Singapore During the Civil War Era, Part II: The CSS Alabama Pays a Visit in December 1863

As I wrote last week, a recent business trip inspired me to take a deeper look at Singapore during the Civil War era. In Part I of the series, I examined some sites associated with British colonial rule in the nineteenth century, including St. Andrew's Cathedral and Fort Canning. This week I get more to the point. Believe it or not, far-away Singapore has a direct connection to the Civil War involving a famed Confederate commerce raider.

Stating in August 1862, Capt. Raphael Semmes led the CSS Alabama on far-ranging expeditions to harass Federal shipping. The Confederate raider struck targets in the Atlantic, West Indies, and Indian Ocean, all the while eluding capture by the Union Navy. As November 1863 got underway, the Alabama entered waters around present-day Indonesia, where Semmes attacked and burned three U.S. merchant ships.

The Alabama, a screw steam sloop, required periodic refueling, and Semmes soon set his sights on procuring more coal in Singapore. Early on Monday, December 21, 1863, the Alabama headed towards the port city in a tropical downpour. A clearing around noon enabled Semmes to get his bearings, and the Alabama finally anchored off Singapore at around 5:30 in the afternoon. The U.S. Vice Counsel, Francis D. Cobb, attempted to reach the Alabama that night, but was prevented from getting too close to the ship. (Foenander.)

On Tuesday, December 22 the Alabama entered New Harbor, about three miles down the road from the city of Singapore. The ship docked at the wharves of the P & O Steamship Company and began coaling. The entire refueling operation took around ten hours, but the Alabama also needed additional supplies. Luckily, the English merchant Hugh Rowland Beaver of the firm Cumming, Beaver & Co. had offered to help the crew procure provisions, and Semmes put him in contact with the ship's paymaster. The captain also sent an officer to meet with the governor of Singapore and assure him of the Alabama's intentions while in the colony.

"The Alabama at New Harbor, Singapore," from Cameron, Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India (1865) (courtesy of Marshall University)

Docked at New Harbor, Semmes saw first-hand the impact his raids were having on Union shipping in the region. As he later wrote in his memoirs:

A very gratifying spectacle met our eyes at Singapore. There were twenty-two American ships there — large Indiamen — almost all of which were dismantled and laid up! The burning of our first ship in these seas, the Amanda, off the Strait of Sunda, had sent a thrill of terror through all the Yankee shipping, far and near, and it had hastened to port, to get out of harm's way. We had recent news here from all parts of the China seas, by vessels passing constantly through the Strait of Malacca, and touching at Singapore for orders or refreshments. There were two American ships laid up in Bangkok, in Siam; one or two at Canton; two or three at Shanghai; one at the Philippine Islands; and one or two more in Japanese waters. (Semmes 708-09.)

Word of the Alabama's arrival spread as people went about their business in Commercial Square on Tuesday morning. The inhabitants became excited to learn that the famous raider was anchored at New Harbor. Before long, "crowds gathered to look curiously upon her, and compare her appearance with what they had read of her." (Semmes 710.) Semmes observed:

. . . all the races and all the religions of the world were represented in the throngs that crowded the coaling jetty, to look upon the Alabama, wearing the new flag of a new nation, mysterious for its very distance from them. We were to their eastern eyes a curious people of the antipodes. (Semmes 710.)

Semmes advertised in the local papers that although the Alabama was closed to visitors on Tuesday because of coaling, those wanting to inspect the ship would be welcomed aboard the next day. Carriages to take visitors to New Harbor on Wednesday were "at a premium, for natives of all classes, as well as the European residents, had determined to avail themselves of the opportunity to inspect a ship that will possess some place in the history of the present age." (Cameron 273.) Semmes attributed some of the natives' curiosity to a rumor that the Confederates kept "negro giants" chained in the ship's hold, "whom we armed with immense weapons and let loose, in time of battle. . . ." (Semmes 711.)  Author John Cameron speculated that "a clue to the interest [the natives] displayed might be found in the often repeated exclamations,—'Hantu, Kappal Hantu'— 'Ghost—ghost ship.'" (Cameron 273.)

Photograph of the CSS Alabama in Singapore, December 1863. This photograph, likely taken by August Sachtler, appeared in the album, Views and Types of Singapore, 1863 (courtesy Marshall University/Lee Kip Lin).

Heading out to New Harbor, Cameron took advantage of the chance to climb on board the ship. After walking around and examining the Alabama and its armaments, he concluded that "[s]he is not a slimly built vessel as has been frequently represented, but is of thorough man-of-war build." (Cameron 274.) Cameron was also "anxious to ascertain the loyalty of the crew, of which, according to late accounts, there were good reasons to doubt." (Cameron 275.) He "could remark no sign of impatience, much less of insubordination" and believed that "whatever may be their hardships or the precarious nature of their pay and emoluments, the crew of the Alabama would stand by her in case of danger." (Cameron 275.)

Capt. Raphael Semmes (courtesy of Wikipedia)

While the Alabama was docked in Singapore, Semmes had an opportunity to tour the city. He too seemed just as curious about the place as the inhabitants were about his ship. Semmes recorded some observations in his daily journal:

Visited the city, and was astonished at its amount of population and business. . . . Singapore being a free port, it is a great entrepot of trade. Great quantities of Eastern produce reaches it from all quarters, whence it is shipped to Europe. The business is almost exclusively in the hands of the Chinese, who are also the artisans and laborers of the place. The streets are thronged with foot passengers and vehicles, among which are prominent the ox, or rather the buffalo cart, and the hacks for hire, of which latter there are 900 licensed. The canal is filled with country boats, of excellent model, and the warehouses are crammed with goods. Money seems to be abundant and things dear. They are just finishing a tasteful Gothic church, with a tall spire, which is a notable landmark as you approach the town, and are completing officers' quarters, etc., on a hill which commands the town. . . . The moving multitude in the streets comprises every variety of the human race, every shade of color, and every variety of dress, among which are prominent the gay tartans and fancy jackets of the Mohammedan, Hindu, etc. (ORN, 1:2, 791.)*

Semmes also visited Beaver's estate outside the city, where he dined and spent the night of December 22.** The captain noted that Beaver "lived in luxurious style, as do most European merchants in the East." (Semmes 714.) His "grounds were extensive, and well kept," and the "household. . . was a pattern of neatness and comfort." (Semmes 714.) On the way back into town the next day, Semmes stopped at the British officers' mess, where he had been invited to lunch. He found a very English spread of cheese, cold meats, porter, and wines.

