Blockade runner picture

[Ptarmigan]

The photo below is supposed to be a picture taken in New York around 1865 of the ex blockade runner Bat. Looking at this vessel I will agree that she has many features that would make her appear to be a Jones Quiggin design, the stern shape, the rounded guard in front of the paddle box , the positioning of the funnels and the pilot house all seem to point this way.
The vessel could be one of several Quiggin's runners that survived the war but we can eliminate some of these due to the fact that we know what the paddle box patterns of Chicora, Bat, Stag, Hope, Secret, Dream and Lucy looked like and the ones on this vessel are very different. This leaves us with Georgia Belle and Abigail which were 250 feet long, Banshee 214 feet long , Fox 219 feet long and the Deer, later called Palmyra 230 feet long .
It is difficult to scale from photographs due to printing distortion but in this case we are fortunate that the vessel moored alongside can be identified as the Fahkee which we know was 162 feet long. By scaling the pair of ships and making a few millimetres allowance for the Fahkee being further away you can come to the conclusion that this vessel was close to 250 feet long
I drew in the imagined position of the runners bow then measured the waterline lengths of each ship in the picture and got 335mm for the runner and 220mm for Fahkee. By dividing these by the length in feet we can scale the picture, however only the 250 foot length was relevant .
Fahkee 220mm / 163 feet = 1.349 mm per foot
Runner 335mm / 250 feet = 1.34 mm per foot
From this we can deduce that the runner was probably 250 feet long so the only candidate is the Georgia Belle.
According to Wise the Georgia Belle cleared Liverpool in December 1864 but never ran the blockade. She made it as far as Nassau but by the time she was made ready Fort Fisher had already fallen. Although we know that she was on the American side of the Atlantic in 1865, Robert Thorp states that Georgia Belle was one of several ships that returned to Liverpool in that year, she was later sold to Argentina. This is strange as it was common practice to sell ships that were on station from one of the North American ports rather than have her return home as happened in the cases of Falcon and Flamingo, both of which were sold to Argentina. Abigail can be ruled out as she never made it to Nassau, she was only completed after the war had ended and went to Brazil.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

The photo below is supposed to be a picture taken in New York around 1865 of the ex blockade runner Bat.

I'm not a photographic expert by any means.

But to me, this appears to be a photo of a very well done miniature diorama.

 

[Chalmers' Division]

The photo below is supposed to be a picture taken in New York around 1865 of the ex blockade runner Bat. Looking at this vessel I will agree that she has many features that would make her appear to be a Jones Quiggin design, the stern shape, the rounded guard in front of the paddle box , the positioning of the funnels and the pilot house all seem to point this way.
The vessel could be one of several Quiggin's runners that survived the war but we can eliminate some of these due to the fact that we know what the paddle box patterns of Chicora, Bat, Stag, Hope, Secret, Dream and Lucy looked like and the ones on this vessel are very different. This leaves us with Georgia Belle and Abigail which were 250 feet long, Banshee 214 feet long , Fox 219 feet long and the Deer, later called Palmyra 230 feet long .
It is difficult to scale from photographs due to printing distortion but in this case we are fortunate that the vessel moored alongside can be identified as the Fahkee which we know was 162 feet long. By scaling the pair of ships and making a few millimetres allowance for the Fahkee being further away you can come to the conclusion that this vessel was close to 250 feet long
I drew in the imagined position of the runners bow then measured the waterline lengths of each ship in the picture and got 335mm for the runner and 220mm for Fahkee. By dividing these by the length in feet we can scale the picture, however only the 250 foot length was relevant .
Fahkee 220mm / 163 feet = 1.349 mm per foot
Runner 335mm / 250 feet = 1.34 mm per foot
From this we can deduce that the runner was probably 250 feet long so the only candidate is the Georgia Belle.
According to Wise the Georgia Belle cleared Liverpool in December 1864 but never ran the blockade. She made it as far as Nassau but by the time she was made ready Fort Fisher had already fallen. Although we know that she was on the American side of the Atlantic in 1865, Robert Thorp states that Georgia Belle was one of several ships that returned to Liverpool in that year, she was later sold to Argentina. This is strange as it was common practice to sell ships that were on station from one of the North American ports rather than have her return home as happened in the cases of Falcon and Flamingo, both of which were sold to Argentina. Abigail can be ruled out as she never made it to Nassau, she was only completed after the war had ended and went to Brazil.
View attachment 413764

Is the bow facing the opposite direction on the ship right beside it? Starboard sides are facing each other? Paddle wheel prevent this?

