English Imported Gear

[3rdARboy]

I am getting a Isaac & Campbell Knapsack after years of using the bedroll only. I know it is appropriate for my unit(3rd Arkansas) but I was wondering how common they were among the rest of the units of the Confederate armies.

Lane Reeder
Co. E, 3rd Arkansas
Texas Brigade

[Iron Scout]

Blockade Goods

Colleagues,

Several months back there was an interesting discussion on Blockade Running and the like. Bret Sumner posted a most excellent bibliography relating to the topic and discussed the sheer volume of items being imported from England. I had the opportunity yesterday to spend a few hours with one of the resources and thought I'd share just a few tidbits of interesting (and oddball) information. If anyone is interested, I'd highly recommend this particular work:

Confederate Blockade Running Through Bermuda 1861-1865; ed. Frank Vandiver (University of Texas Press, 1947)


The publication centers on the letterbooks of two gentlemen, John Tory Bourne and Major Smith Stansbury. Bourne served as the acting Confederate Commercial Agent in St. George's while Stansbury was the commander of the Confederate Ordnance Depot at the same location. For anyone interested in specific cargo manifests, the Confederate finance system or the blockade in general, this work is a must read.

19 February 1864
Extract of letter to Girard & Gautherin, Paris, discussing the receipt of 21 bales of 'Grey Cloth':

"I have requested the agent for the Navy Department to take it over, making me payment as you requested, which he declined to do, not having any instructions from his department to receive 'Grey Cloth'; your contract which he holds specifies 'Grey Flannel' and 'ready made clothing' for the Navy Department..."
John T. Bourne

**This is the first reference I've ever seen for a French firm holding a contract for ready made clothing.

17 August 1863
To Mr. J. T. Bourne
"Sir,
Please load the steamer Ella and Annie at Mrs. Todd's Wharf with 500 cases Austrian Rifles, 480 boxes Austrian Ammunition, 20 Carboy's Nitric Acid, 10 Carboy's Sulphuric Acid, 10 Carboy's Muriatic Acid, 1 case Gum Shellac, 5 casks Surgical Instruments, 50 cases Saddlery, Emery, 10 kegs horseshoes."
Smith Stansbury, Major

**Another note a little later gives the breakdown for some of the items as:
500 cases rifles=12,000 arms
484 cases ammunition=484,000 rounds

5 September 1863
To Colonel J. Gorgas
"Colonel,
We have on hand-lead, about 150 tons, powder, about 1000 barrels, cases of leather, about 150 cases, Ingot and Sheet Tin, quite a quantity. I have again written to Major Huse to send arms, ammunition, cannon powder, Saltpetre, lead & percussion caps."
Smith Stansbury, Major

14 September 1863
To Captain Richard H. Gayle, Steamer "Cornubia"
"Captain,
Please receive on board: 150 coils rope, 27 bails hammocks, 4 casks, 6 bales cotton shirts, 8 bales white flannel shirts, 4 bales blue cloth overcoats, 5 bales duck trousers, 33 bales duck frocks, 2 boxes combs, 2 cases tin pots."
J.T. Bourne
per Geo. P. Gibson

**This one blew me away with the hammocks, duck trousers and especially the frocks. Of course stuff like this gets one wondering if those were stable frocks or something of the sort.

Anyway, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I've requested copies of the book's cargo manifests which should provide for some interesting reading. Just another example of how successful the CS government was in procurring massive amounts of goods overseas.

Neill Rose
Palmetto Living History Association

[DougCooper]

Re: Blockade Goods

CS Navy issue perhaps?

Colleagues,

14 September 1863
To Captain Richard H. Gayle, Steamer "Cornubia"
"Captain,
Please receive on board: 150 coils rope, 27 bails hammocks, 4 casks, 6 bales cotton shirts, 8 bales white flannel shirts, 4 bales blue cloth overcoats, 5 bales duck trousers, 33 bales duck frocks, 2 boxes combs, 2 cases tin pots."
J.T. Bourne
per Geo. P. Gibson

**This one blew me away with the hammocks, duck trousers and especially the frocks. Of course stuff like this gets one wondering if those were stable frocks or something of the sort.

