Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1963)
3 . ' IMP I I HfeHHMBiril I BEmTQBamm- THIS SWAS THE PTT7TT TTrrni WJ. V 111 VVAXL UNION NAVY REPULSED In April of 1863, the Union Navy decided to capture the Confederate port of Charleston, S.C. The decision was made partly because of Charleston's symbolic status, partly because it was a haven for blockade runners and partly because the North now had a fleet of new iron-clad fighting ships. The attack failed, and after inspecting the damage inflicted on his fleet by Confederate guns, Adm. Samuel DuPont decided not to re new the attack. Union Navy guns reduced Fort Sumter to a pile of rubble, but Charles ton was to remain in Confederate hands until early 1865. This drawing from the Library of Congress collection shows the bombardment of the city. (UPI) Union Repulsed at Charleston By MERTON T. AKERS UPI Correspondent To Norlherncrs, Charleston, S.C.i was "the nursery of disunion." when the Confederates fired I "d ,a confidential clerk in the on Fort Sumptcr on April 12, 1 Richmond government, wrote iBfii ihat ii. ,ilnn,;1(1 nai. later. But the very inctfic- i essential supplies, the result of the first year's blockade might largely have nullified its effect for the last three," i Thomas C. DeLeon, a protege of President Jefferson Davis iency of the blockade at xhe outset lulled the South into false security. Enterprise Misjudged "The South misjudged-un-til error had proved fatal -the enterprise and grft of Yan kee character. So gradual were appreciable results of this naval growth, so nearly imperceptible was the actual closing of southern ports, that fiixi hf the masses ol the people real- laughed it ; izcd n0 rca evil until it had accompnsnea of the Civil War started Charleston ranked second only to Richmond as a symool of the Confederacy and sec ond only to the capital as a prime target to be hit. In addition to its symbolic value Charleston also was a rich port for blockade runn ing. By early 18U3 the Federal blockade was strangling thJ Confederacy. At Southerners had off. They said it never could I Ions been be enforced along the vast At- ! acl- lan tic and Gulf coasts, so cut J Partly because of Charles up with streams, small har- ton's symbolic status, partly bora and inlets. j because it was a haven for "This reasoning had good j blockade runners and partly basis at first and, had the because the North now had a South made prompt and effic ient use of opportunity and resources at hand, by placing Credits abroad and running in 1 new fleet of iron-clad fighting ships, the U.S. Navy decided in April 1863 to try to capture the port. "A good place to eat." f RESTAURANT We are a friend of the family ... do dine with us! I The man who comes to din ner . . . with his family is given royal treatment here. Relax with the family over our fine meals. We feature children-size portions of our savory food. You'll find a menu with a wide range of choice. Daily Open 6 a.m Social Hours Nightly 5 to 7 510 N. Riverside Admiral Samuel F. DuPont. commanding the South Atlan tic blockading squadron, had assembled a formidable fleet of ironclads. He had seven monitors, Improved versions of John Ericsson's original ship which had fought the Confederate iron-clad Merri mack to a standstill in Hamu ton Roads more than a year before. The Admiral had been im pressed with the ability of the new monitors to take punish ment when the Montauk de stroyed the C.S.S. Nashville in the Ogeechec River south of Savannah, Ca., while under fire from Fort McAllister. The new monitors carried two guns-a 15-incher and an 11-mchcr. The fleet left its anchorage at 1:15 p.m. April 7, 1863 and started up the main ship chan nel to the Charleston harbor. Fort Sumter was its chief tar get, the fori which had with stood a day and night of bombardment in '61 before surrendering to the South Carolinians, commanded then and now by Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard. Pushed Big Haft Four monitors led the line ot ships, the Weehawken in front, then the Passaic, the Montauk and the Patapseo. The Weehawken pushed a big raft ahead to guard against mines. Then came the flagship. New Ironsides, with DuPont aboard. It was a powerful but unwieldy iron-clad ship, carry ing 14 11-inch guns, 2 150 pound Parrotls and 2 50 pound Dahlgrcns. Next came the monitors Catskill, Nantucket and Na hant. The Keokuk, a double-tur-re ted "turtleback," brought up the rear. . "The day . . , was very beautiful; there was little wind and the sea was smooth." Cmdr. C. R. P. Rodgers, Du Pont's chief of staff, wrote later. But the going was rough for the Federal fleet. The first shot was fired at 3 p.m. from Fort Moultrie, on the east shore of the har bor. Fort Sumter at the mouth ol the harbor then I went into action along with Battery Wagner on the south and the others around the area within range. The Weehawken hit ob structions the Confederates had placed in the channel and slopped. That threw the line of ships into confusion. The New Ironsides', a deep-draft ship found itself with only a foot of water under it and was forced to toss out an anchor so the tide would swing it back into the deeper part of the channel. As it floated back