Morris Island, South Carolina. U.S. Fleet offshore

Story

1st Lieutenant
Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Location
SE PA
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http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003001678/PP/

Another Haas & Peale photo, supposedly July/August 1863. Under hi-rez, detail drops off at either end.
Not sure there's enough here to find recognizable vessels.
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Does anyone know why a stripped and orphaned shell is floating in the middle here? Seems not to make sense, if it was to be an obstruction to be sunk and it's not under tow?

Some objective is under way- ships clustered, not merely sailing past.

It's a shame it's dated 1863. If it were 1862, wouldn't the Cumberland be a possibility?

Definitely looks mercantile to me, between that sheer, the clipper bow, and the round stern. Which Cumberland do you mean? I'm typing this during a road trip and I don't have my references on me.
 
Mastless hulks. Could they be something like stores ships? Old merchant vessels turned into barges, and anchored off a bit - maybe for safety's sake, being loaded with powder reserves?

They would usually be in sheltered waters like Port Royal Sound, which became a major navy base. I recall one photo of two old whalers lashed together and made into a floating repair shop. Interesting thought about ammunition though.
 
Mastless hulks. Could they be something like stores ships? Old merchant vessels turned into barges, and anchored off a bit - maybe for safety's sake, being loaded with powder reserves?
I can't think of a good reason for that hulk to be anchored there.
 
Without as much knowledge, I'd thought ' tug ', too?


Definitely looks mercantile to me, between that sheer, the clipper bow, and the round stern. Which Cumberland do you mean? I'm typing this during a road trip and I don't have my references on me.

The famously rammed and sunk Cumberland? Not as familiar as most in this conversation with ID's- if mercantile, can get rid of that hopeful notion!
 
Without as much knowledge, I'd thought ' tug ', too?




The famously rammed and sunk Cumberland? Not as familiar as most in this conversation with ID's- if mercantile, can get rid of that hopeful notion!

Ah, ok, that's what I was wondering. No, that hull isn't anything like Cumberland's frigate-built one (which refers to the style of her construction and hull shape, not that she was originally a frigate). Here is a photograph of her in 1860 at nearly the same angle for comparison.

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Awesome photo, thank you! It's so worth being so wrong to see the right ship!

I'm glad you like it! It's the only photo of Cumberland I've seen myself. One detail I like about it (and there are so many) is it shows Cumberland has quarter galleries. Her plans as a razee don't show them and probably because of that, most of the paintings I've seen of her leave them off. Examples include:
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In the Civil War era, the USN painted over most decoration and molding, including both the bow and the quarter gallery windows. Sometimes they even completely removed the fake window molding, leaving the quarter gallery smooth. There was one real small window, usually the top half of the fake center window on the gallery. In this photograph of the similarly-razeed USS Macedonian, you can really see this because of the quarter gallery catching the light. You can make out a similar window on Cumberland in the photograph I linked earlier.

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