The night of December 23, the crew rounded up sailors who had gone on a drunken "frolic" in town. (Semmes 715.) In the end, ten crew members successfully deserted in Singapore, but at least the Alabama was able to secure four new enlistments.

Early on Thursday morning, December 24, the Alabama left the port at Singapore under a cloudy sky, loaded with coal and provisions. The ship headed for the Strait of Malacca, where Semmes wasted no time in getting back to work -- he attacked and burned three U.S. merchant ships between the 24th and 26th. The Alabama then sailed to France for desperately needed repairs. Six months later, the raider would meet its demise in the waters off Cherbourg.

Modern view of the waters off Singapore showing extensive commercial cargo traffic. Singapore is the world's second busiest container port. (I snapped this picture from the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands.)

Back in Singapore, the Straits Times downplayed reception accorded the Alabama. On January 12, 1864, the paper reported that "almost every person in Singapore paid her a visit." However, it was "worthy of remark. . . that there was no display of enthusiasm in her behalf, and that no public demonstration whatever was made in her favor." The tone is perhaps not surprising. In a December 12, 1863 article, the Times had criticized the Alabama's "cold blooded" and "wanton" destruction of unprotected U.S.merchant ships. As the paper commented:

However much we may sympathize with the South as the weaker power against the stronger, and as a people seeking independence, we can scarcely hail with satisfaction the advantages thus gained by their corsair fleet. (Straits Times, Dec. 12, 1864.)

News of the Alabama's visit to Singapore also reached America's shores, although long after the fact. Papers such as the Alexandria Gazette and New York Times carried the story of Semmes' movements around the Strait of Malacca at the end of December.

Traveling all the way to Singapore was quite a long haul. After over twenty-one hours in the air, I stepped out into a tropical land half a world away from home. Today, Singapore is a booming, modern metropolis, with a population as diverse as in Semmes' day. Exploring the city's colonial quarter, I pondered the visit by the CSS Alabama. Perhaps this is the last place you'd expect to find a link to the American Civil War. Yet just over 150 years ago, the Confederate sailors from the Alabama walked some of the same streets, and saw some of the same landmarks, as their vessel refueled for future voyages. I couldn't help but think -- now all we need is to place a Civil War Trails marker down by the harbor!

Notes

*The Gothic cathedral is likely St. Andrew's, which was consecrated in 1862. The officers' barracks were being constructed at Ft. Canning. I discussed both sites in last week's post.

**An officer from the Alabama, possibly Lt. Arthur Sinclair, later presented Beaver with the ship's battle ensign after the Alabam was sunk by the USS Kersage in June 1864.  Beaver had hosted Sinclair at his homes in Singapore and London.

Sources

Alexandria Gazette, Feb. 12, 1864; John Cameron, Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India (1865); Martyn Downer Works of Art, "A Rare Naval Treasure of the American Civil War"; Terry Foenander, "Raphael Semmes' Description of Early Singapore," Navy & Marine Living History Assn. (website); Colyer Meriwether, Raphael Semmes (1913); N.Y. Times, Mar. 9, 1864;  Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 2, pp. 791-92 (1895) (ORN); Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States (1869): Straits Times, Dec. 12, 1864 (in Southland Times, Feb. 15, 1864); Straits Times, Jan. 12, 1864 (in N.Y. Times, Mar. 9, 1864); John M. Taylor, Semmes: Rebel Raider (2004); Wikipedia, CSS Alabama.

A New Year's Day Retrospect of 1863

Watch television at the end of December or start of January and you are bound to come across a special program or two on the "year in review." Many of us like to look back at the previous twelve months and remember the people, places, and events that made the year unique. Perhaps we are motivated by nostalgia or even a deep-seated sense of history. But whatever the reason, twenty-first century Americans are not alone in reflecting on the past year as they ring in a new one.

"New Year's Day," Harper's Weekly, Jan. 2, 1864 (courtesy of sonofthesouth.net)

On January 1, 1864, the Washington Daily National Republican published "A Retrospect." The paper offered readers a review of Union military gains during 1863:

In taking a retrospect of the past year we find a record of the most brilliant successes yet achieved during the war. If we include Mufreesboro, which commenced by skirmishing on December 29, 1862, and lasted until January 4, 1863, we have among our principal victories Mufreesboro, Vicksburg, Morris Island, Gettysburg, Port Hudson, Chattanooga, Knoxville. History does not furnish a year's victories by the armies of any country in any war that will excel these.

[Braxton] Bragg was completely whipped at Mufreesboro after a week's hard fighting.

At Vicksburg General [Ulysses S.] Grant, by military manoeuvres that have no parallel, captured the rebel stronghold of the Mississippi Valley.

At Port Hudson, the last remaining post on the Mississippi, the navigation of the "Father of Waters" was opened entirely by General [Nathaniel P.] Banks.

At Morris Island General [Quincy] Gillmore astonished the world by his gunnery, captured forts the rebels deemed impregnable, put Charleston under fire, and converted the original city of the rebellion into a purgatory for traitors, where they must live in mortal fear until the town is finally wrapped in ashes.

At Gettysburg the rebels were brought to a stop in their contemplated raid, which was to destroy at one fell swoop Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. The question of a Northern invasion was settled by this battle, and the future safety of the North secured.

At Chattanooga the invincibility of our armies when rightly handled was established, and the rebels cut off from their most fruitful source of supplies, East Tennessee, the fighting at Knoxville putting a clincher upon this part of the business, and deciding the fate of this most valuable region.

And then may look with satisfaction to the splendid advantages gained by General Banks in Texas; to the demonstrations made by our cavalry, showing that in this arm of the service the rebels no longer excel us.

If we turn to the operations of the navy we behold an equally pleasing record. The blockade has finally been made so nearly perfect that the rebels can no longer depend upon receiving supplies from foreign speculators, and our captures of rebel craft have been very heavy.

Our victories during the year have cost us dearly in the blood of our patriotic countrymen, but this has sanctified our cause and rendered more determined our people in the work of putting down the insurrection. Never will we yield our birthright to traitors, when so many of our kindred have died so nobly in defending it.

The paper closed the retrospect with an excerpt from "To-Day and To-Morrow" by English poet Gerald Massey:

High hopes that burned like stars sublime
 Go down the heaven of Freedom
And true hearts perish in the time
 We bitterliest need them
For never sit we down and say
 There's nothing left but sorrow
We walk the wilderness to-day
 The Promised Land to-morrow

Build up heroic lives, and all
 Be like a sheathen sabre
Ready to flash out at God's call, 
 O chivalry of labor 
Triumph and toil are twins: and aye,
 Joy s[uns] the cloud of sorrow
And 'tis the martyrdom of to-day
 Brings victory to-morrow (emphasis in original editorial).