Anyway, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I've requested copies of the book's cargo manifests which should provide for some interesting reading. Just another example of how successful the CS government was in procurring massive amounts of goods overseas.

Neill Rose
Palmetto Living History Association

[BHoover]

Re: Blockade Goods

There is a small Confederate museum in Bermuda which is well worth a visit if you are ever there. One of the things they have are sketches done by one of the Federal agents stationed there. He drew detailed sketches of every blockade runner that came through Bermuda (several hundred if my memory serves), along with any other information that he could discover about the ships. Apparently this was to be used after the war for legal prosecutions &tc. If anyone is interested it might be worth their while to write to this museum and see what they have.

[Johan Steele]

Re: Blockade Goods

I'm rather certain the museum has a website, I remember doing some research on the blockade and running across it. IIRC a large chunk of the sketches were cataloged on a web site. My old computer went the way of the old AC archive so I don't have the link. I remember seeing quite a list of blockade runners w/ details on "suspected cargo & destination." Certainly be worth the search.

There is a small Confederate museum in Bermuda which is well worth a visit if you are ever there. One of the things they have are sketches done by one of the Federal agents stationed there. He drew detailed sketches of every blockade runner that came through Bermuda (several hundred if my memory serves), along with any other information that he could discover about the ships. Apparently this was to be used after the war for legal prosecutions &tc. If anyone is interested it might be worth their while to write to this museum and see what they have.

[Masked Battery]

Re: Blockade Goods

Those have to be typo's. Why would ducks wear trousers and frocks? :D

[Gallinipper]

Re: Blockade Goods

Why would ducks wear trousers and frocks? :D

Neal, Hard Quackers come again no more?

Rich Croxton

[SCTiger]

Re: Blockade Goods

I started the old Blockade Runner thread "Starvation in a land of plenty" about the Civilian Runners, versus the military blockade runners. Even until the closing days of the war, the CSA civlian runners were importing champagne and fancy women's hats over basic military supplies and food. I believe that Garrison Beall (Vurginyuh) made a comment that a CSA law required every ship to dedicate a portion of their cargo to "military item." I don't have the information handy

Also Stephen Wise wrote a book on this subject:

http://www.sc.edu/uscpress/1993older/9799.html ,

I have it on my "next to read list." Bottom line, just because the item was on a civlian manifest, didn't mean that it made it to the troops. We need a good study of the government/military owned/chartered ships. I would also like to see how much of the captured cargo wound up in the hands of the Union Quartemaster.

[Ken Knopp]

Re: Blockade Goods

Gentlemen,
In the course of research on this subject in preparation for my two books on Confederate saddlery I found several very informative sources for what, when, how and where imports in the the South were made. The book you site is excellent as is a couple of others:

THE SUPPLIES FOR THE CONFEDERATE ARMY, HOW THEY WERE OBTAINED IN EUROPE AND HOW PAID FOR, By Caleb Huse (The C.S. Ordnance Dept's primary purchasing agent)

LIFELINE OF THE CONFEDERACY, BLOCKADE RUNNING DURING THE CIVIL WAR, By Stephen Wise

GUNS FOR COTTON, ENGLAND ARMS THE CONFEDERACY, By Thomas Boaz

The best un-published source for most books is the "Account Book of Capt. John M. Payne, Comprising Imported Ordnance Stores at Wilmington 1863-1865". Eleanor S. Brockenbrough Library, Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Va. This is a very important and detailed record of goods imported at the Ordnance Bureau’s main port of entry. You might be surprised to see what the South did import!

I provide alot of detailed information relative to imports of British saddlery in the South in both of my two books including an overview, some excerpts of blockade running cargos, Blockade Runners, dates, entreports, etc.

Interesting, a friend of mine (I am not at liberty to say whom though a well known author) is in collaboration (with another well known author) for a very comprehensive book on Confederate Foriegn import operations. They have been through all of the major archival sources including those mentioned above, the Bermuda records and the records of the various Prize Courts where "captured" cargoes were auctioned. He tells me they are most enlightening.
One interesting fact is that when cargoes were auctioned the U.S. Navy allowed the captain of the U.S vessal a significant portion of the money as an incentive. Another interesting fact was that the Navy would not allow the U.S. Army any portion of the captured arms or equipment no matter how desperately they were needed in the field. Instead, the army was required to purchase them at auction. In essence, they had to be the highest bidder if they wanted them!
For more information you might want to look over an article I published on the subject at my web site (free).

