This article is about the blockships of the American Civil War. For Australian ships also known as 'Stone Fleet', see Stone Fleet (New South Wales).
The Stone Fleet consisted of a fleet of aging ships (mostly whaleships) purchased in New Bedford and other New England ports, loaded with stone, and sailed south during the American Civil War by the Union Navy for use as blockships. They were to be deliberately sunk at the entrance of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina in the hope of obstructing blockade runners, then supplying Confederate interests. Although some sank along the way and others were sunk near Tybee Island, Georgia, to serve as breakwaters, wharves for the landing of Union troops, the majority were divided into two lesser fleets. One fleet was sunk to block the south channel off Morris Island, and the other to block the north channel near Rattlesnake Shoals off the present day Isle of Palms in what proved to be failed efforts to block access the main shipping channels into Charleston Harbor.[1]
Various old ships, specifically purchased by the Navy for this purpose, were loaded with stone and sand, or filled with dirt, then towed to a designated spot and sunk as a hazard to all craft that passed. Twenty-four whaleships were sunk in Charleston Harbor by Captain Charles Henry Davis, beginning on 19 December 1861. A second fleet of 12 to 20 vessels was sunk in nearby Mafitt's Channel in 1862. The operation was under the direction of Samuel Francis DuPont, Flag Officer commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Confederate general Robert E. Lee called the measure "an abortive expression of the malice and revenge" of the North.[citation needed]
The event inspired Herman Melville to write the poem entitled, "The Stone Fleet".[2]
American, a 329-ton bark-rigged whaleship of Edgartown, Massachusetts, purchased on 1 November 1861. Laden with 300 tons of stone she was sunk in the main channel off Charleston, South Carolina on 20 December 1861.[4]
Archer (ship) 322 tons. Purchased by the Navy on 28 October 1861 at a cost of $3,360. Sunk at the entrance to Charleston Harbor on 20 December 1861.[5] Captained by William North.[6]
Augustus Holly, a schooner purchased at Baltimore by the Union Navy on 13 August 1861. Records of her use are missing, and it is questionable whether she was actually used for this purpose.[7]
Corea was a 336-ton armed store ship of the Royal Navy captured by fishermen from New Bedford, Massachusetts during the American Revolution, and later served as a whaleship. Reportedly she was not sunk and was in service with the US Army as late as 8 January 1862.[8][9]
Cossack was a 254-ton bark beached on Tybee Island, Georgia, to act as a wharf for the landing of troops on 8 December 1861.[10]
Frances Henrietta, was a whaleship from New Bedford, Massachusetts. She was purchased for $4,000 by George Morgan and R.H. Chappell on 19 October 1861. There is evidence she was transferred to the US Army and was still afloat as late as 8 January 1862.[11]
Garland, a 243-ton ship from New Bedford, Massachusetts that was captained by Rodney French.[6] French had been elected leader of the fleet by his fellow captains and went by the title "Commodore of the stone fleet". The Garland was the last of its fleet to arrive because French took a coastal route while the other ships sailed offshore and held a good wind. Sunk on 19 or 20 December 1861.[12][13]
Harvest, was a whaleship that operated out of New England. She was purchased on 21 October 1861, by Morgan and Chappell for $4,000. She arrived off Savannah, Georgia, on 4 December. Records state that she was retained for use as a coal scow.[8][14]
Herald was a 274-ton whaleship active in the Pacific. Her home port was New Bedford, Massachusetts, owner and master George H. Cash.[15] She was purchased for $4,000 and sunk along with 15 other vessels on 20 December 1861, about four miles south-southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east-southeast of the light on Morris Island.[16]
Kensington was a 357-ton wooden, ship-rigged vessel purchased for $4,000 at New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 28 October 1861. She departed 20 November and arrived Port Royal, South Carolina by 17 December. She was presumably sunk in the main channel leading into Charleston Harbor on 21 December, about four miles south-southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east-southeast of the light on Morris Island.[16][17]
L. C. Richmond, was a 341-ton whaleship that began service in Pacific in 1834. She was purchased for $4,000 and with Captain Martin Malloy, she sailed from New Bedford on 20 November 1861. She was sunk along with 15 other vessels on 20 December, about four miles south-southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east-southeast of the light on Morris Island.[16][18]
