of having a venison dinner. The leaping deer were soon followed by rabbits and turkeys. The screeches of birds filled the air. The loud bark of a cannon and the “whicker whicker” sound of a passing artillery round made the Yankees stop their activities. The round flew down the Orange Turnpike and exploded over Von Gilsa’s headquarters. The next sound to burst from the woods was the high pitched sound of the Rebel Yell being screamed by thousands of Confederate soldiers. The Wilderness erupted in flame, Von Gilsa’s startled men were bowled over by the volley. Those not shot dropped their cards and kicked over coffee pots in their mad scramble to get their rifles. The Rebels were not retreating! They were attacking!

Lee’s army was not retreating. Jackson’s column, that had appeared to be marching away from the Union lines had, actually been on a long route that took them to the unsupported Union right. Jackson’s entire Corps, 26,000 men, flowed from the Wilderness like lava and overwhelmed the Union Regiments. The shattered remnants of Von Gilsa’s Brigade rushed pell mell into the other brigades of the 11th Corps, followed closely by Jackson’s howling troops. Attempts to form a defensive line to slow Jackson’s hordes were swatted away like flies. The Yankees began to break for the rear in a panicked rush. Jackson’s charge was rolling up the Union 11th Corps like a rug. The one-armed commander of the 11th Corps, General Oliver Otis Howard, with a flag stuck under the stump of his right arm and a pistol in his left hand, tried to set an example in an attempt to organize a resistance.

Howard’s efforts to rally his Corps were unsuccessful. Throwing aside rifles, packs, anything to lighten their load, the men of the 11th Corps continued their mad dash to the rear. The path of their flight was leading them to Chancellorsville, a small gathering of homes dominated by the Chancellor family mansion. The Chancellor house was now the headquarters of Union General Joseph Hooker, commander of the Army of the Potomac. Union staff officers had been paying close attention to the sounds of battle drifting from the 11th Corp position. Peering intently at a rising cloud of dust approaching the Chancellor house, a keen eyed staff officer suddenly shouted “My God! Here the come!”. All was pandemonium at the Chancellor House as officers scrambled to stop the flight and organize a defense. Troops from other units were plugged into the line and artillery was wheeled into position. Dusk was beginning to form and the combination of falling darkness and stiffening Yankee resistance finally slowed Jackson’s assault.

Only 3/4 of a mile from Union Army Headquarters, Jackson desperately wanted to renew his assault. He was willing to risk an night time battle and while scouting possible attack approaches, was accidentally fired on by his own men and mortally wounded. The evening of May 2, 1863 would be hellish. The fighting during the day had started fires in the Wilderness woods. Wounded soldiers calls for help would soon turn to screams as the flames would overtake them. Any movement in the dark woods would cause an eruption of wild shooting.

Stonewall Jackson was already a legend by the time the Battle of Chancellorsville was fought. However, his audacious assault on the 11th Corps and near capture of Union Headquarters would be the crowning jewel of his career. After his wounding, he was hurried to the rear and his arm was amputated. Although it initially seemed that Jackson would recover from his wounds, he contracted pneumonia and died on May 10, 1863.

At the time of the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Union 11th Corps was held in low regard. The unit was plagued by morale problems and was a recent addition to the Army of the Potomac, being transferred from another department. Almost 2/3 of the organization were European immigrants, officers having names like Von Gilsa, Buschbeck, Schimmelpfennig, Schurz. The prejudices of the times led to mistrust of their abilities as soldiers. The 11th Corps would also be driven from the field at Gettysburg, forever being named “The Flying Dutchmen” after that.

Notes: Back in the day, I used to give a presentation on the Chancellorsville Campaign to Civil War Roundtable groups and schools in Connecticut. It was in the days before laptop computers and PowerPoint, so I had big flip chart maps and overhead projector transparency sheets.

I have visited the Chancellorsville battlefield a few times and drove the path that Stonewall Jackson marched to launch his flank attack on the Army of the Potomac. That was many years ago and at the time it was still a narrow dirt road that wound through Wilderness.

sources: Ernest B. Furgurson, “Brave Men’s Souls, Chancellorsville 1863”; John Bigelow, “The Chancellorsville Campaign” (this is the Gold Standard of all Chancellorsville books); issues of Blue & Gray and Civil War Times Illustrated magazines that relate to the Chancellorsville Campaign.

We took a horse drawn carriage tour of lovely Beaufort, South Carolina today. The pre-Civil War era homes, the moss hanging from the oak trees lining the quiet streets of the historic district belie description. To say the town is lovely does not do it justice. We were riding past one of the homes on the tour, 511 Prince Street, a home constructed in 1834. The tour guide pointed out that it had been the McKee home prior to the Civil War. Where had I heard the McKee name in relation to Beaufort? As I was thinking about the significance of that name, the tour guide said that slave by the name of Robert Smalls was born in a small slave cabin behind the home. It hit me like a ton of bricks! The story of Robert Smalls is truly an amazing story, one worth of a book or a movie.

