Battle of Nashville & Beyond

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Civil War Navy

National Civil War Naval Museum: 

Home of the best American Civil War Navy collection in the country: Confederate warship, CSS Jackson, and the wreckage of the CSS Chattahoochee. A full scale ship replica of the USS Water Witch, a replica of the USS Hartford, a full scale replica of the USS Monitor’s famous turret. A dockside exhibit recreating Plymouth, NC, with an interior and exterior view of the CSS Albemarle.

Columbus, Georgia is on the Alabama – Georgia state line, which runs down the Chattahoochee River there. The Battle of Columbus is also known as the Battle of Girard, Alabama (now Phenix City, Alabama). The US Cavalry attacked the Confederates from the Alabama side of the river. The scenic Chattahoochee Riverwalk on the Georgia side, has many historical markers interpreting this last battle of the Civil War.

The Chattahoochee Riverwalk is bicycle friendly.

National Civil War Naval Museum: 

1002 Victory Drive, Columbus, Georgia 31901

Phone: (706) 327-9798

http://www.portcolumbus.org

CSS Albemarle

The scene is Plymouth, North Carolina in October, 1864, as we see the famous Confederate Ironclad, CSS Albemarle sitting dockside. The ship is open to view both inside and out; a rare opportunity to get a glimpse inside a unique craft. The Albemarle is a classic Confederate Navy design, with a diamond hull and armored casemate. It was 150 feet long and carried two 6.4 inch Brooke Rifles mounted fore and aft, each able to pivot and shoot out of its three gunports. Take a 360º 3D like tour of the ship below.

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© Bob Henderson

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Cavalry Tour

Civil War Cavalry Virtual Tours: 

09 MAR 17

Cavalry operations in the western theater of the United States Civil War.cavalry

Some tours have expanded links to the battlefields*

* Brices Crossroads – Forrest vs Sturgis

* Davis Bridge – Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn vs Maj. Gen. Edward O.C. Ord

Johnsonville Battlefield and Tennessee River Naval Battle – November 4–5, 1864. Forrest’s Cavalry raid on the U.S. Navy and the Army supply base at Johnsonville, Tennessee:

  • West Bank of the Tennessee River at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park
  • Upper Redoubt
  • Tennessee River Front

Clifton, Tennessee – Forrest Cavalry crossing of the Tennessee River – Dec. 15, 1862 – Jan. 3, 1863

* Parkers Crossroads – Forrest’s Cavalry Raid into West Tennessee – December 31, 1862 

* Kelley’s Point – Cumberland River Nashville Naval Battle Dec. 2-15, 1864

  • Look for the icons that open to display the historical signage.
  • The lower left corner of the display has a full screen option hot spot.

* Hood’s Retreat – Battle of Nashville Rear Guard

* John Hunt Morgan Raid’s – Munfordville and Tebb’s Bend

 

Note: get the full screen mode by clicking the icon in the lower left of the video frame. A zoom option is available also for reading the historical signage. Some markers are embedded in the floating icons.

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Recommended Reading:

#virtualtour #civilwar #johnsonville #nbforrest #cavalry

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The Last Ironclad

The Last Brown Water Navy Gunboat: 

 

Vicksburg National Battlefield Virtual Tour

 

3201 Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Recommended Reading

Torpedoed in 1862, and raised a half century later, the U.S.S. Cairo is the only remaining American Civil War vessel remaining of the vast river Brown Water Navy.  Seven City Class riverboat monitors were requisitioned in the summer of 1961. They were constructed in 100 days at a cost of about $100,000 each. All other river monitors were lost for scrap metal during WWI.

Take a look inside of the reconstructed warship in 3D, and follow the rest of the Vicksburg National Battlefield virtual tour on the Google Maps portal below the virtual gunboat tour.

Suggested reading on the significance of this fighting force through a biography of one of it’s front-line commanders: Lt. Cdr. Le Roy Fitch. An unsung naval leader that in many ways, founded inland waterway insurgency tactics.

