The Best Station of Them All: The Savannah Squadron, 1861-1865

18. The Lull

18 The lull april–July 1862 new orleans, april 1862 new orleans, where the brothers Tift were building their ironclad, was under siege. Down the Mississippi, David farragut’s and David Dixon Porter’s squadrons were pounding forts Jackson and st. Philip. captain William B. robertson, commanding fort Jackson’s water battery, described the bombardment at night: “The mortar shells shot upward from the mortar-boats, rushed to the apexes of their flight, flashing the lights of their fuses as they revolved, paused an instant, then descended upon our works like hundreds of meteors, or burst in mid air, hurling their jagged fragments in every direction.” They fired night and day for four days, giving the confederates no respite.1 The government had sent everything north, stripping the region of troops, weapons , and munitions, all gone to virginia and Tennessee.2 if new orleans were to have a savior, it must be the Tifts’ magnificent Mississippi. everyone was sure she would be the most powerful vessel afloat—if they just had time to finish her. That was a race the Tifts were losing. The ironclad’s guns had been dumped off a train somewhere between richmond and new orleans to make room for army traffic. Most of her armor was still in atlanta. local authorities had insisted the brothers launch the vessel prematurely, making installation of propellers and shafts more time consuming. in case the aggressors subdued the forts and took the city, the Tifts made arrangements to have steamers tow the Mississippi upriver to safety. But when farragut ’s warships dashed past the forts, panic spread on the river, and the Mississippi’s expected saviors all fled, saving their own boats—their investments, their fami- lull / 137 lies’ means of support—from destruction or confiscation by the yankees. none of them stopped to help save the confederacy’s greatest warship—they just skedaddled . nelson Tift torched the Mississippi and wept as he watched her drift away in flames. finally, he and asa boarded the steamer Peytona and escaped to vicksburg , leaving behind a city frightened, humiliated, and angry. People blamed General Mansfield lovell for leaving the area defenseless. and they blamed the Tifts for burning the Mississippi. new orleans’s provost marshal, Pierre soulé, telegraphed authorities upriver to be on the lookout for the two, and to arrest them for treason.3 The confederacy was stunned by the news of new orleans’s fall. savannah’s Midshipman Wilson wrote: “if this is so, it is the gravest misfortune that has happened to us yet. . . . Gen. lovell should be shot for a coward.” in keeping with the mood, savannah’s weather turned cold and drizzled rain for two days.4 When the Tift brothers left the Peytona at vicksburg, they were arrested. an angry mob gathered, threatening hanging. Paymaster felix senac stepped forward and confronted the mob and saved the builders’ lives. But even with the testimony of senac, captain William c. Whittle, and commander arthur sinclair (who would have captained the Mississippi), the Tifts remained incarcerated until Governor John Jones Pettus reviewed their case and set them free.5 once out of jail, they returned to albany, Georgia, and a heroes’ welcome in 13. nelson Tift. (still, The Confederate Navy.) 138 / chapter 18 the city nelson had founded. friends gathered to hear the brothers’ tale and issued a resolution, picked up by savannah’s Morning News, praising their patriotism .6 it helped soothe their feelings, and the brothers shrugged off the vicksburg incident and again offered their services to their old Key West acquaintance stephen Mallory. Mallory told them a project awaited at savannah: the conversion of the merchant steamer Fingal into an ironclad that could break the blockade and reopen the stagnating city to the flow of world trade. Their Fingal contract reprised their new orleans agreement. They would do the job without compensation, the navy paying only construction costs and expenses. and as at new orleans, the ironclad was their project; interference from naval officers would not be tolerated. let the navy Department pay the bills, and let the brothers do their job without hindrance .7 on May 7 lieutenant George sinclair relinquished command of the Fingal. he would soon be on a blockade runner, bound for europe. The General Lee towed the Fingal up the river to Purrysburg, south carolina, thirty miles above savannah.8 That same day the federals sent a flag of...