Robert Smalls was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839, in a cabin behind the McKee mansion on 511 Prince Street. According to historians, the identity of Robert’s father is rather dubious. Some suspect it was plantation owner John McKee, some suspect it was John’s son Phillip. Because of his lineage, Robert was favored more than the other males slaves on the plantation and learned to read and write. Concerned that Robert would not know what life was really like being a slave, his mother made arrangements with the McKee’s to have Robert work in the fields where he witnessed firsthand the brutal mistreatment that slaves had to endure. Small’s granddaughter indicated that the experience had a profound effect on Robert and he became “rebellious”. After a couple of stints in the Beaufort jail, Robert’s mother became concerned for his safety and asked the McKee’s if Robert could be sent somewhere else. The McKee’s sent him to Charleston, South Carolina.

Arriving in Charleston at the age of 12, Smalls would spend his teen years initially performing a number of jobs for the City of Charleston. Within a few years, Smalls would find himself working the wharves on the Charleston waterfront. On Christmas Eve, 1856, Robert married Hannah Jones, a slave who worked as a hotel maid. Hannah was 22 years old with 2 children from a previous marriage, Robert was 17. Robert and Hannah would have 2 more children together.

By 1862, the Civil War is in its 2nd year and Smalls has worked his way from longshoreman, to deck hand to eventually becoming a highly respected pilot of the Conferderate gunboat/freighter CSS Planter sailing the inter coastal waterways from its base in Charleston, SC, down to Savannah, GA. However, because Smalls is black, and a slave, he is prohibited by law from being recognized as a ships officer and is officially on the roster as “Wheelman”.

Becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of his wife and children being sold by their owner and sent far away, Robert attempts to buy them. He has managed to save $100 to purchase their freedom, but their owner is demanding $800. Robert is despondent knowing that it would take him a very long time to save that much money, however he keeps a brave face to the Confederate officers of the Planter and continues to discharge his duties faithfully. Secretly, Robert has begun to develop a plan for he and his family to escape the bonds of slavery. Travelling the inter-coastal waterways between Charleston and Savannah, Robert and the other enslaved crew members can see the Union fleet that is blockading the outer Charleston harbor. Freedom is so close, but yet so far away.

On May 12, 1862 the CSS Planter is returning to port in Charleston after picking up four gun barrels, gun powder and firewood for a fort that was being dismantled. All of the white crew members disembark the ship to spend time in town, leaving the black crew members to secure the cargo and the ship for the evening. The Captain, First Officer and (official) Pilot of the CSS Planter do not return to the ship. At 3:00 AM on the morning of May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls makes his move. Smalls dons the Captain’s long white coat, straw hat and gloves and steers the Planter out into the harbor. He slowly cruises to another wharf where his wife and children, along with families of the 8 other enslaved crew members are huddled in wait. Loading the families and their belongings onto the Planter, Robert begins to steam towards freedom. He has to pass several Rebel occupied picket boats and Fort Sumter. In his career as a pilot, Robert is aware of all of the signals that are required to pass the picket boats and the Fort, and he blasts the signals. Robert had become a keen observer of the mannerisms of the Planter’s Captain Relyea, he folds his arms the same way, nods and waves in the same manner. In the darkness, he appears to be Captain Relyea.

The Planter passes Fort Sumter, which is the last obstacle. Robert turns up the steam and begins chugging as fast as the ship can go towards the Union fleet. The theft of the Planter is discovered, but the boat is well out in the harbor and it will take some time before Fort Sumter can be notified to turn its guns on the runaway steamer. The Planter is fast approaching the U.S.S. Onward of the the blockading fleet. To make the Union ships aware that the Planter is not attacking the blockading fleet, Robert has his crew run up one of his wife’s largest white bed sheets to indicate that they are surrendering. The crew of the Onward has been tracking the approach of the steamer and initially did not see the white sheet flying from the masts. The crew was prepared to open fire when one of the crew members spots the white sheet. The gun crews stand down. Robert slows the speed of the Planter and now slowly approaches the stern of the Onward. The Planter stops. Robert Smalls steps forward and shouts up to the officers gathered on the stern “Good morning, sir! I’ve brought you some of the old United States guns, sir!” Robert Smalls plan is a success. The members of his crew and their families have steamed to freedom. Word of Robert Smalls daring escape from slavery spreads like wildfire. Because of his familiarity with the the inter-coastal waterways and harbors, he is employed as a Pilot for a Union ironclad. He also receives a tidy sum of $1500 prize money for the captured Planter – that is equivalent to $38,000 in 2020 dollars.

After the Civil War, Robert becomes a successful business man in his home town of Beaufort, SC, opening a store. He becomes a prominent South Carolina politician, serving in the State House of Representatives, eventually moving on to serve as a congressman in Washington D.C. He also invested heavily in the recovery and commercial development of Beaufort after the Civil War. Robert Smalls would purchase the Beaufort home that he was born behind. He discovered that the family (the McKee’s) that he was enslaved to was living in squalor on the outskirts of town. He purchased a small home for them where they lived until the death of John McKee. McKee’s widow began to suffer from dementia after her husband’s death. Robert discovered Mrs. McKee in the foyer of the house one day demanding to know when her bedroom was going to be ready. Robert moved Mrs. McKee into her former bedroom where she remained until her death. Robert Smalls died in 1915.

Epilogue

I knew of the dramatic escape of Robert Smalls, having read about it many years ago in an issue of Civil War Times Illustrated. The escapades and later life of Robert Smalls are worthy of a greater biographical endeavor and, really, a movie.