Thank you!

Ken R. Knopp

https://www.confederatesaddles.com

[Emmanuel Dabney]

Re: Blockade Goods

Chris E. Fonvielle, Jr.'s book The Last Rays of Hope: The Wilmington Campaign published 1997 by Saves Publishing Company has a chapter dedicated in the book called "The Port" (aka Chapter 1). It goes into some blockade running and I just wanted to add a few quotes to this general discussion:

Pg 9: " 'The public freight compared with the private freight was small,' a Confederate officer pointed out."

Pg 13: "Between November 1, 1863, and October 25, 1864, blockade runners brought into the Confederacy 6,200,000 pounds of meat, 1,490,000 pounds of lead, 1,850,000 pounds of saltpeter (a key ingredient in gunpowder), 420,000 pairs of boots and shoes, 292,000 blankets, 408,000 pounds of coffee, 136,832 muskets, rifle-muskets, and carbines, and a large number of other articles. [snip] In a thirty-seven day stretch between October 31 and the first week of December 1864, nineteen steamers ran the blockade into Wilmington. They carried 328 cases of rifle-muskets, tons of ammunition, boots and shoes, blankets, buttons, buckles, cloth, tools, beef, pork, beans, coffee, saltpeter, zinc, iron, tin and other provisions for the government."

Pg 18: "No doubt the 'sham' nature of the blockade prompted North Carolina to invest heavily in the blockade running at Wilmington. According to Governor Vance the state imported 60,000 pairs of cotton handcards, leather for 250,000 shoes, 50,000 blankets, gray woolen cloth for 125,000 uniforms [snip], 12,000 overcoats, 2,000 British Enfield rifle-muskets, 100,000 pounds of bacon, 500 sacks of coffee and $50,000 worth of medicine at gold prices. 'Not only was the supply of shoes, blankets and clothing more than sufficient for the supply of the North Carolina troops,' Vance claimed, 'but large quantities were turned over to the Confederate government for the troops of other states.' According to one estimate blockade running investments at Wilmington in 1864 alone amounted to $66,000,000 in gold and $65,000,000 in cotton exports."

Pg 315: "The Confederate-owned blockade runner Stag, commanded by Lt. Richard H. Gayle of the C.S. Navy, dropped anchor at Smithville [Ed: North Carolina, not Virginia~EKD] about 2:00 a.m. on January 20,[1865] having just made the dangerous three-day journey from Bermuda. Union sailors immediately boarded the ship, which was laden with firearms, blankets an shoes destined for Lee's beleagured army. Half an hour later the British steamer Charlotte, also out of Bermuda, stopped at Smithfield. An elegant champagne dinner in celebration of the successful run was infull swing when Lieutenant Commander Cushing came aboard to inform the astonished captain, Thomas E. Cocker, that the Charlotte had just become the property of the U.S. Navy. [Ed. Comment: Um didn't we fight the War of 1812 over something similiar? LOL! Ah yes, we adore hypocracy!~EKD] Among the Charlotte's passengers were several distinguished British army officers and adventurers who had run the blockade 'on a lark.' They expressed their 'beastly luck' at being captured, but saw no reason for it to spoil their fine meal. Cushing agreed, and joined them as a self-invited guest. Unlike the Stag, the Charlotte's cargo consisted primarily of 'articles for ladies' use...French bonnets, cloaks, shoes, and other feminine bric-a-brac,' prompting Admiral Porter to comment 'that ladies will indulge in their little vanities in spite of war and desolation.'

Just a few other quotes for the discussion...

[RockCityGuard]

Re: Blockade Goods

The Museum is the Bermuda National Trust Museum.

