Sinking of the Greyhound by Southern Saboteurs - No Lives Lost - Suspicious Characters Seen Lurking On Board Before the Blast

From Fortress Monroe, Virginia.
Saturday, December 6, 1864.
The following is the New-York Times' special account of the explosion and sinking of the Greyhound on the James River near Bermuda Hundred that occurred November 27, 1864.

It has now been determined beyond a reasonable doubt that the boiler explosion and subsequent sinking of Major General Benjamin F. Butler's headquarters ship, Greyhound, was a nefarious act of Confederate sabotage.  Sources say the violent explosion was caused by an "infernal machine," also known as a "coal shell" or "coal torpedo," that was inadvertently shoveled into the ship's fire box by an unsuspecting crewman.  The bomb was a hollow, cast iron device loaded with black powder and cleverly covered with coal dust.  It was deliberately made by southern operatives to look like an ordinary lump of coal, and was apparently tossed into the ship's coal bunker just prior to the explosion.

Rear Admiral David D. Porter, Commander of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron had been invited aboard by General Butler for a conference.  A number of suspicious-looking characters had been noticed by the Admiral loitering about the ship's lounge.  The suspicious civilians were put ashore at Porter's insistence just minutes prior to the eruption of the Greyhound's boiler as she was cruising downriver, six miles below Bermuda Hundred.  The mysterious explosion blew open the furnace door, scattering burning coals throughout the ship.  The machinery was instantly stopped and the stricken vessel drifted with the tide toward the flats.  Pumps were applied as the crew courageously battled the fire, but the flames were soon out of control.  The vessel was quickly enveloped and sank within twenty minutes of the blast.  Admiral Porter was seen putting a shoulder to the captain's gig, helping the steward put it over the side.  Porter, General Butler, Ohio Congressman Robert C. Shenck, and all hands escaped with their lives but, unfortunately, the General's valuable horses perished in the conflagration.

The sinking of the Greyhound is eerily reminiscent of the boiler explosion that occurred on board the USS Chenango on April 15 of this year.  Thirty-three sailors were scalded to death when the boiler exploded on the gunboat's maiden voyage out of New York harbor, though the side-wheeler, herself, was saved and is currently undergoing repairs.  Investigators strongly suspected sabotage in the Chenango affair, as well as in this case, the destruction of the Greyhound.  Although foul play has been determined to be the most likely cause, Admiral Porter has made it known that he blames General Butler for the disaster, noting the absence of security on board his headquarters vessel.  For his part,  General Butler hinted that, perhaps, the Admiral was just expressing his disappointment with the loss of a very fast ship he coveted, adding further that Porter despises his own flagship, the slow-moving Malvern.  

The British-built Greyhound was a former blockade runner previously captured by the Navy and purchased by the U. S. Government.  At the time of her capture, the Greyhound was carrying an important passenger:  the notorious rebel spy, Belle Boyd, who was attempting to deliver military dispatches to England.   The 320-ton, iron-hulled side-wheel steamer was then purchased by Mr. George H. Powers of Hudson, New York, and later commandeered by Butler as his floating headquarters.  She was widely known as one of the fastest ships afloat.

Both the Navy and Army have been ordered to guard all coal supplies with greater vigilance.  Any unauthorized person seen placing or taking an object on or near the government's coal piles is to be shot on sight.

- H. J. W.        

[For more information, see:  The Second Admiral: A Life of David Dixon Porter by Richard S. West, Jr.; Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher by Rod Gragg]

NEW JERSEY BUREAU. Naval Rendezvous at Swedesboro - Van Amburg's Menagerie Draws a Crowd

A temporary naval recruiting station was established in the historic village of Swedesboro amidst great pageantry and fanfare on September 27, 1864.  While the local businessmen and town folk held their annual street festival last Saturday with many food vendors and hucksters of all sorts selling their wares, naval officer, Bruce Tucker, Boatswain's Mate, Dan Cashin, and sailors, George McDowell and William Myers, all of the USS Lehigh, attempted to enlist men and boys for duty with the Navy.  The Seamen pitched their tent in the dusty street in front of the stately home of Doctor Charles Garrison, a prominent and well-respected physician of this town.  It was something of a homecoming for the shipmates of the Lehigh, their vessel having been constructed in 1863 in the shipyard at Chester, Pennsylvania, just across the Delaware from this place.