The Daily National Republican's focus on the military successes of 1863 is not surprising. After all, when compared to a year ago and the disaster at Fredericksburg, the war was going much better for the Union, and people across the country had every reason to look back with pride. Echoing President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the newspaper called for a total defeat of the rebellion so that those who died preserving the Union had not died in vain. Within a few months, the pages of the Daily National Republican would carry news of Union advances and high casualties. The war would lead to even more death and destruction during 1864, but "victory to-morrow" would be within reach as the year drew to a close.

**

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and thanks for reading in 2013! This past year has been a busy one for the blog and my other Civil War-related pursuits, and 2014 promises to be even busier. The pipeline of posts keeps growing. I also have a couple of speaking engagements later this winter and plan to work with Fairfax County on developing a new Civil War Trails marker. And then there are the multitude of Sesquicentennial activities that will be attracting everyone's attention this year. As always, see you here, and hopefully see you on the battlefield!

Sources

Gerald Massey, The Poetical Works of Gerald Massey (1861); Washington Daily National Republican, Jan. 1, 1864;

In Search of the Contraband Camps of McLean, Virginia, Part I: Camp Wadsworth

Back in June I wrote a two-part installment on the establishment of contraband camps in Northern Virginia. (See here and here.) Thousands of slaves fled to Washington in search of freedom during the first few years of the Civil War. As the number of contrabands grew, their living quarters became increasingly overcrowded and unsanitary. Seeking to resolve this problem, the Union Army decided to relocate dependent contrabands to abandoned secessionist properties outside Washington in May and June 1863.

Two of the camps were placed on land near Langley and Lewinsville, which are now part of the community of McLean, Virginia. As a McLean resident, I was naturally curious about the location of the contraband camps. Such historical sites are not always easy to find, as I have learned many times before in trying to pinpoint the location of former Union encampments in my neck of the woods. But the contraband camps present a somewhat different story. Today's post takes a look at Camp Wadsworth, the first of the two contraband camps established in McLean.

In a July 10, 1863 report concerning the new contraband camps, D.B. Nichols, the Superintendent of Freedmen, noted:

On the same day, May 30, we commenced an encampment on rebel COOKE's farm, near LANGLEY, on the Leesburgh [sic] Turnpike. This encampment we called Camp Wadsworth. A branch of this camp was shortly after formed on a farm of rebel MEANS near by. (N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863.)

Cross-referencing the farmers' surnames on a map of land ownership in Fairfax County in 1860, I determined that Camp Wadsworth was established on property belonging to James W. Cooke and Lewis D. Means. Both men had ties to the Confederacy and were slave owners, making their abandoned farms a prime target for the contraband camps. The land ownership map shows the 1860 land boundaries superimposed on a county map from 1981, so I was also able to draw some conclusions as to the location of the camps in McLean. Not all researchers get so lucky without having to comb through countless land deeds and court records!

The Cooke Farm

James W. Cooke was born in North Carolina in 1812 and became an orphan at the age four. Cooke's uncle, a port collector in Beaufort, North Carolina, raised his young nephew and helped to secure his appointment as a U.S. Navy midshipman in 1828. Cooke spent most of the following years at sea, but in 1853 he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. Cooke purchased a 60-acre property located along the road to Lewinsville, close to Langley and the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike (grid squares 21:4 & 30:2, 1860 Map). He also bought another 43 acres farther to the east along Pimmit Run (grid square 31:1). In 1856, Cooke left for a one-year tour of duty on a naval supply ship.

While in Langley, Cooke grew corn, oats, and wheat. He also tended to a peach orchard of some 500 trees and raised milk cows, horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. The 1860 Census Slave Schedules indicate that Cooke owned twelve slaves, most of whom were women and children.

Capt. James W. Cooke, CSN (courtesy of Wikipedia)

As secession tore the country apart, Cooke was faced with the difficult question of choosing sides. In early May 1861, he resigned his commission as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and joined the Virginia State Navy.* The following month Cooke was appointed as a lieutenant in the Confederate States Navy. Fearing for his family's safety, Cooked moved his wife and son farther south to Portsmouth, Virginia at some point early in the war. He likely took his slaves with him, but their ultimate fate is unknown. Union troops eventually entered the Langley area, where they ransacked Cooke's home and destroyed the orchard. A Pennsylvania regiment even used Cook's house as a headquarters in the fall of 1861.**

Cooke served as the commander of the gunboat Ellis during a fight off Roanoke Island in February 1862. Although wounded and captured, he was released on parole and rejoined the Confederate Navy. Promoted to commander in June 1862, he supervised the construction of the famed Confederate ironclad ram, CSS Albemarle, and took charge of the vessel upon completion. Under Cooke's leadership, the Albemarle successfully engaged Federal forces in April and May 1864. Cooke received an appointment as captain in June 1864 and ended the war as the commander of the inland waters of North Carolina. Cooke returned to Portsmouth after the war and died in 1869.

Portion of "Detailed map of part of Virginia from Alexandria to the Potomac River above Washington, D.C. 186-" from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (courtesy of Library of Congress). The map is oriented with east at the top. Both the Cooke and Means properties are shown along the road between Langley (top) and Lewinsville. Cooke's name is misspelled here. Today VA-123/Dolley Madison Blvd. and Old Chain Bridge Rd./Chain Bridge Rd. roughly follow the former roadbed.

The first branch of Camp Wadsworth was likely established on Cooke's 60-acre parcel along the Lewinsville Road. This plot was near Langley and the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike, as Nichols described.*** Cooke's Pimmit Run property was smaller, isolated in the middle of other farmland, and farther from Langley. Moreover, Cooke has a residence on his property along Lewinsville Road where the contrabands would likely have been quartered. Today the site of Camp Wadsworth is occupied by residential neighborhoods, including the Madison of McLean townhouse development. The blue area below indicates the location of Cooke's 60-acre property superimposed on a current map of McLean:


View Camp Wadsworth in a larger map

On the map above, Lewinsville is located at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Great Falls Street to the left. Langley is shown on the map to the upper right. VA-193 is the Georgetown Pike (old Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike). My neighborhood, which belonged the Johnston family during the war, borders the old Cooke property.

A contemporary view of the south side of the former Cooke farm along the road to Lewinsville (now VA-123/Dolley Madison Blvd. at this spot). The walls of the Madison of McLean community are visible along the edge of the highway. Cooke lived across the road from Salona, the property of Jacob Smoot. Salona was used as a headquarters for Union Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith from October 1861-March 1862. The Salona house survives today.