"For 150 years, the house that Governor Samuel Day built in 1700 served as the Globe Hotel, and, until 1995, it housed the Confederate Museum. Opened in July 1996, the Trust Museum exhibits “Rogues and Runners: Bermuda and the American Civil War.” This exhibit tells the story of St. George’s adventures as a port for Confederate blockade runners. Located on Duke of York Street, St. George’s"

Some information I was able to get from a Bermuda Site:

http://www.bermuda-online.org/seetown.htm

It has displays, maps, memorabilia and period furnishings on Bermuda's role, biased towards the Confederates. It angered Union forces. Artifacts and more tell of blockade running and linking Bermuda with the Confederates, thanks to the skills of Britons and Canadians.

When the American Civil War began in 1860, it was not long before Bermuda, with its convenient access to open ocean and its St. George's in particular, became the second-largest, after Nassau, Bahamas, transshipment base for large British-built but not British-approved (because Britain was officially neutral) ships crossing the Atlantic and smaller but faster, also mostly British-built but Confederate-owned fleet of blockade runners. In contemptuous defiance of British neutrality laws or regulations, large ships from the United Kingdom unloaded in St. George's huge cargoes of arms and ammunition, cannon, gunpowder, lead and other tools or weapons, plus huge amounts of smokeless anthracite coal from Wales, into town warehouses, where they were stored until loaded aboard fast steamers bound for Confederate ports.

Confederate purchasing agents and British speculators - English, Scots, Welsh and Irish - rented every available wharf, storehouse and warehouse, often at exorbitant rates, while Bermudians made fortunes from renting or leasing their wharves or warehouses. It turned usually sedate St. George's into an overcrowded, polluted, often lawless and dangerous town, especially with sailors looking for liquor and women.

There were dangers, too.

In October 1864, Bat, length 230', beam 26', draft 7'6", speed 16 knots, her sisters Owl, Stag, and Deer were side-wheelers with long, low, molded steel hulls, schooner-rigged fore and aft, with two funnels. They had twin, 180-nominal hp., vertical, double-oscillating, Watt engines and capacity for 800 to 850 bales of cotton, plus enough anthracite to return from Nassau, Havana or Bermuda. Bat reached Halifax on her maiden voyage and ran down to the Cape Fear River, attempting entrance the night of October 8 1864 with a cargo of shoe machinery and 200 tons of coal; she was turned back by blockaders. On October 10, Captain A. Hora, a blockade runner, tried again and was hit by USS Montgomery. The 30-pounder amputated the leg of seaman Match Madick, an Austrian, who had been captain of the forecastle in the Alabama during her battle with USS Kearsarge. Captain Hora surrendered and called Montgomery's surgeon but Madick died.

Flamingo, length 270', beam 24', draft 7', crew 45, speed 16 knots. She suffered a serious setback in Bermuda, with with her sister, Ptarmigan, while their crews battled yellow fever. She was wrecked off Battery Rutledge on the north side of Charleston harbor.

Greyhound was fast, with red streak along her light lead colored hull. Built in Liverpool in 1863 she left for the Confederacy on January 5, 1864 on her maiden voyage, and ran between there and Bermuda mostly. Commanded by Lt. George Henry Bier, CSN, on 9 May 1864 she ran out of Wilmington NC, with 820 bales of cotton, 35 tons of tobacco and 25 casks of turpentine. Captured next day by USS Connecticut, she became celebrated as the ship that carried a mysterious "Mrs. Lewis", soon recognized as "the famous rebel lady, Miss Belle Boyd.” The prize master, Acting Ensign Samuel Harding, Jr., USN, who took Greyhound to Boston was persuaded by his charming prisoner to let Captain Bier escape from Boston to Canada; for this Harding was dismissed from the US Navy in disgrace, so married Belle Boyd in England.

In January 1865, when Wilmington, North Carolina was captured by Union forces, the fleet of blockade runners based in Nassau and St. George's, Bermuda, vanished - and so did the prosperity that the US Civil War had brought Bermuda by being so hugely on the side of the Confederates. See the story of Bermuda and the American Civil War and a video with great images of the forces which shaped Bermuda, titled Bermuda: Center of the Atlantic.