into the channel, it came directly over a Confederate mine. On shore the gunner charged with set ling off the mine electrt -!!y frantically tried to explode it, But an ordnance wagon had run over the wires on the beach and he was unable to set off the mine. Fire and Hell W li e n the Confederate guns . . . were turned upon the ironclads, the sight was one that no one who witness ed it will ever forget:" Rodg ors wrote, "sublime, infernal, it seemed as if the fires of hell were turned on the Union fleet. "The air seemed full of heavy shot, and as they flew they could be seen as plainly as a baseball in one of our games. "On board the Ironsides, the sense of security the iron walls gave those within was wonderful - a feeling akin lo that which one experiences in a heavy storm when the wind and hail beat harmlessly I against the w indows of a well ! protected house. "This, however, was not equally felt in the monitors; j for in their lurrels the nuts 1 that secured their laminated plates flew wildly, to the in jury and discomfiture of the men at the guns, while the I solid plates of Ihc Ironsides gave no such trouble: and al I though she was reported to have been struck ninety-five times, she was uninjured ex . cept by the loss of a port I shutter and the piercing of her unarmored ends." The forward Union moni tors penetrated to about 1,400 yards of Sumter but short of the point DuPont had desig nated as the best position to attack. There they traded shots with the fori. The Keokuk steamed up and joined in the fight. She advanced to a point about 900 yards from the fort and was hit many times. About 5 p.m. DuPont sig naled his fleet to retire. "We will renew (the fight) early in the morning." he told his chief of staff. That night DuPont survey ed the damage. He found that: The Keokuk had been hit 90 times. (It sank the next morning.) Hit 53 Timet The Weehawken had been hit 53 times and was leaking; the Passaic 35 times; the Mon tauk 14 times without mate rial damage; the Patapseo 47 times: the Catskill 20 times; the Nantucket 51 times; the Nahant 36 times and badly mauled. The Ironsides had fired only one broadside and was unin jured. DuPont decided the next morning not to renew the ac tion. "We have met with a sad repulse; I shall not turn it into a great disaster." Although Navy guns later shot Sumter into a pile of rubble, Charleston was not taken until it was flanked on the land side by Gen. William T. Sherman early in 1865. Lectures Continue Throughout Week "It is Written" lectures are continuing three nights week ly in the American Legion hall in Central Point, accord ing to Duane Corwin, lectur er. "David, a Young Hero," will be shown Monday night and the lecture subject will be. "The Mark of Two Fam ilies." On Tuesday night the topic will be "Baptized Embezzl ers," and the film shown. "David, King of Israel." The same schedule will be followed in the grade school gymnasium in Shady Cove on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. SECTION B Medford PAGES I to lft Tribune MEDFORD. OREGON. MONDAY, APRIL 8. 1963 Hospital Escapee Cornered In Texas Nacogdoches, Tex. - HOT -Bloodhounds and a National Guard tank Saturday flushed out a criminally insane man holed up in the East Texas Piney Woods with five rifles and shotguns. The man, Ellis Whittaker, 49, broke out of the state hospital for the criminally in sane al Rusk, Tex., a week ago. FREE CHICKS! "Chick Day," Wed., April 10th Wt have secured, throuefi Trienele MiHiitf Ce., even! theuiaiM' Chicks. 10 'Ml CHICKS will liven te each 4uk customer whe cemti ill WIDNISDAY. APRIL totfc. TRIANOU Chick Starter for Bet - MW Result. Centiliter jr - " lentyof XFflR StCt& Customer JdgT a&SpCl, l0CATKN: arkino 4th A Kf This is a rocket. Color it orange. Then blast off for U. S. National where savings deposited by April 10th earn interest from April 1st. little ,000160 BOOSTERS FRESH GROUND HOURLY Ground Beef 3;s1 LAMB SALE Tender Yearling LEG OF LAMB 49c LAMB ROAST Shoulder Cuts lb. 39c sjfc LAMB STEW ,.... ... iw LAMB SHANKS ... 29c LAMB CHOPS Lom 89c LAMB STEW Nlck, ,.. 19c w1 H WKfOtl STORE HOURS 9 a.m. 9 p.m. FREE PARKING Phone 772-717S Wo Reerve the Right Te limit Quant itlea PICHIC STYLE PORK ROAST lb. 25' AA Large Eggs Detergent FRESH 4 Dox. Limit 279 JORGENSEN'S FIESTA-ALL FLAVORS ICE CREAM WHITE KING LOW SUDS Pear Nectar Mission-B-oi. tin, limit 10 Only each STANDBY QUALITY LIMIT 2 JARS tAWf mmm Atir Instant Coffee 3 WOrr cocktail STANDBY LIMIT 3 Pineapple-Gr'frt Drink r 19 Dog Food,, : 10 ,.,49 Reg. Size Limited Supply 9 pkg. oai. 99' 3 lioo IVj TIN rot BIG Y BRAND SALAD DRESSING an. jar 49' MR 6 Vi TIN V FOR " SHUR-FRESH VAl-VITA WHOLE NEW POTATOES COTTAGE BRAND CREAMY 300 TIN 70 ro 99' Cottage Cheese 29c peanut butter 3-11. JAR 98' ASPARAGUS A9 Large Size mm Sno White-Cello Jf r CauliTlowerwepped Hd 25c Ca t rots no t.p. 3 25 c 59c Potatoes Orange Juice No. 2 20-lb. Beg SnoBoy Ot. Floride. Jar 49 1 r2rl 111 IU LIZ. aVBaVV ft . R A K r H Y cveryt mnf oeneo mm Rijht in the Store . . . Not Frost! Daily . . . Fresh Hourly ALL VARIITItS CUP CAKES a., 49c CHOCOLATI ICID ANGEL FOOD CAKES 97c STONE GROUND WHOLE WHEAT BREAD .u 29 8tTfW1it)WiS 6te 29c FILLED WITH JELLY DONUTS e49e
