Trent war - possible timeline of events, battles, and outcome

Okay, I found the range tables. The initial velocity of the 30 pounder Parrott is 385 yards (i.e. 1155 fps) - so essentially identical to that of the 40 pounder Armstrong. The 40 pounder's penetration should be slightly greater, all else being equal, as it's a heavier round for the same velocity. (The work of the shot in foot-tons per inch has gone up by 33%, the circumference has gone up by 13% and the frontal area has gone up 28%.)
 
I do know otherwise. They did experiments on a Martello tower.


In tests against a Martello Tower with 10 ft of good masonry at ca. 1,000 yards:

32 pdr shot and shell (i.e. 6.4" round shell) penetrated 1 ft 4
68 pdr shot and shell penetrated 1 ft 8-9
40 pdr Armstrong put shot and shell 4 ft 1 into the wall
70 pdr Armstrong put shot 7 ft 6 into the wall and shell 4 ft 3
110 pdr Armstrong put shell 3 ft 8 into the wall

https://books.google.be/books?id=EPtBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406&dq=armstrong+gun+penetration+masonry&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwidlPP5uNTMAhVMDsAKHQAHBT8Q6AEIJzAC#v=onepage&q=armstrong gun penetration masonry&f=false

The estimation is that penetration into brickwork is 1.75 times as great as that into masonry, so the penetration of masonry for the various Armstrong guns is on the order of 2 feet with shell if the above figures are for brick and on the order of 4 feet if they're obtained with masonry. Since the masonry of the forts is on the order of six feet thick for the embrasures, this means the shells are bursting about half way into the wall, and those are big bursting charges (the 40 lb has a 2.5 lb bursting charge, as compared to the 30-lber Parrott 1.5, and the 110 lb round has ten and a half pounds powder - figures from Brasseys and http://www.civilwarartillery.com/tables.htm )

As for muzzle velocity, the M.V. of the Parrott 30-lber is something I can't locate, but it had a charge of 2.5 lbs of powder. The 40-lber Armstrong had a M.V. of 1180 fps, or 1160 in later decades with 5 lbs of RLG powder (the latter value being from Brasseys). I thus think the muzzle velocity is competitive with that of the Parrott, and the 30 lber Parrott did a lot of damage at Pickens.
Thank you very much, most interesting.
 
Thank you very much, most interesting.
Pleasure. It's really great to be able to look at all these experiments they did during the time period.

Incidentally, here's something from the contemporary news!


LAUGHABLE EPISODE IN THE BEXHILL ARTILLERY EXPERIMENTS. When the Duke of Cambridge and his suite dashed down to the Martello Tower, to see the result of the firing, the public, a nice little body of 4000 or 5000 followed, and were soon actively engaged in inspecting every bit of shot or shell that could be found. So busy were they, that when the time for resuming operations arrived, all warning to leave the spot was in vain, and for the first time a Martello tower was so resolutely defended by British volunteers, as to set Colonel Mitchell and the besiegers at defiance. "Try the effect of blank cartridge on their nerves," was the order of His Royal Highness, but the public instantly detected the fact that the guns were unshotted, and steadily maintained their ground. "Nothing for it, your Royal Highness," said the Lieutenant-Colonel, "but a regular volley!" "Well, but be careful," said the Duke, "well over their heads, mind!" The guns were pointed accordingly, but no sooner did "the public" hear the rushing noise of the shot, than a scene ensued which utterly defies description. They scampered off in all directions; on one aide was a ditch, and into it they fell, pele mele, till they lay piled up four deep, amongst the wet and mire. Others were successful in leaping this barrier to their flight, and they finally reached a turnip field with a good-looking crop in prospect upon it. The material, however, of which it was composed proved to be a soft clay, and after the rush of 400 or 500 of the affrighted public had passed over it, all its verdure was gone, it looked more like a brick-field than anything else! (Hampshire Advertiser, 24 November 1860)
 
Especially if the defenders manage to target the union officers as often as possible.
This is actually a point I hadn't considered until just now, and it's important for a key reason relating to the nature of the Union army.
Put bluntly, the Union army did not have a core of NCOs, especially not this early in the war.