 

[rebelatsea]

That background looks more like the the Albert Dock in Liverpool.

 

[Ptarmigan]

That background looks more like the the Albert Dock in Liverpool.

It does look a bit like the Albert Dock Rebel, but then these buildings are very similar anyway . The Albert dock has arches along the quay however. The signage on the warehouse says C B Lockwood Elevator A & B and C B L & Co. It might be New York or Trenton NJ

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Can anyone read the logo on the building in the right background? It looks to me like

MASTERS
BL[xx]NTOS

I'm pretty certain about MASTERS but I don't know what to do about the second line. There also appears to be a third line that is completely illegible in this image. A logo also appears in the left background, but I can't make anything of it due to the grain.

A slightly different image of this same photo appears in the 2001 edition of Paul H. Silverstone's Civil War Navies, 1855-1883 (Naval Institute Press) on page 48; slightly more of the bow of the Bat (referred to as Teazer in her postwar career) is visible. The image is credited to the Peabody Essex Museum.

(The fact of its being published in Silverstone is not itself evidence of it being a genuine photo. Silverstone attempted to include as many actual photographs as possible but did have artistic images in some cases where there was no photo available.)

 

[John F Messner]

The story of the Georgia Belle was that indeed tried to leave Liverpool in late 1864 but was forced back to port after a mechanical failure. There is sat until March 1867 (during 1865 and 1866 it was advertised for sale in Liverpool newspapers but found no takers) when it sailed for the River Plate, hence to be sold on. James Alexander Duguid was the captain as it left the Mersey, but left command after the steamer made Queenstown, Ireland. At that point Joannes Wyllie took command and sailed the steamer to Montevideo where Wyllie helped in the sale of the vessel. The crew list and log book survive and details from this voyage were taken from those sources. This story, and Wyllie's role with his previous runner Ad-Vance, can be found in my book on Wyllie's life.

 

[Ptarmigan]

Wise states that "she cleared Liverpool in December 1864 and never ran the blockade". Robert Thorp in his book "Mersey Built" states that " Of the 26 (runners nearing completion) Dream, Secret and Georgia Belle were finished on time but only made it as far as Nassau, arriving too late to run the blockade." He goes on to say that at sometime in 1865 she returned to Liverpool with several other runners. Your book states that "the Georgia Belle was loading for Nassau (while in Liverpool) and ready to make the long Journey across the Atlantic". Now this is unusual as blockaders normally loaded in Nassau itself for a run into Southern ports not in Liverpool. Due to the negligible buoyancy of these fast but frail craft they would never be run across the Atlantic while loaded as that was the job of the larger supply ships. The aborted trip to the River Plate your book describes was made in March 1867 a couple of years after she had returned to Liverpool from across the Atlantic and the description of this journey illustrates why it is unwise to run a loaded blockade runner across the Atlantic even in the spring months. I enjoyed your book by the way, well done.

 

[John F Messner]

Thanks for the kind words on the book and thanks for reading.

The Georgia Belle was listed as being loaded for Nassau in December 18644, but am sure was not being loaded with cargo, but the necessary coal for the long Atlantic trip. The sources I have found, from Lloyd's to Liverpool papers, all indicated the steamer never left the Mersey until the March 1867 trip to South America. There is a report in the Liverpool Daily Post on 11 April 1865 from the Liverpool Assize Court for the case of 'Alleged Defective Construction of a Blockade Runner' regarding the Georgia Belle which goes into some detail about the defective operation of boilers and engines and has the steamer not leaving for Nassau. Soon after it was up for sale and then the long delay until 1867. If it was not ready for sea in 1865...then 1867 might have been worse. Many of the crew deserted the ship while in Queenstown, which makes me think they thought the exact same thing!