The Means Farm

Lewis D. Means was born in Virginia in 1819. During the 1840s and 1850s he ran taverns in both Virginia and Washington. The 1860 Federal Census listed Means as a farmer living with his wife and four children in Fairfax County. He had a tract of 134 acres along the road to Lewinsville, not far from Cooke's property (grid squares 30:1, 30:2, & 30:4). Means also co-owned a larger parcel of 438 acres near Fairfax Court House with a man named James J. Love (grid squares 47:1 & 47:3). Means grew a variety of crops, including corn, oats, rye, and wheat. He also owned four slaves.

While living in Virginia, Means became involved in civic affairs. He sat on the Board of Trustees for the local Strawberry Vale Institute for Young Ladies, just up the road from Lewinsville at Peach Grove (current-day Tyson's Corner). He also served as a commissioner in the Lewinsville precinct for the vote on the Ordinance of Secession. Means cast his ballot in favor of secession. At some point in 1861 he moved his family to Fauquier County, Virginia to escape the Federal occupation. His property was almost certainly raided by Union soldiers who advanced into the area around Langley and Lewinsville in the fall of that year. Throughout the war Means appears to have acted as an agent for the Confederate Quartermaster's Department or otherwise sold goods to the Confederate Army. Incidentally, Means was the brother of Virginia Unionist Samuel Means, who led the partisan Loudoun Rangers. Means returned to Washington after the war, where he worked as a cattle dealer. He died in 1902.

The second branch of Camp Wadsworth was established on Means's acreage near Lewinsville, not far from the Cooke farm. The Union Army likely used Means's residence to house the contrabands. The area marked in yellow on the above map indicates the site of the former Means property in current-day McLean. This land is a mix of commercial and residential property and is bisected by major transportation routes. McLean Central Park also sits on the former Means property.

Current-day view of the south boundary of the former Means property along the road to Lewinsville (known today as Chain Bridge Rd. at this location in downtown McLean). The entrance to the farm was situated somewhere on this side of Mean's land.

The Means property also occupied this spot, which today is the site of McLean Central Park, as well as the intersection of VA-123 and Old Dominion Dr. At the time of the Civil War, neither of these roads existed.

Determining the location of Camp Wadsworth in McLean is just the beginning of the story. The selection of the Cooke and Means properties begs the question as to how the Union Army chose these specific properties. There were many abandoned secessionist properties scattered across Virginia, so what was it about these two men that drew the attention of those who were planning the contraband camps? Presumably Cooke was well-known enough of a local Confederate officer that the authorities viewed his farm as target for seizure. And once the camps were established, which former slaves were relocated there? What did they feel about life in camp? Who were the Union troops that kept guard? These and other such questions will require additional research, but at least we now have an idea about some of the locations in McLean where the contrabands resided and worked starting in the summer of 1863.

Notes

*It is unclear whether Cooke voted for the Virginia Ordinance of Secession in Fairfax County on May 23, 1861. His name does not appear on the voting tally for the Lewinsville precinct, which is where he more than likely would have cast his ballot.  A "J.W. Cook" is listed as supporting ratification of the Ordinance in the West End precinct.  If in fact this voter is Cooke, the last name is misspelled. Moreover, Cooke did not reside in West End precinct at the time.

**The N.Y. Times of October 11, 1861 names the unit as the "First Pennsylvania." In the fall of 1861, Gen. George A. McCall's Pennsylvania Reserves occupied Langley. The 1st Pennsylvania could mean the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles, the 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, or the 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Cavalry, all of which belonged to McCall's division.

***Leesburgh Turnpike" in Nichols's report.

Sources

Lindley S. Butler, Pirates, Privateers, & Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast (2000); Taylor M. Chamberlin & John M. Souders, Between Reb and Yank: A Civil War History of Northern Loudoun County, Virginia (2011); Brian A. Conley, Fractured Land: Fairfax County's Role in the Vote for Secession, May 23, 1861 (2001); Fairfax County Park Authority, Draft Park Master Plan for McLean Central Park (2013); "Lewis D. Means (1819-1902)," Find-a-Grave (website); Beth Mitchell, Fairfax County in 1860: Property Owners (original map book available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library) ("1860 Map"); N.A.R.A., Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-65, available at fold3.com; N.A.R.A., Unified Papers and Slips Belonging in Confederate Compiled Service Records, available at fold3.com; N.Y. Times, Oct. 11, 1861; N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863; Edith Moore Sprouse, Fairfax County in 1860: A Collective Biography (1996) (7 vols. available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library); U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Captain James Wallace Cooke, Captain, Confederate States Navy (18??-1869)," Online Library of Selected Images: People -- United States; U.S. Federal Census Returns for the Commonwealth of Virginia and District of Columbia, 1850-80, available at ancestry.com; U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedules for 1860, available at ancestry.com; Washington Evening Star, Aug. 29, 1860.

Sarasota's Hidden Connections to the Civil War

My family and I recently took a min-vacation in Sarasota, Florida. The sunshine and clear blue waters were a welcome break from the bleak and cold weather back in Washington. Sarasota is known for gorgeous Gulf Coast beaches, luxury hotels, and charming St. Armands Circle. This is probably the one of last places that would come to mind when thinking about Civil War history. However, given the city’s location along the Florida coast (think Union blockade), I knew there had to be something that would appeal to my curiosity. In the end, I found plenty of interesting connections to the war.  Most of the Civil War-related historic sites are long gone, although one marker in particular tells the captivating story of a Confederate Cabinet member's escape from the United States.

A view of the Gulf of Mexico from the beach on Lido Key, Sarasota

Sarasota and the surrounding region were settled in the decades prior to the Civil War. William Whitaker, a Georgia native and veteran of the Second Seminole War, is considered Sarasota's first permanent white settler. He profited from a Federal homesteading law known as the Armed Occupation Act, which promised up to 160 acres of land in Florida to any head of household who cultivated at least five acres and lived there for five years. Arriving in 1842, Whitaker built a cabin at Yellow Bluffs along Sarasota Bay. He started as a fisherman and later turned to cattle ranching and citrus farming.  Seminole Indians burned Whitaker's home in the late 1850s, but he remained and re-built near present-day 12th Street and Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41). Two historical markers commemorate Whitaker's role in the establishment of Sarasota.  (See here and here.)