Despite the lure of potential prize money from captured blockade runners and the guarantee of immunity from conscription into the Army, few stepped forward to sign on, although many young boys, apparently eager for an adventurous life at sea, tried to enlist as cabin boys without their parents' consent.  Gone for good, apparently, are the days of the press gangs scouring the waterfront for unwary recruits.  Boatswain's Mate Cashin attributed the lack of recruiting success to the area's pacifism, thought to be engendered from a strong Quaker influence within the County of Gloucester.  The community is not, however, bereft of noble military heroes: Lieutenant Commander William N. Jeffers, formerly the skipper of the famed Monitor and now assigned to duty with the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, was born here, as was Brigadier General Charles G. Harker, recently killed heroically leading a charge at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, July 27, 1864.  These men are just two among the many who have volunteered from Swedesboro and Gloucester County to serve in their country's hour of need. In fact, Mr James Plummer, the proprietor of the well-appointed Plummer's Hotel (the best accommodations in Swedesboro), where this journalist had recently taken a room, has not seen his son since the Battle of Chancellorsville, where the young man was reported missing from the ranks of the 12th New Jersey Volunteers, a regiment made up largely of men from this region.  It must also be said that a draft was just held in Camden on September 23, and that the Township's complement of soldiers is made up.  Uncertain rumors of distant peace are being bandied about, as well, making service in any branch of the service less attractive at this late date in the war.  Still the US Navy is always in need of able-bodied men.

Van Amburg's Traveling Menagerie was also on hand to draw in the crowds from the surrounding communities.  Upwards of twenty large circus wagons were parked up and down Main Street as white circus tents had sprouted up over the previous night like giant mushrooms.  Several lions and two large elephants were on display.  The largest pachyderm, "Hannibal," weighs 15,000 pounds and was at times during the day very ferocious.  (Perhaps, some of the local men, having already seen the elephant, no longer desired to "see the elephant," as the expression goes.)  In addition to the wild beasts there were acrobats, jugglers, sword-swallowers, and a human giant, purportedly eight feet, two inches tall in his stocking feet, plus a dwarf and his normal-sized wife among other singular curiosities, all for the paying customers' viewing pleasure.   One of those curious exhibits was a seemingly normal, down-to-earth Negro from Mississippi, who had once been a slave, laboring in the tenches during the famous siege of Vicksburg.  The fortunate fellow, whose name is Abraham, was literally blown over to freedom with the explosion of one ton of black powder placed  underneath a salient in the rebel line by General Grant's soldiers, who had been endeavoring for weeks to blast their way into the Confederate stronghold.  The resulting battle in the huge crater that was caused by the detonation of the mine was a flat failure, but Abraham was blown sky high over to General John A. Logan's part of the federal line, about 250 yards distant, where he landed among the astonished Yankees.  The former slave certainly took an unusual route to emancipation, but was otherwise unhurt, and only a little shaken.  When a certain Times' reporter asked Abraham if he remembered about how high he had flown, the sable young man replied with all candor, "I's a blown up about t'ree mile, I was, suh!"

This particular story was enlivened and perhaps given added credibility by the purchase of hard apple cider, known locally as "Red Stingo," a town staple, and according to Dr. Garrison, of great medicinal value.  Despite the apple harvest being some weeks away, there was plenty of the home-brewed concoction available for purchase, much to the delight of townsmen and visiting sailors, alike.  A near brawl that followed a baseball game played on the fairgrounds just outside of Swedesboro was probably fueled by the imbibing of too much Red Stingo.

- H. J. W.

Captain Tucker, a tall circus performer, and a N-Y Times' reporter at Swedesboro Day.  Photo courtesy of William Myers.