Lynx was a long, very fast Clyde-built (in Scotland) paddle-steamer with two stacks and two masts, all painted white. She met her end bound for Bermuda, running out of Wilmington NC, under Captain Reid, with 600 bales of cotton, passengers and special cargo, including $50,000 in gold. She was hit eight times, six below the waterline, by the 100-pounder and 30-pounder rifles of much slower USS Howquah, assisted by Niphon and Governor Buckingham. Sinking, with one of her wheels damaged, Lynx was beached about six miles below Fort Fisher. The Confederates all escaped, along with the gold, although Federal sharpshooters got near enough to wound one crew member. The ship's remains were set afire.

Owl, length 230', beam 26', draft 7'6", speed 14-16 knots. She was at Bermuda with cotton. Captain John N. Maffitt, once the Florida captain, collected the latter's survivors in Bermuda. (She was a Confederate cruiser sunk by the Union Navy).

Robert E. Lee, length 283', beam 20', draft 10', speed 13.5 knots. A schooner-rigged, iron-hulled, oscillating-engined paddle-steamer with two stacks originally the Giraffe, built on the Clyde during the autumn of 1862 as a fast Glasgow-Belfast packet. Alexander Collie & Co., Manchester, acquired her for their blockade-running fleet but were persuaded by renowned blockade-runner Lt. John Wilkinson, CSN, to sell her to the Navy Department. Her first voyage, for the Confederate Navy, was into Old Inlet, Wilmington NC, in January 1863 with valuable munitions and 26 Scot lithographers, eagerly awaited by the Government bureau of engraving and printing. She established a legendary reputation by outracing the blockader USS Iroquois. Lt. Richard H. Gayle, CSN, assumed command in May, relieving Lt. John Wilkinson. Robert E. Lee's luck ran out on November 9, 1863, after 21 voyages in 10 months carrying out over 7,000 bales of cotton, returning with munitions invaluable to the Confederacy. She left Bermuda five hours after her consort, Cornubia, only to be run down a few hours later by the USS James Adger.

Stag. Length 230', beam 26', draft 7'6", speed 16 knots. She was a fast, modern, steel paddle-steamer built for the Confederate Navy at Liverpool as Jones, Quiggin & Co.'s Hull No. 169 in 1864 to the order of Cdr. James D. Bulloch, CSN. She sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage in August, getting away from Nassau about 1 September. For the rest of the year, she was busily running out of Charleston and Wilmington to Nassau or Bermuda. She fell into Union hands when she attempted to run into Wilmington in January 1865; Fort Fisher having just fallen, she was trapped by the Union Navy along with the Charlotte.

If you want to go by there or contact them here is the information:

Location: 32 Duke of York Street, St. George's
Phone: (441) 297 1423
Bus Routes: 1, 3, 10, 11
Ferry to St. George’s: Apr-Nov only, yellow route
Hours of Operation: Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm
Admission: Adults $4, Children (6-18 years) $2
Combination Ticket to all three Trust museums $5

[1stMaine]

Re: Blockade Goods

Comrades,

I quote the following from the initial post:
===========================
14 September 1863
To Captain Richard H. Gayle, Steamer "Cornubia"
"Captain,
Please receive on board: 150 coils rope, 27 bails hammocks, 4 casks, 6 bales cotton shirts, 8 bales white flannel shirts, 4 bales blue cloth overcoats, 5 bales duck trousers, 33 bales duck frocks, 2 boxes combs, 2 cases tin pots."
J.T. Bourne
per Geo. P. Gibson

**This one blew me away with the hammocks, duck trousers and especially the frocks. Of course stuff like this gets one wondering if those were stable frocks or something of the sort.
=============================

I would that the majority, if not all of the above manifest was destined for the CS Navy. The Navy upper garment during this period is universally referred to as a "frock" and both the US and CS Navvy produced a summer garment in duck, with blue collar and cuffs. Now, one interesting point is that these are ready-made garments, which is a bit unusual, in that traditionally a sailor was required to produce/sew his own garments. A recruit was processed through a receiving ship (normally an old hulk demasted and roofed over, and anchored in a fixed spot as a floating classroom). Shortly after arrival he was issued cloth and thread and told to make up his clothing. This provided a good source of revenue for those handy with a needle. Still, the Federal Navy started issuing ready-made clothing due to the sheer volume of recruits being brought in after the war began.
Anyway, those 4 bales of "blue cloth overcoats" could very well be pea coats for sailors. Despite the CS Navy's ordinance about grey clothing for sailors, there was much resistance, blue being the universal color for Naval clothing, and images of CS sailors show a marked use of blue clothing, especially British Navy pattern frocks, identifiable by a distinctive white border on the frock collar.
respects,