William Whitaker, shortly after the Civil War (courtesy of Wikipedia)

On the eve of the Civil War, slaves comprised around 44 percent of Florida's population of just over 140,000. In Manatee County, where Sarasota was then located, 30 percent of the inhabitants, or 253 out of 854 persons, were listed as slaves in the 1860 Census. Whitaker himself owned a handful of slaves, including a runaway from North Carolina whom he had found and purchased in 1857.

Florida was an early and strong supporter of secession. Only a few weeks after Abraham Lincoln's election, the state's governor signed legislation calling for a convention to consider the question of secession. On January 10, 1861, the delegates adopted an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 62 to 7. Florida was the third state to leave the Union after South Carolina and Mississippi.

Following the outbreak of war in April 1861, the Union imposed a naval blockade on the Confederacy. Federal vessels patrolled Florida's extensive coastline in an effort to stop trade. As the noose tightened, the Sarasota region experienced a shortage of goods, but resourceful locals found ways to deal with the resulting hardship. Whitaker, for instance, traveled all the way to Gainesville to buy grain for use in area gristmills.  

Union raiding parties sometimes landed along the coast in search of supplies. They took garden vegetables, citrus fruits, cows, and chickens from the settlers. Whitaker, who sold cattle to the Confederate Army, maintained his herd in the eastern part of Manatee County and away from Union hands. Incidentally, Florida contributed a substantial number of cattle to the Confederacy, and authorities established the so-called "Cow Cavalry" in south Florida to prevent Union raiders from seizing livestock.

This engraving from the November 15, 1862 edition of Harper's Weekly depicts a Union movement against a large salt factory on the north Gulf Coast of Florida (courtesy of soneofthesouth.net). 

Florida also became a key supplier of salt to the Confederate war effort. Salt was made by evaporating sea water, mainly through boiling. Union expeditions aimed to disable the salt works along the Gulf Coast. Whitaker was involved with salt production, but unlike others, his own works escaped harm. 

Judah P. Benjamin (courtesy of Wikipedia).  Benjamin was one of the most prominent American Jews of the 19th century.  

Sarasota's most fascinating connection to the Civil War actually came after hostilities had ended. Judah P. Benjamin, a former U.S. Senator from Louisiana, served as the Confederate Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. When Richmond fell in April 1865, he fled to the Deep South with President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Cabinet. Benjamin left Davis in Georgia and headed to Florida, where he intended to slip out of the country. Fearing arrest for treason, Benjamin disguised himself as a farmer looking to purchase land in Florida. Confederate sympathizers assisted Benjamin as he made his way through the state. One stay included the Gamble Mansion in Ellenton. Finally, Benjamin arranged for Capt. Frederick Tresca to take him to the Bahamas aboard a sixteen-foot sloop. Tresca hid the small boat in Whitaker Bayou in Sarasota. Meanwhile, the former Confederate Secretary of State was smuggled to Whitaker's home in a wagon filled with fresh beef. On June 23, 1865, Benjamin finally set sail with Tresca and reached Bimini on July 10. Benjamin eventually traveled to England, where he rose to prominence as a barrister.

The antebellum Gamble Mansion in Ellenton, Florida, not far from Sarasota (courtesy of Gamble Plantation Historic State Park). Built between 1845 and 1850, the mansion is considered the only surviving plantation house in South Florida.  Maj. Robert Gamble cultivated sugar here until the late 1850s.  The mansion is now part of a state park.  I didn't have an opportunity to visit during my trip to Florida, but hope to get there the next time around.  For information about touring the Gamble Mansion, see here.

In the early 1940s, the United Daughters of the Confederacy led an effort to erect a marker in Sarasota to commemorate Benjamin's escape. On January 22, 1942, the new marker was unveiled with great pomp and circumstance, including a parade, patriotic music, a luncheon at the John Ringling Hotel, and a program at the Municipal Auditorium. Florida Governor Spessard L. Holland, Congressman J. Hardin Peterson, and Sarasota Mayor E.A. Smith delivered remarks.

The original Judah P. Benjamin marker is located at a pull-off on the corner of 10th Street and U.S. 41, not far from the Sarasota County Visitor Information Center. Dedicated in 1942, the marker is made of pink Georgia marble.   

A second marker dedicated to Judah P. Benjamin and his escape at Sarasota Bay. It is located next to the original marker (above). For more information, see here.

The reverse side of the above historical marker. 

A view of Yellow Bluffs along Sarasota Bay.  Benjamin set out from these waters on June 23, 1865.

My trip to Sarasota proved once again that the Civil War is never far from the surface in this country. If you look hard enough, you can usually find a connection, even in paradise. I haven't much considered Florida's role in the Civil War, so I welcomed the opportunity to learn more. Now if I can only convince my family to take a trip to Olustee!

Sources

Pierce Butler, Judah P. Benjamin (1907); David J. Coles & Richard J. Ferry, "The Smallest Tadpole," Florida in the Civil War (from Florida Memory); Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida, "Florida's Role in the Civil War: 'Supplier of the Confederacy,'" Exploring Florida; Florida Department of State, Florida in the Civil War: 1861-1865;  History of Sarasota Country (website); Jeff Lahurd, "Civil War leader escaped through Sarasota," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 26, 2011; Ann Shank, "Florida Joined Union in 1845 as a Slave State," Journals of Yesteryear (Sarasota History Alive!); Ann Shank, "Sarasota Bay During the Civil War," Journals of Yesteryear (Sarasota History Alive!); Mark D. Smith, "Creation of the Judah P. Benjamin Memorial," Journals of Yesteryear (Sarasota History Alive!); U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing, 1860; "William Whitaker (pioneer)," Wikipedia.

A Civil War Enthusiast Visits Lexington & Concord

This summer my wife and I decided to spend our family vacation at her parents' house in Westford, Massachusetts.  On previous trips to the Bay State, wedding planning or holiday obligations had gotten in the way of visiting local sites like Lexington and Concord.  This time I had ten days on my hands and was determined to take in some history.  On the Monday before the Fourth of July, my father-in-law (whom readers may know as "the Colonel") and I jumped into his SUV and started our tour.  Most of the sightseeing naturally focused on the Revolutionary War era, but I crafted an itinerary that also promised some local stops related to antebellum America and the Civil War.

We first visited the town of Lexington, where colonial militia and British Regulars clashed on April 19, 1775.  The Colonel and I strolled around the Lexington Green and viewed several Revolutionary War monuments and markers.  I felt incredibly moved to be standing on the very ground where the fight for independence began.  As we walked behind the Buckman Tavern, I spotted a memorial "dedicated to the memory of those who served aboard a ship named Lexington."  Erected in 1988 by the Lexington Lions Club and the USS Lexington CV-16 Association, the monument contains five markers, each one dedicated to a vessel that carried the name "Lexington."  As to be expected, the marker for the Civil War-era Lexington caught my eye.  This timberclad gunboat participated in major battles and campaigns in the Western Theatre, including Ft. Henry, Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg.