 

[Ptarmigan]

The whole thing is becoming tenuous as some sources imply she was on the other side of the Atlantic while others do not . My contention hangs on two points. A/ the runner shown in the picture is a Quiggin's vessel B/ she is 250 feet long assuming that is the Fahkee alongside her. That being said, what vessel could she be other than Georgia Belle. If anyone thinks that either Points A/ and B/ are invalid then it lends credence to your claims that she didn't leave Liverpool. I would however be very interested in seeing the assize court report if you can paste a copy here. Most people think that all blockade runners are alike as they only see two funnels and a set of paddle wheels they do not look for details like the paddle box designs, the subtle difference in the bow and stern shapes or the positioning of the pilothouse, types of boilers etc. Everything about that picture screams Quiggin's apart from the paddle box design which whispers G & J Thompson but the pattern isn't quite right as there are too many tear drop holes in it for Thompson. I will go back and look at all other 250 foot vessels but I am not hopeful. Of course the other possibility is that, being a short range vessel she would need to voyage via coaling stations and Argentina would be a too long a trip taken directly so she might have called in at Queenstown, Tenerife, Bermuda or Nassau then down the South American coastline to La Plata . If she had engine issues on route then the nearest shipyard could have been New York or Halifax so who knows. If that was the case then a lot of other suitable ex runners could have made that trip to Argentina , Brazil or Uruguay.

 

[Ptarmigan]

Can anyone read the logo on the building in the right background? It looks to me like

MASTERS
BL[xx]NTOS

I'm pretty certain about MASTERS but I don't know what to do about the second line. There also appears to be a third line that is completely illegible in this image. A logo also appears in the left background, but I can't make anything of it due to the grain.

A slightly different image of this same photo appears in the 2001 edition of Paul H. Silverstone's Civil War Navies, 1855-1883 (Naval Institute Press) on page 48; slightly more of the bow of the Bat (referred to as Teazer in her postwar career) is visible. The image is credited to the Peabody Essex Museum.

(The fact of its being published in Silverstone is not itself evidence of it being a genuine photo. Silverstone attempted to include as many actual photographs as possible but did have artistic images in some cases where there was no photo available.)

In a better copy of the picture I can read " Master elevator (A & B) C.B. Lockwood & Co " Also "CBL & Co" . All I get on Google is the sinking of a Great Lakes cargo ship of the same name and lots of links to Trenton NJ, Perhaps a visit to a New York or Trenton 1860 Directory would be useful but I cant get into them.

 

[John F Messner]

The whole thing is becoming tenuous as some sources imply she was on the other side of the Atlantic while others do not . My contention hangs on two points. A/ the runner shown in the picture is a Quiggin's vessel B/ she is 250 feet long assuming that is the Fahkee alongside her. That being said, what vessel could she be other than Georgia Belle. If anyone thinks that either Points A/ and B/ are invalid then it lends credence to your claims that she didn't leave Liverpool. I would however be very interested in seeing the assize court report if you can paste a copy here. Most people think that all blockade runners are alike as they only see two funnels and a set of paddle wheels they do not look for details like the paddle box designs, the subtle difference in the bow and stern shapes or the positioning of the pilothouse, types of boilers etc. Everything about that picture screams Quiggin's apart from the paddle box design which whispers G & J Thompson but the pattern isn't quite right as there are too many tear drop holes in it for Thompson. I will go back and look at all other 250 foot vessels but I am not hopeful. Of course the other possibility is that, being a short range vessel she would need to voyage via coaling stations and Argentina would be a too long a trip taken directly so she might have called in at Queenstown, Tenerife, Bermuda or Nassau then down the South American coastline to La Plata . If she had engine issues on route then the nearest shipyard could have been New York or Halifax so who knows. If that was the case then a lot of other suitable ex runners could have made that trip to Argentina , Brazil or Uruguay.