 

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#vicksburg

Tonnage: 512
Length: 175 ft (53 m)
Beam: 51 ft 2 in (15.60 m)
Draught: 6 ft (1.8 m)
Propulsion:
  • Steam engine with 22 inches (560 mm) cylinder and stroke of 6 feet (1.8 m), fed by five fire-tube boilers at 140 psi (970 kPa)[1][2]
  • paddle wheel-propelled
Speed: 4 knots (7.4 km/h)
Complement: 251 officers and men
Armament: (see section below)
Armour:
  • forward casemate: 2.5 inches (64 mm)
  • pilot house: 2.5 inches (64 mm)
  • 60 feet (18 m) of the side covering the machinery: 2.5 inches (64 mm).
  • forward part of casemate sides: 3.5 inches (89 mm) railroad iron[1]

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Fort Donelson

– Wikipedia

Virtual Tour of Fort Donelson: 

 120 Lock D Rd, Dover, TN 37058

Located in Dover, Tennessee on the Cumberland River, this inter-active virtual tour includes pop-up information with historical interpretive markers (there is a zoom option for reading the signage). The tour also links to the Shiloh battlefield tour.

A land and naval battle, this Union victory opened up middle Tennessee and hastened the capture of the first southern state capital: Nashville.fort-donelson-image

 “The Confederates built upper and lower river batteries in an attempt to defend the strategic transportation and supply routes provided by the river and protect major supply bases in Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee. They armed the batteries with heavy seacoast artillery”. – nps.gov

Fort Donelson National Cemetery – this National Military Cemetery was established in 1867 and includes veterans of the 19th and 20th century.

Note: get the full screen virtual tour experience by clicking the icon in the lower left of the video frame.  Some markers are embedded in the floating icons.

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Suggested Reading (Chapter II)

 

#fortdonelson #civilwar #virtualtour

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Gunboat Vessels of Nashville

Gunboats that fought in The Battle of Nashville: 

These are some of the United States “Brown Water Navy” vessels that fought on the Cumberland River in December 1864, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Le Roy Fitch. There were six separate engagements from December 2 to the 15th of that year.

City Class U.S.S. Carondelet Ironclad Gunboat

Carondelet Photo

Seven city class gunboats were built by James B. Eads at a cost of $89,000 each. With 13 guns, from 30-pdr. Parrotts, up to 100-pdr., they were powerfully armed. Their 2.5 inch plating, plus wood backing, was not impenetrable, however. The sister ship Cairo was sunk by torpedo in December 1862. She was raised in 1964 and is on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park. The Carondelet was also involved in many other river battles including Forts Donelson and Henry, Island #10, and the siege of Vicksburg.

U.S.S. Neosho Ironclad Gunboat

USS Neosho Photo

December 6, 1864 aboard the U.S.S. Neosho, Quartermaster John Ditzenback, and Pilot John H. Ferrell received the Medal of Honor for retrieving the United States flag which had been shot away.  Under heavy enemy fire, they left the safety of the armored pilot-house, and tied it to the main signal staff. This drawing was featured in Harpers Weekly.

USS Neosho Photo

The river monitor Neosho was hit more than one hundred times in one of the, many engagements at this site, severely damaging her stern house and chimney.  It narrowly escaped destruction when an unexploded shell lodged near her powder magazine. 78 years latter, her namesake would not be so lucky.  She was sunk by the Japanese in the Battle of Coral Sea, May 11, 1942.  

U.S.S. Silverlake Tinclad Gunboat

USS Silverlake Photo

This tinclad sternwheeler gunboat fought here.  She had a crew complement of 150 men. The boat carried eight 24 -pdr. brass guns. She also participated in action at Florence, Alabama, Palmyra, Tennessee, and the pursuit of Morgan’s raiders on the Ohio River

U.S.S. Fairplay Tinclad Gunboat

USS Fairplay Photo

This tinclad was a Confederate transport captured by the Union Navy at Milliken’s Bend, Louisanna on 18 August 1862.  It was the initial command vessel in the battle of Bell’s Bend for the Navy flotilla.  After the second engagement with the Confederates the tinclad was severely damaged. Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Le Roy Fitch then decided to transfer his flag to the more heavily armored U.S.S. Neosho.

The U.S.S. Moose and U.S.S. Brilliant tin clad was also part of this flotilla, but no know photo exists of her. 

Suggested readings:

#gunboats #nashville #civilwar #usn

Virtual Tour Battlefields

VR Battlefields

Naval Battle of Nashville

Kelley’s Point Map

Google Earth Simulator

Battlefield Simulator