Marker dedicated to the timberclad gunboat Lexington.

We next drove from Lexington to the Minute Man National Historical Park.  Here we viewed a film about the famous Revolutionary War engagements and visited a few landmarks along the Battle Road, including Paul Revere's capture site.  I was reminded of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1860 poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," which served as a rallying cry for the Union in the days leading up to the Civil War.

The remainder of our tour was spent in and around Concord.  This town is best known as the site of the "shot heard 'round the world."  However, during the mid-19th century, Concord was home to several famous writers and intellectuals.  Many of these individuals held strong anti-slavery views, and the town became known as a center of the abolitionist movement.  Amos Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May Alcott, was a reformer, teacher, and writer.  A friend of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, he protested against the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act and even opened his home to runaway slaves.  Poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke publicly against the evils of slavery.  Philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote his famous essay Civil Disobedience (1849) after being arrested for failing to pay taxes in opposition to the Mexican War and slavery. 

Many of Concord's leading thinkers supported abolitionist John Brown and provided money for his cause.  Brown visited Concord in 1857 and again in 1859.  When Brown was captured in the raid on Harpers Ferry, Thoreau came to his defense in a speech that was later published as A Plea for Captain John Brown.

The Colonel and I stopped to visit a few homes that figured in the literary and abolitionist history of Concord (see photos below).  We had limited time, so I could not take docent-led tours, but I am sure that I will be back in future years!  Another must-do on the return trip is the walking tour of African-American and abolitionist history sites put together by the non-profit Drinking Gourd Project.  The Project is also creating an African-American and Abolitionist History Center in a restored cabin that once belonged to Caesar Robbins, a freedman and Revolutionary War veteran.

The Wayside in Concord, which today is part of Minute Man National Historical Park.  The Alcotts resided here from April 1845 to November 1848.  The home, called "Hilldside" by the Alcotts, served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.  Two fugitive slaves stayed here on their way to Canada during the winter of 1846-47.  Author Nathaniel Hawthorne also lived at the Wayside from 1852 until his death in 1864.  Hawthorne, unlike many of his neighbors, was not entirely sold on the idea of abolition.  After a trip to Washington in March 1862 to meet with military and civilian leaders,  Hawthorne penned an essay entitled, "Chiefly About War Matters."  The piece, published in the July 1862 issue of The Atlantic, was critical of the war and earned Hawthorne the scorn of many readers. 

The Orchard House, where the Alcotts resided from 1858 to 1877.   The house is next door to the Wayside.  While living here, Louisa May Alcott decided to volunteer as a nurse for the Union Army.  She headed to Washington in December 1862, where she served until falling ill with typhoid pneumonia in January 1863.  Returning to Concord, Alcott recovered and wrote Hospital Sketches, a book about her experiences as an army nurse.  Originally published as a four-part series in a Boston weekly, the story was released as a book in August 1863.  Alcott also wrote Little Women (1868) while residing at Orchard House.

The Ralph Waldo Emerson House, located not far from the Wayside and Orchard House in Concord.  Emerson resided here with his second wife from 1835 until his death in 1882.

The Colonel and I next made our way into the center of Concord to check out the main attraction on Monument Square.  Like many New England towns, Concord erected a monument to its native sons who died in the Civil War.  At the dedication ceremony on April 19, 1867, Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered an address in which he recalled the central role of emancipation in the war:

Every man was an abolitionist by conviction, but did not believe that his neighbor was. The opinions of masses of men, which the tactics of primary caucuses and the proverbial timidity of trade had concealed, the war discovered; and it was found, contrary to all popular belief, that the country was at heart abolitionist, and for the Union was ready to die.

The Soldiers' Monument in Concord, proclaiming "Faithful Unto Death."

Detail of one of the sides of the Soliders' Monument listing the names of those with Concord connections who died in the Civil War.

After lunch and a beer at the historic Colonial Inn, my father-in-law and I drove to the North Bridge.  The site, part of Minute Man National Historical Park, marks the spot where British and colonial forces clashed on April 19, 1775.  The famous statue of the Minute Man by Daniel Chester French sits at one end of the bridge.  President Ulysses S. Grant attended the dedication ceremony for the statue during the Centennial celebration of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1875.

Minute Man at the North Bridge.  The sculptor, Daniel Chester French, is also famous for his statue of President Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. 

The North Bridge sits close to the Old Manse.  Emerson's grandfather built the home in 1770 and witnessed the battle from his window.  While living here from 1834-35, Emerson wrote Nature, an essay which gave birth to Transcendentalism.   Hawthorne and his wife also called the Old Manse home from 1842-45.

The Old Manse near the North Bridge.  Emerson's grandfather died in 1775.  His grandmother remarried the Rev. Ezra Ripley, and the family continued to reside in the house.  Bronson Alcott and Thoreau often visited the Hawthorne and Ripley families at the Old Manse.

We made our last stop at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, not far from Monument Square in Concord.  Established in 1855, this burial ground contains the graves of many of the town's most prominent citizens.  As I walked through the cemetery and looked over the sloping hillsides, I noticed the large number of graves belonging to Civil War veterans.  Each resting place was marked with an American flag.  I reflected on just how dramatic an impact the war had on a place like Concord.  Far removed from the battlefields in the South, this New England town experienced much sacrifice and loss during four years of war.

Perhaps the most fitting symbol of Concord's ultimate contribution to the Union cause is the Melvin Memorial, known also as Mourning Victory.  James C. Melvin commissioned the memorial in honor of his three brothers who had died in the Civil War.  All three belonged to Company K of the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, which manned the defenses of Washington before being sent to the front in the spring of 1864.  John Heald Melvin died at a military hospital at Ft. Albany (in Arlington, Va.) on October 13, 1863, while Asa Heald Melvin was killed at Petersburg on June 16, 1864.  Samuel Melvin, who was captured at Harris's Farm, Virginia on May 19, 1864, later died at Andersonville in September 1864.  (Incidentally, all three names are also on the Concord Soldiers' Monument, as seen in the picture above.)