This is entirely understandable - the typical core of NCOs is basically composed of experienced men who've done this for years and provide important solidity to a unit, but the Union Army had expanded so much that (at typical NCO rates of about five sergeants and ten corporals per company for the Union) the entire prewar Regular army could provide perhaps enough NCOs for fifty to a hundred regiments, if everyone was made an NCO and the Regular Army was basically disbanded to do it.

This in turn means that the NCO ranks (corporal, sergeant) weren't nearly the source of order and strength they were in a European army, and this means that the commissioned officers were essentially what held a unit together. It's commented on when looking at the minutiae of the Civil War that the loss of an officer often caused substantial damage to the cohesion of the units.

Why does this matter? Well, because the British (at Inkerman, in particular) made it a habit to pick off Russian commanding officers. At Inkerman for example three Russian commanding officers died in the space of about ten minutes, at which point (understandably) no-one else wanted to take up command.
For the Union, which is leaning so much more on its commissioned officers, the casualties are a significant impediment.
 
This is actually a point I hadn't considered until just now, and it's important for a key reason relating to the nature of the Union army.
Put bluntly, the Union army did not have a core of NCOs, especially not this early in the war.

This is entirely understandable - the typical core of NCOs is basically composed of experienced men who've done this for years and provide important solidity to a unit, but the Union Army had expanded so much that (at typical NCO rates of about five sergeants and ten corporals per company for the Union) the entire prewar Regular army could provide perhaps enough NCOs for fifty to a hundred regiments, if everyone was made an NCO and the Regular Army was basically disbanded to do it.

This in turn means that the NCO ranks (corporal, sergeant) weren't nearly the source of order and strength they were in a European army, and this means that the commissioned officers were essentially what held a unit together. It's commented on when looking at the minutiae of the Civil War that the loss of an officer often caused substantial damage to the cohesion of the units.

Why does this matter? Well, because the British (at Inkerman, in particular) made it a habit to pick off Russian commanding officers. At Inkerman for example three Russian commanding officers died in the space of about ten minutes, at which point (understandably) no-one else wanted to take up command.
For the Union, which is leaning so much more on its commissioned officers, the casualties are a significant impediment.

That is a traditional problem when a small army is massively expanded and as of yet the union army hasn't gained the experience to fill out the NCO ranks as you say. Likely to see a lot of officers killed quickly and men, lacking orders, either going to ground or deciding to withdraw out of range. Going to be a few cases of units seeking to push the attack to the limit, especially possibly say in anger at the death of a really respected commander but that's going to be rare and if other units are faltering they could be wiped out.

Where did the union army get its officers from? Presumably a fair number with minimal military experience, especially at lower levels. Hence could see a lot of inexperience if suddenly a low ranked captain say suddenly finds himself in charge of a battalion, or simply a number of such suddenly having to decide which of them is in command and needs to give orders.

Also I could see a number freezing in shock in such a battle, where their superiors are dropping like flies and they realise their becoming high priority targets. You could see a lot of disruption of operations with some units breaking or being paralysed which would cause problems for other units seeking to push an attack through as their vulnerable to flanking fire as they advance.
 
Where did the union army get its officers from? Presumably a fair number with minimal military experience, especially at lower levels.
In a lot of cases, by election! Or by the prospective officer having connections. This even went up to quite a high level, with no less a person than Henry Halleck making the position of Major-General of Regulars (i.e. the fourth ranking position in the entire army at that time) based on a reputation as a scholar, a personal recommendation by Scott and minimal combat experience - as a lieutenant.
 
...ah, **** it. I wrote out the whole battle, then realized that as I'd pushed the date several days later than my original plan there should be additional reinforcements for Milne! Specifically, the Severn, the Vigilant, the Barrosa, the Phoebe, the Emerald and the Galatea.