Leonidas, was originally built as a whaling bark of 231 tons, 320 feet long. It was active in the Pacific Ocean in 1849, captained by Captain Swift of New Bedford, Massachusetts. From 1850 to 1854, it was partially owned, and captained by, Benjamin Smith Clark Jr. It was purchased on 27 October 1861 by the US Navy for $3,050. It sailed from New Bedford in charge of Master John Howland on 20 November,. Exactly one month later, it was intentionally sunk, along with 15 other vessels, about four miles south-southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east-southeast of the light on Morris Island.[16][19]
Lewis was a sailing ship of 308 tons. It was purchased on 20 October 1861. It ran aground and bilged near Tybee Island in December 1861. She was 101 feet in length, 26 feet 2 inches in breadth, 13 feet 1 inch in depth of hull, with two decks, three masts, a square stern, no galleries and a billet head.[20][21]
Maria Theresa, was a 330-ton ship purchased on 31 October 1861 for $4,000. It was sunk, along with 15 other vessels about four miles south-southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east-southeast of the light on Morris Island.[16][22]
Phoenix, a whaleship of 404 tons, sunk as a breakwater for Union troops invading Tybee Island in December 1861.[23]
Peter DeMill, was a 300-ton bark purchased on 9 November 1861 and beached with South America and Cossack on 8 December to serve as a wharf during the landing of Union troops at Tybee Island, Georgia, at the mouth of the Savannah River.[24]
Potomac, an old 356-ton whaleship purchased on 1 November 1861 at Nantucket, and sunk on 9 January 1862.[25]
Rebecca Sims (ship) or Rebecca Simms or Rebecca Ann, 400 tons. Built as a general trading ship in 1801, she was eventually refitted as a whaleship, and, by 1850, was sailing from New Bedford. Rebecca Sims was acquired by the Navy at Fairhaven, Massachusetts, on 21 October 1861, stripped of all unnecessary equipment, filled with stone, and, under the command of her previous master, James M. Willis, sent south. On 19–20 December, she and 16 other ships were sunk in the main channel of Charleston Harbor.[26]
Robin Hood, East Indiaman (trading vessel), 395 tons, 400 feet. Purchased by the Navy at Mystic, Connecticut, on 20 October 1861. Sunk in the main channel of Charleston, South Carolina, in December 1861.[27]
Sarah M. Kemp, was a schooner purchased at Baltimore, Maryland, on 13 August 1861. The ship was to be sunk in the channel leading into the North Carolina sounds; however, no record of her final disposition has been found.[28]
South America, a 606-ton whaleship purchased on 9 November 1861 at New London, Connecticut. She was beached with Peter Demill and Cossack on 8 December 1861 to serve as a wharf during the landing of troops at Tybee Island, Georgia, at the mouth of the Savannah River.[29]
Tenedos (bark), 245 tons, 300 feet, mentioned in Melville's poem. Purchased for the Navy at New London, Connecticut, on 16 October 1861 by George D. Morgan and R. H. Chappell. Under Master O. Sisson she was loaded with blocks of granite from New England and sailed on 20 November 1861. On 19–20 December Tenedos and 15 other ships were sunk off the bar of Charleston's main channel.[30]
List of ships in the second fleetedit
America (ship) 418 tons
Dove (bark) 151 tons
Edward (bark) 274 tons
Emerald (ship) 518 tons
India, (ship, 366 tons) was purchased at New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 14 November 1861, and sunk in the Maffitt's Channel approach to Charleston on 26 January 1862.[31]
Jubilee (bark) 233 tons
Majestic (bark) 297 tons
Marcia (bark) 356 tons
Margaret Scott (bark) 330 tons This ship was bought from the US Marshall in New Bedford, after it had been confiscated as a slave ship. She was sunk 20 January 1862 in Maffitt's Channel in Charleston harbor. A woman named Margaret Scott had been executed in 1692 as one of the Salem Witches.[32]
^Navy Department, United States; Stewart, Charles W (1921). Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
^ ab"The Stone Fleet of 1861". The Bay State Monthly. 1898. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
^"Augustus Holly". Naval History and Heritage Command: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
Treasures of the Confederate Coast: the "real Rhett Butler" & Other Revelations by Dr. E. Lee Spence, (Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995)ISBN1886391017ISBN1886391009, OCLC: 32431590
Shipwreck Encyclopedia of the Civil War: South Carolina & Georgia, 1861-1865 by Edward Lee Spence (Sullivan's Island, S.C., Shipwreck Press, 1991) OCLC: 24420089
Shipwrecks of South Carolina and Georgia : (includes Spence's List, 1520-1865) by E. Lee Spence, Sullivan's Island, S.C. (Sullivan's Island 29482, Sea Research Society, 1984) OCLC 10593079
Shipwrecks, Pirates & Privateers: Sunken Treasures of the Upper South Carolina Coast, 1521-1865 by E. Lee Spence, (Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995) ISBN1-886391-07-6
Phillips, Stephen Willard, ed. (1937). Ship registers of the district of Newburyport, Massachusetts, 1789–1870. The Essex institute. hdl:2027/mdp.39015020914993. OCLC 3025487.