The Melvin Memorial at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  Daniel Chester French, a longtime friend of James Melvin, created the memorial.  Three tablets on the base of the memorial commemorate each of James Melvin's brothers who died in the Civil War.  The dedication ceremony in 1909 was held on the anniversary of Asa Melvin's death at Petersburg.  Eighty-eight members of the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery attended the ceremony, along with twenty members of the Old Concord Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.

 

A closer view of the relief sculpture of Victory in mourning, draped in the American flag.

After visiting the Melvin Memorial, I walked to Authors Ridge to see the graves of Concord's famed intellectual and literary community.  The hill is the final resting place for Bronson and Louisa May Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau.  The latter two died and were buried during the Civil War.  I was fascinated to see that many modern-day visitors have left behind mementos in honor of their favorite authors.

The Alcott family grave site at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  Louisa May Alcott's grave is marked by a flag to honor her wartime service as a nurse.

The graves of James C. Melvin and John H. Melvin at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  James Melvin served with the 6th Massachusetts Infantry.  Asa Melvin, killed at Petersburg, is buried in an unknown grave in Virginia, while Samuel Melvin is interred at Andersonville National Cemetery.

Following Sleepy Hollow, the Colonel and I headed back to home base.  The all-day tour not only taught me a thing or two about the Revolution, but also satisfied my craving to explore Massachusetts history during the Civil War era.  If you stop and look around, the war surrounds you everywhere in Concord.   In some ways, the town that helped to ignite the Revolution was at the forefront of a new one.  And the headstones and monuments speak to the high price that the community paid to preserve the Union and end slavery.

Sources

Aside from the links provided above, the following sources were useful in compiling this post:

Concord (Mass.), Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Soldiers' Monument in Concord, Mass. (1867); Concord Free Public Library, "Address at the Centennial of the Concord Fight, 1875" (2003); "Famous (and Infamous) Authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne: Clashes with Editors," The Atlantic; National Park Service, Soldiers and Sailors Database; Alfred S. Roe (ed.), The Melvin Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts: A Brother's Tribute: Exercises at  Dedication, June 16, 1909 (1910); Robert Sattelmeyer, "Miss Alcott Goes to War," Civil War Times, April 2012; Richard Smith, "Concord and Captain John Brown," The Concord Magazine, March-April 2001.

Civil War Tour of the Outer Banks: Bodie Island Lighthouse and Roanoke Island

This past Saturday I returned with my family from a week-long vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  The region, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and a series of sounds on the other, is known for its stunning beaches, historic lighthouses, and fresh seafood.  But the Outer Banks was also the setting for a couple of important Civil War actions related to the Union blockade of the Southern coastline.  Armed with a Civil War Trail map, information from Civil War Traveler, and print outs from the Historical Marker Database, my father-in-law and I set out last Tuesday to discover some of the lesser-known Civil War sites scattered across this top tourist destination.

The Currituck Sound, near Duck, NC.  This body of water served as a key commercial route between North Carolina and Virginia.  Union operations in the region aimed to ensure Northern control of such shipping lanes. 

Bodie Island Lighthouse

We left our home base of Duck along the Currituck Sound and headed south to our first stop -- the Bodie Island Lighthouse, located within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  The current lighthouse dates from 1872.  The federal government constructed the original lighthouse in 1847, but faulty engineering rendered the lighthouse unstable, and in 1859 a new one was built. 

Bodie Island Lighthouse (1872), located across the Oregon Inlet from the site of the Civil War-era lighthouse.

Only a few short years later, the Civil War descended on the Outer Banks. The Confederates erected defensive positions to protect various waterways, including Fort Oregon at Oregon Inlet near the Bodie Island Lighthouse, as well as Forts Hatteras and Clark further south at Hatteras Inlet. In August 1861, Union naval vessels under Flag Officer Silas Stringham pounded the Confederate forts at Hatteras Inlet into submission. Union troops under Major General Benjamin Butler went ashore to secure a foothold at this important entrance to the Pamlico Sound. (Unfortunately, due to time constraints I was unable to get down to the Hatteras Inlet area this time around.)

Following the Union victory, Confederate commanders made the decision to abandon Fort Oregon without a fight.  The departing Confederates destroyed the Bodie Island Lighthouse rather than allow it to fall into Union hands.  A few years after the war ended, the government erected another lighthouse, which is the one tourists see today. Unlike the first two lighthouses, this one was built on the north side of Oregon Inlet, across from the earlier locations on the south side. 

Roanoke Island

After visiting the lighthouse grounds and surrounding marshlands, the "Colonel" and I drove to Roanoke Island, the site of a strategic Union victory in 1862.  Roanoke Island sits at the gateway to the Albemarle Sound.  In the fall of 1861, the Union military recognized that the capture of Roanoke Island would cement control of the North Carolina sound region and give the Union a backdoor to attacking Confederate-held Gosport Navy Yard and Norfolk.  Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside, who would go on to command the Army of the Potomac, was given permission to raise an expedition to take Roanoke Island.  His novel force was comprised of soldiers from seacoast towns in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.  Flag Officer Louis Goldsborough led the naval side of the joint operation. 

Roanoke Island was poorly defended by a small force of about 2,500 Confederates from Virginia and North Carolina under the command of ex-Virginia governor Henry Wise.  (During the actual battle, Wise was suffering from pleurisy, and command passed to Colonel Henry Shaw.) The Confederates had constructed a few small forts and batteries on the island.  The naval force under Captain William Lynch consisted of just eight boats -- a contingent that Wise derisively called the "Mosquito Fleet."  As a defensive measure, Lynch had sunk some hulls and pilings in the Croatan Sound to the west of Roanoke Island.

The entire Union Coastal Division of around 13,0000 men left Annapolis in early January 1862 and met up with Goldsborough's twenty gunboats at Ft. Monroe in Virginia.  The fleet of about 80-odd vessels, including transports and supply ships, steamed towards Hatteras Inlet, but was delayed by extremely rough weather.  In addition, several ships were unable to clear the sand bar to enter Pamlico Sound, so the assembly of the fleet was further delayed until the passageway could be deepened.

The force finally headed to the Croatan Sound to the west of Roanoke Island on February 5.  After dealing with poor weather the next day, the Union forced launched an attack at 11:30 a.m. on February 7. Goldsborough's gunboats pounded Confederate Ft. Bartow and drove Lynch's small fleet out of the sound.   Under the cover of naval guns, Burnside's men boarded row boats and landed on the island.  This was the first large amphibious operation of the war and would set an example for future joint operations, both in the Civil War and afterwards.  By midnight, 10,000 troops were camped at Ashby's Landing.