It's a massive additional set of capabilities - Emerald, Phoebe, Severn are 51s, Galatea is a very beefy 26 and Barrosa is essentially another Jason (meaning a 21), while Vigilant is a screw gunvessel - and I can't pretend it would have no influence on the battle, no matter how Milne assigns them. Ah well.
The minimally disruptive approach would be for them to all arrive basically late evening on the 12th as a unit, with only a couple heading on to Fort Monroe (Vigilant, Emerald?) and for the Union to have not noticed them...
 
In a lot of cases, by election! Or by the prospective officer having connections. This even went up to quite a high level, with no less a person than Henry Halleck making the position of Major-General of Regulars (i.e. the fourth ranking position in the entire army at that time) based on a reputation as a scholar, a personal recommendation by Scott and minimal combat experience - as a lieutenant.

Ouch! That could be very nasty for the union forces. There will be some people that rise to the challenge, but others won't. That's simple human nature.
 
...ah, **** it. I wrote out the whole battle, then realized that as I'd pushed the date several days later than my original plan there should be additional reinforcements for Milne! Specifically, the Severn, the Vigilant, the Barrosa, the Phoebe, the Emerald and the Galatea.

It's a massive additional set of capabilities - Emerald, Phoebe, Severn are 51s, Galatea is a very beefy 26 and Barrosa is essentially another Jason (meaning a 21), while Vigilant is a screw gunvessel - and I can't pretend it would have no influence on the battle, no matter how Milne assigns them. Ah well.
The minimally disruptive approach would be for them to all arrive basically late evening on the 12th as a unit, with only a couple heading on to Fort Monroe (Vigilant, Emerald?) and for the Union to have not noticed them...

Now that sounds very bad for the union navy. Their not only going up against a more powerful force but its a good bit stronger than they think it is. That could be a nasty surprise if you have a force emerging from the mists [so to speak] at a key point in the battle and flanking a union force while its already heavily engaged. If Farragut knew they were present he might at the least be more cautious about his attack to minimise the danger of crippling losses.
 
Okay, so, plan and ORBAT for the second take at the battle of the Middle Ground/Nautilus Shoal.


Firstly, Farragut's plan is basically to use the two passes in Nautilus Shoal and attack the squadron holding the mouth of the Chesapeake. The deeper one is 3.75 fathoms (so his deepest ships can juuust fit if the tide's high) and the shallower one is 3.5 fathoms, and it offers him a secure line of retreat (the area east of the Middle Ground doesn't rejoin the main Chesapeake Bay for about 12 nm).

As far as his intel goes, placed there are five British ships (Aboukir, Mersey, Meplomene, Racer and Jason), and the Racer is down south in the pass that leads very close to Cape Henry; he has:

Minnesota (screw frigate)
Roanoke (screw frigate)
Hartford (screw sloop, flag)
Congress (sail frigate, towed by Zouave)
Cumberland (sail frigate, towed by Dragon)
State of Georgia (steam gunboat)
Jamestown (sailing ship, towed by Hunchback)
Gemsbok (sailing ship, towed by Southfield)
Valley City (steam gunboat)
Daylight (steam gunboat)
Stars and Stripes (steam gunboat)
Valley City (steam gunboat)
Commodore Perry (steam gunboat)
Commodore Barney (steam gunboat)
Morse (steam gunboat)
Whitehead (steam gunboat)
Hunchback (steam gunboat)
Southfield (steam gunboat)

His plan is to attack at dawn, navigating the channels in the dark, because if he's noticed while in the channels and comes under fire he's in trouble. Basically his ideal is to begin navigating the tight bits of the channels at nautical dawn and engage at true dawn.
It's a bold plan, and if he can get all his ships engaged it's got a fair chance of working - certainly better than just sailing down the Chesapeake and getting dogpiled by Milne's entire squadron.