[VMI88]

Re: Blockade Goods

Colleagues,

14 September 1863
To Captain Richard H. Gayle, Steamer "Cornubia"
"Captain,
Please receive on board: 150 coils rope, 27 bails hammocks, 4 casks, 6 bales cotton shirts, 8 bales white flannel shirts, 4 bales blue cloth overcoats, 5 bales duck trousers, 33 bales duck frocks, 2 boxes combs, 2 cases tin pots."
J.T. Bourne
per Geo. P. Gibson

**This one blew me away with the hammocks, duck trousers and especially the frocks. Of course stuff like this gets one wondering if those were stable frocks or something of the sort.

I believe the duck frocks and trousers would be CS Navy uniforms, what we today call the "crackerjack" uniform.

[Busterbuttonboy]

complete import package?

Howdy All
I recently spoke with a very knowledgable comrade concerning english accoutrements. It was mentioned that they may have been issued as complete kits. Ive done alot of searching, reading, and asking concerning this but have come up with little yet. So, if your impression calls for the use of english items how complete or incomplete should the accoutrments be? IE- Cartridge box, Cap pouch, Knapsack, cateen, belt? I have read accounts of obvisouly droping knapsacks in general, but also english boxes as they were inconveinent to access as well as the sling mounted cap pouches. Comments? Documents? Suggestions?
Most Respectfully
Drew Gruber
14thNJVI

[1stMaine]

Re: complete import package?

Comrade,

Are you speaking of federal or CS use of English accouterments? Massachusetts imported 10,000 sets of English pattern accouterments, but only 2 regiments received complete sets. It is worth noting that no knapsacks were imported by that state, and that those cartridge boxes imported were of the pattern where the cap box was sewn directly to the cartridge box body, towards the wearer's front, and under the flap. Massachusetts paid a contractor to remove the cap boxes and alter them to be worn in the normal fashion, upon the waistbelt. The other sets of accouterments were issued in partial sets, some with American pattern bayonet scabbards where Springfields were issued, and others with English pattern scabbards where Enfields were issued. Some had snake buckle belts with American boxes, etc. Maine also purchased 1,000 sets, but to whom they were issued is as yet unknown.
As to CS usage, it should be pointed oput that although the sling-worn cap box was known, it's use had in many cases been discontinued by the British army, and a belt-worn cap box being introduced. many of these newer cap boxes were imported to the south, along with snake buckle belts, and cartridge boxes of various styles. The boxes also had various arrangements of tins, depending upon whom the box was intended to be issued. Sergeant's pattern boxes had a series of evenly spaced compartments designed to hold English-pattern cartridge bundles, whereas the rank and file and compartments designed to hold loose rounds and packets.
Additionally, there are id'd examples of "expense pouches" being issued in place of cap boxes for both US and CS. The expense pouch was designed to hold 10 rounds of ammunition, loose, where the cap box was normally worn, and these rounds would be used first, then replaced by a packet of 10 as required. This pouch was isued with the idea that the cap box would be worn on the sling, but as I said, these were being phased out, and so these expense pouches were in many cases surplus, and thus available for sale to other markets.
Anyway, both types of accouterments could be issued in brown or black, depending upon which British corp they were designed for. It's possible that some white buff items were sold and issued over here, but with the move towards blackened accouterments in America, most of these likely were blackened to fit in. The use of white buff slings with English pattern accouterments, should, in my opinion, be only used where documented eveidence is available, and specific to the unit being recreated. This, of course, could and should exclude officer's pattern equipments, which, of course, would have been privately purchased in most cases.
Anyway, that's my long 2-cent's worth on the subject.
respects,