On the morning of February 8, Burnside sent his three brigades against the thin Confederate line of about 1,000 men.  The Federal troops attacked the Confederates on the front and both flanks, captured a three-gun battery, and broke the defenders' line. The Confederate soldiers beat a hasty retreat, abandoning equipment as they raced to the northern end of the island before being taking prisoner by Burnside's men.  In all, the victory came with a relatively small price tag -- 37 killed, 214 wounded, and 13 missing.  The Confederates lost 23 killed, including Wise's son, and 58 wounded.

Today little remains of the actual battlefield, but a few markers commemorate the engagement on Roanoke Island.  My father-in-law and I first visited a marker dedicated to the land battle on NC 345, just south of the intersection with U.S. 64. 

The Battle of Roanoke Island marker is located close to the site of the Confederate three-gun battery that was taken by Union troops during the battle.  The Confederate defenses were concentrated around this battery, which was placed across a causeway, the only north-south road on the island.  The Confederates cut a clear field of fire in front of the battery.  Because both sides of the road consisted of swampy marshland, the Confederate commanders expected that the Union attackers would stick to a direct frontal assault as they approached along the causeway.  Burnside, however, ordered his men to march into the swamps, and before long, the Confederates were surrounded on three sides.  

"Gallant Charge of Hawkins's Zouaves Upon the Rebel Batteries on Roanoke Island," Harper's Weekly, March 1, 1862 (courtesy of sonofthesouth.net).  The famed Zouave regiment under Colonel Rush Hawkins, known officially as the 9th New York, claimed credit for taking the Confederate battery on Roanoke Island.  The Northern press, infatuated with the colorful Zouaves, ran with the story and sang the praises of the regiment.  In fact, the 21st Massachusetts and 51st New York under Brigadier General Jesse Reno planted their flags first atop the Confederate battery.

We next headed to the new Outer Banks Welcome Center on U.S. 64, just west of the intersection with NC 345.  The marker there tells the story of the entire Burnside expedition in North Carolina, including the successful movements against Elizabeth City, New Bern, and Ft. Macon.

A marker commemorating the Burnside Expedition at the Outer Banks Welcome Center on Roanoke Island.  This marker provides context for the actions that occurred on Roanoke Island in February 1862.

No trip to Roanoke Island is complete without a stop at Ft. Raleigh National Historic Site, located off of U.S. 64 on the north side of the island.  The focus is on the first English settlements in America (1585-87), and the story of the "Lost Colony" is fascinating in its own right.  However, the Visitor Center offers an overview of the Civil War action on Roanoke Island.  (Note that the Visitor Center has recently undergone some renovations, so it appears that the exhibits are not yet fully re-installed.) 

Ft. Raleigh National Historic Site visitor center exhibit on Civil War-related events on Roanoke Island.

The historic site also commemorates the Freedmen's Colony on Roanoke Island.  During the early days of occupation of Roanoke Island, the Union Army labeled slaves a "contraband of war."  Slaves from across the region were soon fleeing to the Union lines and freedom.  In May 1863, the Union commander, Major General John G. Foster, moved to deal with the influx of slaves and ordered the establishment of a freedmen's community on the northern part of the island.  A church, several schools, and even a sawmill flourished there.  By 1865, the population of the colony had grown to nearly 4,000, and over 150 inhabitants served in black Union regiments.  Unfortunately, the colony never became self-sufficient, and the federal government decommissioned it in 1867.  The Freedmen's Colony Monument and a few markers outside the Visitor Center tell the story of this social experiment.

Front side of the Freedmen's Colony Monument, just outside the Visitor Center at the Ft. Raleigh National Historic Site.  

After touring the Ft. Raleigh site, the Colonel and I drove west on U.S. 64 and checked out a few markers associated with the naval battle and the Confederate defenses of Roanoke Island.  These markers were easily accessible from the road, and the traffic was light enough that I crossed by foot from one side of U.S. 64 to the other with little difficulty.

The Naval Battle of Roanoke Island marker is located off U.S. 64, just before the Manns Harbor Bridge on the northwest corner of Roanoke Island.  This marker gives a good sense of the naval action in relation to the geography of Roanoke Island.

The Ft. Huger marker is directly across the highway from the Naval Battle of Roanoke Island marker.  Ft. Huger was one of three Confederate forts on the western side of the island.  The remaining earthworks of Ft. Huger are located on private property.  This position looks out over the Croatan Sound towards the site of the 1862 naval battle.



"The naval fight in Croatan Sound -- landing of national troops -- showing also obstructions in the Sound, with the rebel fleet beyond," original printed source unknown (courtesy of North Carolina Civil War Image Portfolio, UNC University Libraries).  This view looks towards the northwest corner of the island where Ft. Huger was located.

The Ft. Blanchard marker is located on the south side of U.S. 64 not far from the Ft. Huger marker.  The remaining earthworks were not visible from this location.  The third fort on the western side of the island, Ft. Bartow, came under heavy fire during the naval battle.  A marker also commemorates Ft. Bartow, although time did not permit a detour to visit this out-of-the-way marker.

Our last stop before returning to home base was the town of Manteo.  My father-in-law is a lighthouse aficionado, so we stopped to check out the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse.  This replica is based on an 1877 screwpile lighthouse that was located in a narrow channel between the Croatan Sound and Pamlico Sound.  I only mention this lighthouse because the one in existence during the war was passed by Burnside's troops on the way to the fight at Roanoke Island and is pictured on at least one contemporary engraving.  (See below.) As an explanatory marker notes inside the lighthouse, the structure was a "witness to the Battle for Roanoke Island."

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse along the waterfront in Manteo, NC.

"The national fleet passing through the marshes between Croatan and Pamlico Sounds," 1862, original printed source unknown (courtesy of North Carolina Civil War Image Portfolio, UNC University Libraries).  An earlier incarnation of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse is visible to the right of the engraving.

As the Colonel and I returned to the family quarters in Duck, I was reminded of how much I love travel.  Each destination has a way of revealing its own history that leads me to dig a little deeper.  Before the Outer Banks trip, I was vaguely familiar with the Union coastal operations in North Carolina.  Now, after visiting the sites and reading more about them, I have gained a greater appreciation for this important aspect of the Civil War.  And dare I admit that I even have a new-found respect for Burnside?

Further Reading

In preparation for a Civil War tour of the Outer Banks, the following books may prove useful:

Peter M. Chaitin, The Coastal War: Chesapeake Bay to Rio Grande (1984).

Kevin Dougherty, Strangling the Confederacy: Coastal Operations in the American Civil War (2010).

Drew Pullen, The Civil War on Roanoke Island North Carolina (2002).