Ive posted the Assize report in a Powerpoint document and converted to pdf. It's how I collect old newspaper reports from the British Library site.

There seems to be some misreporting on date of leaving Liverpool and just exactly where steamer was heading from/for.

Early in the report the date given of leaving Liverpool, January 17 1865, seems to be in error as the known date for its clearing Liverpool for this voyage was 17 December 1864. Within the description of this trip there is a mention of heading 'from Nassau' which I think this is a error and should read 'for'. I have boxed this in red with detail is transparent red.

The two witness statements (boxed in blue) seem to make clear the Belle left Liverpool on 17 December, but had to return due to faults in boilers. There a survey was made and repairs effected and a third trial run was attempted 19 January to Holyhead where issues persisted.

Given the witness statements about date of surveys and third sea trial on 19th, i do not think it possible to have made it all the way to Nassau in winter, then all the way back to Liverpool, especially with faulty machinery.

Please do have a read and let me know your thoughts. I think I am reading it right. Very happy to discuss this.

Wyllie was involved with three runners that did the S America trip, all in different ways as you described. I had never made that connection in my head before this discussion. The Susan Beirne made it to Nassau, never ran, then made the Caribbean hop down to the Plate. Stag (aka Kate Gregg) made it back to Liverpool, then to the Plate, and the Georgia Belle ( by my reckoning) never left British waters until its run down to the Plate in Spring 1867, stopping at Cape Verde and Bahia on route to re fuel (noted in newspapers and log book).

 

[Ptarmigan]

The familiar picture in the centre of this trio was taken in Brooklyn NY and has long been identified as the Jones Quiggins built blockade runner Bat later known as Teazer & Miramichi . After extensive research I established that the vessel in the picture could not possibly be the Bat as her paddle box design was different to the makers pattern on Miranichi photographed in Charlottetown in 1890.

I searched for an alternative and came up with Wando as she matched the photo very closely. Here are three pictures of the blockade runner "Wando" built by Kirkpatrick McIntyre at Port of Glasgow in 1864. She was purchased by Henry Lafone acting as an agent for the Confederate States . She ran the blockade into Wilmington and in July 1964 was renamed "Let Her Rip" before she made a second successful run but was captured on the return leg by USS FORT JACKSON on the 21st of October 1864. She was bought in a prize court and was taken into Federal service as a blockader USS Wando then served in a commercial capacity at the wars end .

The three pictures below are made of the same vessel, the top one is a pre war Painting of Wando by marine artist Donald McFarlane, the middle is a photograph taken of Wando in Brooklyn either during or after the war and the bottom shows a fairly detailed drawing made for newspaper. I have identified nine points of similarity between these images proving that they are all features of the same vessel.

A/ They have the same straight stem.

B/ there is a small hatch portside with anchor davits nearby.

C/ there are 2 ventilator cowls positioned fore and aft.

D/ there is a half rounded sponson forward of the paddle wheel

E/ the paddle box design has an eight teardrop pattern .

F/ There is a small square deckhouse aft with a rounded roof top.

G/ The stern of the vessel has a fine strake .

H/ The lifeboat davits are in the same location aft

I/ the funnels are raked and are equally distant astride the paddles and have steam pipes positioned for and aft of the funnels.

The vessel at some stage in service had a pilothouse added and I will admit that a lot of the detail listed above may be common to several runners that survived the war but none have all these features in common and what makes this vessel unique is that it is the only one I have come across that has an eight teardrop pattern paddle box and a single rounded sponson so I am highly confident that this identification has been correctly made .

 

[John F Messner]

In regards to the photo's background, I did a search for C. B. Lockwood on Chronicling America (LOC newspaper archive) and found this, with a mention of a firm of C.B. Lockwood that was involved in the storage warehouse and tobacco inspection business in Brooklyn. This image is from The New York Sun. It would match with the image of a dock. Can anyone help with the Brooklyn angle?

