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45 richmond, the “aye, ayes,” and sayler’s creek March–april 1865 The Wilmington and savannah sailors reached richmond just before midnight on february 27. They formed up at the car shed and marched two miles through the city. When it started to rain the column halted. The officers sought shelter, leaving the men in formation in the rain. They stood it for half an hour, then broke ranks to find someplace dry. That brought the officers running. They took the men to a shed, where they spent the night and most of the next day. in late afternoon they boarded a steamer for Drewry’s Bluff. it would be their new home. “This is a very fine place with plenty of comfortable houses,” seaman Watson said. “our mess was fortunate enough to get a house to ourselves.” now they began to draw adequate rations. But all their supplies—provisions, water, clothing— had to be hauled from boats on the river a hundred feet up the bluff. it made provisioning a chore.1 commodore Tucker’s charleston and savannah contingent of sailors was divided between Drewry’s Bluff and Battery Brooke, down the James at the southern end of Kingsland reach. There were more sailors than guns to man and many now drilled exclusively as infantry—and began to worry that they would be transferred to the army. “if so,” Watson said, “i won’t serve under our present officers.” some of the naval officers received army commissions. lieutenant foute was now a major. But Tucker rejected an offer of a general’s rank. he was “flag officer ashore.”2 The savannah squadron’s officers found a number of their own already in richmond . Marine captain George holmes had been at Drewry’s Bluff since July of 1862.3 J. W. alexander commanded the Beaufort (fanny was the ship’s dog). William Webb had briefly captained the ironclad Richmond then vanished on a richmond, the “aye, ayes,” and sayler’s creek / 411 secret mission to england. John Kell had the Richmond now, with Atlanta veterans a. D. Wharton and James Peters aboard. new arrival hamilton Dalton was appointed the ironclad’s first luff, while George arledge was posted to the Fredericksburg (he temporarily commanded the Beaufort when alexander was ill), rejoining alphonse Barbot and Thomas Wragg. Paul Jones, having lost the ironclad Raleigh to a grounding after a sortie against the blockaders off Wilmington, now commanded the Torpedo. lieutenant Æneas armstrong (transferred before savannah’s fall to Wilmington, then to richmond) had drowned in late January after his torpedo boat Hornet collided with a steamer.4 Willie McBlair was in the naval hospital. he and Atlanta veterans James Thurston , J. a. G. Williamson, and James Peters had joined a raiding party under savez read. The plan had been to march overland with a hundred sailors and several spar torpedoes, get below Grant’s city Point supply base, capture a few tugs, and launch a torpedo attack. But five cold days into the expedition the plan was betrayed . read’s men were saved by a warning from an escaped rebel prisoner, and the overland assault turned into an escape adventure in theTidewater woods. read saved his command, but the days and nights of exposure landed many of the men in the hospital.5 The savannah sailors heard that the James river in winter was as sickly as the savannah had been in the summer. The midshipmen at the naval school and some of the ironclads’ crews were billeted ashore in tobacco warehouses, as duty on the river provoked widespread sickness. executive officers often had command of ships while their captains were sick and convalescing. at times oscar Johnston had captained the flagship Virginia while still acting as commandant of the naval academy.6 soon after Tucker’s arrival Paul Jones got orders to take a large sum of money and two pilots (one for the James river and one for the york) and go to Bermuda and find John Maffitt, now commanding the blockader runner Owl. With Maffitt’s help Jones was to buy two ships and supplies for lee’s army and run the blockade into the chesapeake, taking one of the vessels up each river. Jones and the pilots headed west. With all the country’s atlantic ports gone, they were to get out through Texas.7 admiral raphael semmes now commanded the James river squadron. his ships’ crews were dispirited and demoralized. Most were transfers from the army...

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