External linksedit
Full text of Melville's poem
Account of the Stone Fleet in Harper's Weekly, 19 January 1862
Gordon Wok essay, with mention of the Margaret Scott
February 15, 2024
stone, fleet, this, article, about, blockships, american, civil, australian, ships, also, known, south, wales, consisted, fleet, aging, ships, mostly, whaleships, purchased, bedford, other, england, ports, loaded, with, stone, sailed, south, during, american, . This article is about the blockships of the American Civil War For Australian ships also known as Stone Fleet see Stone Fleet New South Wales The Stone Fleet consisted of a fleet of aging ships mostly whaleships purchased in New Bedford and other New England ports loaded with stone and sailed south during the American Civil War by the Union Navy for use as blockships They were to be deliberately sunk at the entrance of Charleston Harbor South Carolina in the hope of obstructing blockade runners then supplying Confederate interests Although some sank along the way and others were sunk near Tybee Island Georgia to serve as breakwaters wharves for the landing of Union troops the majority were divided into two lesser fleets One fleet was sunk to block the south channel off Morris Island and the other to block the north channel near Rattlesnake Shoals off the present day Isle of Palms in what proved to be failed efforts to block access the main shipping channels into Charleston Harbor 1 Contents 1 History 2 List of ships in the Stone Fleet 3 List of ships in the second fleet 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksHistory editVarious old ships specifically purchased by the Navy for this purpose were loaded with stone and sand or filled with dirt then towed to a designated spot and sunk as a hazard to all craft that passed Twenty four whaleships were sunk in Charleston Harbor by Captain Charles Henry Davis beginning on 19 December 1861 A second fleet of 12 to 20 vessels was sunk in nearby Mafitt s Channel in 1862 The operation was under the direction of Samuel Francis DuPont Flag Officer commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron Confederate general Robert E Lee called the measure an abortive expression of the malice and revenge of the North citation needed The event inspired Herman Melville to write the poem entitled The Stone Fleet 2 List of ships in the Stone Fleet editAmazon a 318 ton bark rigged whaleship of Fairhaven Massachusetts purchased on 30 October 1861 and laden with 325 tons of stone Sunk as an obstruction at Charleston South Carolina on 19 or 20 December 1861 3 American a 329 ton bark rigged whaleship of Edgartown Massachusetts purchased on 1 November 1861 Laden with 300 tons of stone she was sunk in the main channel off Charleston South Carolina on 20 December 1861 4 Archer ship 322 tons Purchased by the Navy on 28 October 1861 at a cost of 3 360 Sunk at the entrance to Charleston Harbor on 20 December 1861 5 Captained by William North 6 Augustus Holly a schooner purchased at Baltimore by the Union Navy on 13 August 1861 Records of her use are missing and it is questionable whether she was actually used for this purpose 7 Corea was a 336 ton armed store ship of the Royal Navy captured by fishermen from New Bedford Massachusetts during the American Revolution and later served as a whaleship Reportedly she was not sunk and was in service with the US Army as late as 8 January 1862 8 9 Cossack was a 254 ton bark beached on Tybee Island Georgia to act as a wharf for the landing of troops on 8 December 1861 10 Courier ship 381 tons Fortune bark 292 tons whaleship Frances Henrietta was a whaleship from New Bedford Massachusetts She was purchased for 4 000 by George Morgan and R H Chappell on 19 October 1861 There is evidence she was transferred to the US Army and was still afloat as late as 8 January 1862 11 Garland a 243 ton ship from New Bedford Massachusetts that was captained by Rodney French 6 French had been elected leader of the fleet by his fellow captains and went by the title Commodore of the stone fleet The Garland was the last of its fleet to arrive because French took a coastal route while the other ships sailed offshore and held a good wind Sunk on 19 or 20 December 1861 12 13 Harvest was a whaleship that operated out of New England She was purchased on 21 October 1861 by Morgan and Chappell for 4 000 She arrived off Savannah Georgia on 