[Editor's note: The phrase, "Seeing the elephant," is old soldier slang for green troops who have witnessed their first battle and lived to tell about it.  For further information, see:  Personal Memoirs by Ulysses S. Grant; The Diary of Charles Garrison, M.D. - Swedesboro and the Civil War (1861 - 1865)]
             

Early's Raid on Washington - The President Under Fire! - Attack on Fort Stevens Repulsed.

Rebel General Jubal Early with 15,000 battle-hardened veterans of Lee's army advanced on Washington but were summarily turned back at the gates of the city.  Unsubstantiated reports of Rebel numbers and rumors of atrocities were greatly exaggerated, causing many citizens to flee in panic.  On July 9th Early's thrust across the Potomac had been heroically delayed by a scratch force of national troops pulled together at the Monocacy River under the command of General Lew Wallace.  Consequently, Early and his marauders did not reach the formidable fortifications on the outskirts of Washington City until the eleventh.  Once reinforcements from General Grant's army arrived, the game was up, and Early was forced to retreat back to the Valley of Virginia.  (But not before maliciously burning to the ground the house of Postmaster General Montgomery Blair at Silver Spring.)  This gave rise to the humorous observation that when the rebels arrived to capture Washington City, "Early was late!"  Not to be outdone, the profane General Early is reported to have exclaimed, "We may not have taken Washington, but we scared Old Abe like h---!"

Far from being "scared," the President, a few senators and members of the Cabinet, notably Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, came out to Fort Stevens to have a first-hand look at the progress of the battle from the ramparts.  Heavy skirmishing was occurring beyond the fort's walls as Union infantry advanced to meet the rebel attack.  Sharpshooters firing from trees and abandoned houses threatened the President and his entourage as they stood upon the parapet.  After a surgeon standing right beside the President was hit and severely wounded, General Wright ordered the Commander-in-Chief down from the works.  One officer nearby, perhaps not recognizing the President, was reported to have shouted, "Get down, you fool!"  Mr. Lincoln reluctantly complied and sought a safer place to view the battle.  It is believed to have been the first and only time an American President has come under hostile enemy fire that didn't emanate from the opposition press.  Whether or not rebel marksmen specifically targeted the President may never be known.

President Abraham Lincoln under rebel fire at Fort Stevens, July 12, 1864.  (Bas-relief by Schwizer in Jubal Early's Raid on Washington, 1864 [p. 142])

Mr. Lincoln had been highly displeased upon learning that Gustavus V. Fox, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, had ordered two or three gunboats up the Potomac to stand by with steam up in case the present emergency required that the President be evacuated.  However, President Lincoln was not content to ride out the storm confined to the White House.  Instead he and Mrs. Lincoln, in the presidential carriage, rode out the Seventh Street Road to Fort Stevens to watch the battle in progress on two successive days, July11th and 12th.

Ultimately, Fort Stevens with its heavy artillery and the other forts that form a protective ring around the Capital proved their worth, even undermanned as they were, as the works were just too strong for a raiding party the size of Early's force to invest and overrun.  The ordnance at Fort Stevens alone boasted four 24-pounder seacoast cannon firing in barbette; six 24-pounder siege guns in an embrasure; two 8-inch siege howitzers; five 30-pounder Parrott guns, plus a 10-inch siege and a 24-pounder Coehorn mortar.  The Confederates' plan to siphon off troops and relieve Lee's army besieged at Petersburg, succeeded to some degree, but not enough to materially alter the strategic situation there.  We daily await the news that General Grant's troops will have breached the works at Petersburg, the so-called "Backdoor to Richmond," and sent the rebels flying.                        

- H. J. W.

Members of the 6th Independent Battery, New York Artillery at Fort Stevens [i.e., Parker Press Park, Woodbridge, NJ] prepare to fire as President Lincoln and an unidentified lady look on.  Photo courtesy of William Myers.

[Editor's note:  For more information, see B. F. Cooling's Jubal Early's Raid on Washington, 1864]