The full content of this document is only available to subscribing institutions. More information can be found via www.amdigital.co.uk
If you believe you should have access to this document, click here to Login.
| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03836.60 |
| From Archive Folder | Correspondence of 90 letters and documents with 3 maps on the blockade of Port Royal, South Carolina |
| Title | Lewis H. West to Mary West regarding the sinking of the USS Weehawken |
| Date | 7 December 1863 |
| Author | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) |
| Recipient | West, Mary |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | References receiving her latest letter. Says "For the first time since I have been in the service I feel thoroughly discontented. I fancied in coming here I was at length going to see active service but find just the reverse." Says they witnessed the sinking of the USS "Weehawken" in bad weather. Says four engineering officers and 29 men, half the crew, died in the sinking. No cause is known yet because of poor communication during the storms. Heard about General Braxton Bragg's defeat in the Confederate newspapers. Says the Union ships fired their guns in a salute. A court of inquiry found that "Weehawken" sank after recently taking on a considerable amount of heavy ammunition in her forward compartments. This change excessively reduced her forward freeboard, causing water to rush down an open hawse pipe and hatch during the storm. As the bow sank, and the stern rose, water could not flow aft to the pumps and the vessel foundered. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Navy Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Soldier's Letter Children and Family Extreme Weather Disaster Ironclad Death Confederate General or Leader Confederate States of America Battle Maritime |
| People | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) |
| Place written | Aboard USS "New Ironsides" off Morris Island, South Carolina |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Naval & Maritime |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | A court of inquiry found that "Weehawken" sunk after recently taking on a considerable amount of heavy ammunition in her forward compartments. This change excessively reduced her forward freeboard, causing water to rush down an open hawse pipe and hatch during the storm. As the bow sank, and the stern rose, water could not flow aft to the pumps and the vessel foundered. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach |
| Civil War: Unit | USS "New Ironsides" |