4 December Records state that she was retained for use as a coal scow 8 14 Herald was a 274 ton whaleship active in the Pacific Her home port was New Bedford Massachusetts owner and master George H Cash 15 She was purchased for 4 000 and sunk along with 15 other vessels on 20 December 1861 about four miles south southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east southeast of the light on Morris Island 16 Kensington was a 357 ton wooden ship rigged vessel purchased for 4 000 at New Bedford Massachusetts on 28 October 1861 She departed 20 November and arrived Port Royal South Carolina by 17 December She was presumably sunk in the main channel leading into Charleston Harbor on 21 December about four miles south southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east southeast of the light on Morris Island 16 17 L C Richmond was a 341 ton whaleship that began service in Pacific in 1834 She was purchased for 4 000 and with Captain Martin Malloy she sailed from New Bedford on 20 November 1861 She was sunk along with 15 other vessels on 20 December about four miles south southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east southeast of the light on Morris Island 16 18 Leonidas was originally built as a whaling bark of 231 tons 320 feet long It was active in the Pacific Ocean in 1849 captained by Captain Swift of New Bedford Massachusetts From 1850 to 1854 it was partially owned and captained by Benjamin Smith Clark Jr It was purchased on 27 October 1861 by the US Navy for 3 050 It sailed from New Bedford in charge of Master John Howland on 20 November Exactly one month later it was intentionally sunk along with 15 other vessels about four miles south southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east southeast of the light on Morris Island 16 19 Lewis was a sailing ship of 308 tons It was purchased on 20 October 1861 It ran aground and bilged near Tybee Island in December 1861 She was 101 feet in length 26 feet 2 inches in breadth 13 feet 1 inch in depth of hull with two decks three masts a square stern no galleries and a billet head 20 21 Maria Theresa was a 330 ton ship purchased on 31 October 1861 for 4 000 It was sunk along with 15 other vessels about four miles south southeast of Fort Sumter and three miles east southeast of the light on Morris Island 16 22 Meteor a ship purchased at Mystic Connecticut on 4 November 1861 and sunk on 9 January 1862 Phoenix a whaleship of 404 tons sunk as a breakwater for Union troops invading Tybee Island in December 1861 23 Peter DeMill was a 300 ton bark purchased on 9 November 1861 and beached with South America and Cossack on 8 December to serve as a wharf during the landing of Union troops at Tybee Island Georgia at the mouth of the Savannah River 24 Potomac an old 356 ton whaleship purchased on 1 November 1861 at Nantucket and sunk on 9 January 1862 25 Rebecca Sims ship or Rebecca Simms or Rebecca Ann 400 tons Built as a general trading ship in 1801 she was eventually refitted as a whaleship and by 1850 was sailing from New Bedford Rebecca Sims was acquired by the Navy at Fairhaven Massachusetts on 21 October 1861 stripped of all unnecessary equipment filled with stone and under the command of her previous master James M Willis sent south On 19 20 December she and 16 other ships were sunk in the main channel of Charleston Harbor 26 Robin Hood East Indiaman trading vessel 395 tons 400 feet Purchased by the Navy at Mystic Connecticut on 20 October 1861 Sunk in the main channel of Charleston South Carolina in December 1861 27 Sarah M Kemp was a schooner purchased at Baltimore Maryland on 13 August 1861 The ship was to be sunk in the channel leading into the North Carolina sounds however no record of her final disposition has been found 28 South America a 606 ton whaleship purchased on 9 November 1861 at New London Connecticut She was beached with Peter Demill and Cossack on 8 December 1861 to serve as a wharf during the landing of troops at Tybee Island Georgia at the mouth of the Savannah River 29 Tenedos bark 245 tons 300 feet mentioned in Melville s poem Purchased for the Navy at New London Connecticut on 16 October 1861 by George D Morgan and R H Chappell Under Master O Sisson she was loaded with blocks of granite from New England and sailed on 20 November 1861 On 19 20 December Tenedos and 15 other ships were sunk off the bar of Charleston s main