 

[John F Messner]

I think this might be the Atlantic Dock/Basin in Brooklyn. See etching below with two 'towers' circled, appear to be grain elevators. Image from link below
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AmCyc_Brooklyn_-_Atlantic_Dock.jpg

The photo could show a captured runner (which ever one that might be) in NYC as part of Prize Court adjudication? The Ad-Vance did such a thing after its capture on 10 September. Ill check the Prize Court document for Ad-Vance to see if it went to this dock, just to compare.

 

[John F Messner]

Sure enough, on checking the Prize Court file for the Ad-Vance I found it was towed from the Brooklyn Naval Yard to the Atlantic Dock on 21 September. There are invoices for the towing, wharfage fees and fire insurance. Would seem that this might have been a standard practice for captured runners while in NYC. First arrive at Naval Yard then moved to a commercial facility for removal of cargo, assessment, etc

 

[rebelatsea]

It does look a bit like the Albert Dock Rebel, but then these buildings are very similar anyway . The Albert dock has arches along the quay however. The signage on the warehouse says C B Lockwood Elevator A & B and C B L & Co. It might be New York or Trenton NJ

Thank you for that ID. It now seems that it is the Atlantic Dock Brooklyn.

 

[Ptarmigan]

Sure enough, on checking the Prize Court file for the Ad-Vance I found it was towed from the Brooklyn Naval Yard to the Atlantic Dock on 21 September. There are invoices for the towing, wharfage fees and fire insurance. Would seem that this might have been a standard practice for captured runners while in NYC. First arrive at Naval Yard then moved to a commercial facility for removal of cargo, assessment, etc

I think this might be the Atlantic Dock/Basin in Brooklyn. See etching below with two 'towers' circled, appear to be grain elevators. Image from link below
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AmCyc_Brooklyn_-_Atlantic_Dock.jpg

The photo could show a captured runner (which ever one that might be) in NYC as part of Prize Court adjudication? The Ad-Vance did such a thing after its capture on 10 September. Ill check the Prize Court document for Ad-Vance to see if it went to this dock, just to compare.



View attachment 413993

You found a picture of the dock! I am very impressed.

 

[John F Messner]

You found a picture of the dock! I am very impressed.

Your detailed comparisons of those three images is the impressive thing Ptarmigan.

I tried having a look at NYC and Brooklyn papers for reference to Wando and FahKee being in port at same time but couldn't find anything. There were mentions of Wando at the Naval Yard but not the Atlantic Basin and its auction in 1865. I will admit this search was not exhaustive.

Would you say that this photo shows the steamer in runner livery or US Naval?

 

[Ptarmigan]

Your detailed comparisons of those three images is the impressive thing Ptarmigan.

I tried having a look at NYC and Brooklyn papers for reference to Wando and FahKee being in port at same time but couldn't find anything. There were mentions of Wando at the Naval Yard but not the Atlantic Basin and its auction in 1865. I will admit this search was not exhaustive.

Would you say that this photo shows the steamer in runner livery or US Naval?

It's hard to say but I would guess it was US naval, however the two pictures I have of her after her capture do not show any pilothouse , it is also possible the picture was taken after the war when she was in commercial service from 1865 to 1870 , after which she was sold abroad , possibly to a South American country.
Even though she was the obvious choice really , I couldn't get Quiggen's designs out of my head until you closed the door with your court reports in the newspaper forcing me to rethink . I have a good picture database of all UK builders and it's the only design that comes anywhere close. The Quiggen's style stern and round sponson in the picture are so unique that I didn't even entertain a Scottish yard as the builder but I could never reconcile that paddle box pattern being used by them and supposed that it was a late war expedient.
The painting by McFarlane was made in Scotland but my book says it is in a private collection , would that be in the US or Scotland and does the Riverside have a good copy of it , in my copy you can only just make out the teardrops lined in gilt.