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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03836.27 |
| 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 R. West enclosing a one-page hand-drawn chart of the 7 November 1861 naval battle at Port Royal Harbor |
| Date | 19 November 1861 |
| Author | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) |
| Recipient | West, R |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Written aboard the USS "Alabama." Encloses a one-page hand-drawn chart of the 7 November 1861 naval battle at Port Royal Harbor, which he had copied by "placing a sheet of thin paper" over the original. Reports that the original chart had been made by one of the officers of the 'Susquehanna' and was "said to be very accurate." Says he is at Charleston and that they are still blockading "this nest of secession." Duty has been dull; since "the stunning blow inflicted on them [Confederates in the area] by Dupont's splendid victory. We have seen no sign of the small steamers which were in the habit of coming down and blazing away at us...." Notes that they saw a ship with a black flag, which, they later learned, was a sign that the South "intended to give or take no quarter in the expected invasion! A true type of South Carolina chivalry isn't it? If they are going to run the way they did at Port Royal, on all occasions, we shall never have a chance to offer it [quarter] to them." Wants Sherman to take Charleston: "The message of Governor Pickens will be a valuable acquisition to General Sherman just at this time in the way of posting him up as to the military resources of the state. A most unlucky document for the governor to make public, with the guns at Port Royal thundering in his ears. Oh! If this chance is truly followed up! I have no doubt that if Sherman could only advance at once, that Charleston would be ours with scarcely a struggle. By all accounts the panic is terrible, even worse than it was at Washington after Bull Run, for they have the slaves to look out for; and the truth is now evident that they are terribly afraid of them notwithstanding all their talk about their fidelity. I hope that no time will be lost in hurrying reinforcements on as fast as possible, the game is in our hands is it is only followed up quickly." Comments that after a visit from a British frigate, they heard of a report that Captain Wilkes of the USS "San Jacinto" had taken Mason and Slidell, two Confederate diplomats, out of a British mail steamer. Says it was a "most unwarrantable act and we will have to disavow it." Rumor has it, he adds, that the federal government had arranged the act, with the intention of then dismissing Wilkes to placate the British, but then to reinstate him: "It is difficulty to conceive that an accomplished officer such as he is, should make such a blunder on his own responsibility." Discusses the effectiveness of Captain Lardner's blockading strategy. Says has he enclosed [not present] friction primers ("used for firing guns") taken from Fort Walker; describes how they are used and, in the margin, sketches one attached to a cannon. Continues the letter on 22 November. Mentions hearing from the "Susquehanna" that, in addition to the cotton captured at Beaufort, the cotton crop at the large plantations in the Sea Islands (off Georgia) is ready for harvesting and "the darkies who are coming in by the hundreds, are to be set at work to gather it." The fires that West and his crewmates have been seeing since the battle are the ungathered cotton crops set aflame by the Confederates. Adds, "Thank heaven these rascals are now suffering themselves for the trouble they have caused. They have lost millions of dollars already. They also assert they will burn Charleston before it shall be taken! They couldn't do anything that would please us better." Says that the fact that Port Royal has been so little known or used "is a comment on the amazing stupidity and want of enterprise of this precious state. The only way to account for it is that the plantations of the most aristocratic of the 'chivalry' are situated there, and they did not wish to be defiled by any thing as vulgar as commerce. We 'mudsills,' however, intend to use it for a coal depot." Continues again on 27 November, saying "We are just going into Port Royal. Tybee Island is taken." |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Navy Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Soldier's Letter Battle Blockade Confederate States of America Steamboat Bravery Union General Government and Civics Military Supplies Battle of Bull Run Slavery African American History Trent Affair Diplomacy Global History and Civics Weaponry Artillery Cotton Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Fortification Wartime Pillaging and Destruction Finance Economics Commerce Merchants and Trade |
| People | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) West, R. (fl. 1860-1865) Sherman, William Tecumseh (1820-1891) |
| Place written | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Naval & Maritime |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | West was a Union naval officer in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, mostly serving off South Carolina and Georgia. This collection begins with three documents from West's service on a merchant marine ship off China. He served on the USS "Perry" April-August 1861, the USS "Wabash" August-October 1861, the USS "Alabama" October 1861-October 1862, the USS "Ladona" (also spelled Lodona) October 1862-August 1863, the USS "New Ironsides" October 1863-April 1864, and the USS "Fernandina" April 1864-March 1865. Had the rank of Masters Mate from April-August 1861 and then served the rest of the war as an Acting Master. Letters detail the tedium of life in the blockade, coming across runaway slaves and contrabands, as well as several run-ins with Confederate submarines. Three hand drawn maps are at .27, .68, and .89. Most of the letters are to his mother (her initials are RW and she resides at 1316 Walnut Street in Philadelphia - West addresses his letters to her as "Mrs. James West"), sister (Mary), and someone who appears to be West's brother-in-law (Weir). He begins to write a woman he seems to be romantically interested in named Harriet Moore in 1864. From a reference at .63, West was born in 1829. He might have been living in New York before the war, but he definitely resides there after the war. About half the letters have an envelope. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Mother |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach |
| Civil War: Unit | USS "Alabama" |