channel 30 List of ships in the second fleet editAmerica ship 418 tons Dove bark 151 tons Edward bark 274 tons Emerald ship 518 tons India ship 366 tons was purchased at New Bedford Massachusetts on 14 November 1861 and sunk in the Maffitt s Channel approach to Charleston on 26 January 1862 31 Jubilee bark 233 tons Majestic bark 297 tons Marcia bark 356 tons Margaret Scott bark 330 tons This ship was bought from the US Marshall in New Bedford after it had been confiscated as a slave ship She was sunk 20 January 1862 in Maffitt s Channel in Charleston harbor A woman named Margaret Scott had been executed in 1692 as one of the Salem Witches 32 Mechanic ship 335 tons Messenger bark 216 tons USS Montezuma 424 tons Newburyport ship of 341 tons had been launched at Newbury in 1834 33 New England ship 368 tons Noble bark 274 tons Peri bark 261 tons missing off Charleston SC 25 January 1862 Stephen Young brig 200 tons Timor ship Valparaiso ship 402 tons William Lee was a bark of 311 tons built as a whaler in 1836 Mentioned in Melville s poem as the Lee 34 See also edit nbsp American Civil War portalAmerican Civil War Union blockade Union NavyReferences edit Spence 1995 pp 142 152 159 164 Jamie L Jones The Navy s Stone Fleet The New York Times 26 January 2012 Amazon Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Navy Department Naval History and Heritage Command Retrieved 4 November 2009 American DANFS Retrieved 4 November 2009 Navy Department United States Stewart Charles W 1921 Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion Retrieved 28 May 2015 a b The Stone Fleet of 1861 The Bay State Monthly 1898 Retrieved 28 May 2015 Augustus Holly Naval History and Heritage Command Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Retrieved 8 May 2019 a b Spence 1995 p 151 The Rat Hole Squadron Harpers Weekly 14 December 1861 Retrieved 14 November 2009 Cossack DANFS Retrieved 7 November 2009 Spence 1995 pp 151 152 Spears John R 1908 The Story of the New England Whalers New York The MacMillan Company p 392 Retrieved 28 May 2015 Mulderink III Earl F 2012 New Bedford s Civil War Fordham University Press ISBN 9780823243341 Retrieved 28 May 2015 Harvest DANFS Retrieved 14 November 2009 Manuscript Collections of the Nantucket Historical Association Research Library Nantucket Historical Association Retrieved 15 November 2009 a b c d e Spence 1995 p 146 Kensington DANFS Retrieved 15 November 2009 LC Richmond DANFS Retrieved 15 November 2009 Leonidas DANFS Retrieved 19 November 2009 Spence 1995 p 142 Lewis DANFS Retrieved 2 November 2009 Maria Theresa DANFS Retrieved 19 November 2009 Phoenix DANFS Retrieved 14 July 2010 Peter Demill DANFS Retrieved 7 November 2009 Potomac DANFS Retrieved 14 July 2010 Rebecca Sims DANFS Retrieved 14 July 2010 Robin Hood DANFS Retrieved 14 July 2010 Sara M Kemp DANFS Retrieved 4 November 2009 South America DANFS Retrieved 14 July 2010 Tenedos DANFS Retrieved 14 July 2010 India DANFS Retrieved 14 July 2010 Margaret Scott DANFS Retrieved 2 November 2009 Phillips 1937 pp 164 165 Record 4841 Narragansett Times 16 February 1894 p 1 Archived from the original on 7 June 2011 This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Bibliography editTreasures of the Confederate Coast the real Rhett Butler amp Other Revelations by Dr E Lee Spence Narwhal Press Charleston Miami 1995 ISBN 1886391017 ISBN 1886391009 OCLC 32431590 Shipwreck Encyclopedia of the Civil War South Carolina amp Georgia 1861 1865 by Edward Lee Spence Sullivan s Island S C Shipwreck Press 1991 OCLC 24420089 Shipwrecks of South Carolina and Georgia includes Spence s List 1520 1865 by E Lee Spence Sullivan s Island S C Sullivan s Island 29482 Sea Research Society 1984 OCLC 10593079 Shipwrecks Pirates amp Privateers Sunken Treasures of the Upper South Carolina Coast 1521 1865 by E Lee Spence Narwhal Press Charleston Miami 1995 ISBN 1 886391 07 6 Phillips Stephen Willard ed 1937 Ship registers of the district of Newburyport Massachusetts 1789 1870 The Essex institute hdl 2027 mdp 39015020914993 OCLC 3025487 External links editFull text of Melville s poem Account of the Stone Fleet in Harper s Weekly 19 January 1862 Military Correspondence from both sides Gordon Wok essay with mention of the Margaret Scott Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stone Fleet amp oldid 1192666586, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