What will actually be in place at the mouth of the Chesapeake, however, is:


Aboukir (steam liner, also squadron leader) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Mersey (steam frigate) - on patrol
Melpomene (steam frigate) - on patrol
Phoebe (steam frigate) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Severn (steam frigate) - on patrol
Galatea (steam frigate) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Barrosa (steam corvette) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Jason (steam corvette) - on patrol
Racer (steam sloop) - near Cape Henry

The presence of the second half of the squadron nearby means that they'll probably hear the gunfire and come heading over. They'll certainly arrive much sooner than expected - they're about 5-6 nm away, AFAICT, which is about 40 minutes under steam alone and less under steam and sail. (Galatea is fast enough to make it in half an hour or less.) They're also within about ten miles of Milne's main force around Monroe, and that means he'll find out within about ten to fifteen minutes as the distance is close enough to signal (while the distance from the battle location to Milne's location might not be). The main cause of the delay is actually sending a ship to act as relay - with a ship like the Barrosa being sent to form a relay, she'd reach the midpoint in about fifteen minutes and could be signalling before then, with the limiting factor being essentially the sun rising to allow the flags to be distinguished.

This would allow Milne to cut the chord, taking much of his fleet to stop up the other entrance to the deep water immediately west of the Delmarva, and I think he'd do it. It's got such a huge possible gain.
 
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Pleasure. It's really great to be able to look at all these experiments they did during the time period.

Incidentally, here's something from the contemporary news!


LAUGHABLE EPISODE IN THE BEXHILL ARTILLERY EXPERIMENTS. When the Duke of Cambridge and his suite dashed down to the Martello Tower, to see the result of the firing, the public, a nice little body of 4000 or 5000 followed, and were soon actively engaged in inspecting every bit of shot or shell that could be found. So busy were they, that when the time for resuming operations arrived, all warning to leave the spot was in vain, and for the first time a Martello tower was so resolutely defended by British volunteers, as to set Colonel Mitchell and the besiegers at defiance. "Try the effect of blank cartridge on their nerves," was the order of His Royal Highness, but the public instantly detected the fact that the guns were unshotted, and steadily maintained their ground. "Nothing for it, your Royal Highness," said the Lieutenant-Colonel, "but a regular volley!" "Well, but be careful," said the Duke, "well over their heads, mind!" The guns were pointed accordingly, but no sooner did "the public" hear the rushing noise of the shot, than a scene ensued which utterly defies description. They scampered off in all directions; on one aide was a ditch, and into it they fell, pele mele, till they lay piled up four deep, amongst the wet and mire. Others were successful in leaping this barrier to their flight, and they finally reached a turnip field with a good-looking crop in prospect upon it. The material, however, of which it was composed proved to be a soft clay, and after the rush of 400 or 500 of the affrighted public had passed over it, all its verdure was gone, it looked more like a brick-field than anything else! (Hampshire Advertiser, 24 November 1860)
That would make a great movie scene !
 
Oh that sounds potentially very nasty for the union force. Looking forward to seeing how it develops but could be fatal for a lot of them.
 
Battle of Nautilus Shoal

13 February 1862







Union order of battle, under Flag Officer Farragut



Minnesota (screw frigate)
Roanoke (screw frigate)
Hartford (screw sloop, flag)
Congress (sail frigate, towed by Zouave)
Cumberland (sail frigate, towed by Dragon)
State of Georgia (steam gunboat)
Jamestown (sailing ship, towed by Hunchback)
Gemsbok (sailing ship, towed by Southfield)
Valley City (steam gunboat)
Daylight (steam gunboat)
Stars and Stripes (steam gunboat)
Valley City (steam gunboat)
Commodore Perry (steam gunboat)
Commodore Barney (steam gunboat)
Morse (steam gunboat)
Whitehead (steam gunboat)
Hunchback (steam gunboat)
Southfield (steam gunboat)


British order of battle, under Capt. Shadwell, C.B. (the squadron at the mouth of the Chesapeake)



Aboukir (steam liner, also squadron leader) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Mersey (steam frigate) - on patrol
Melpomene (steam frigate) - on patrol
Phoebe (steam frigate) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Emerald (steam frigate) - on patrol
Galatea (steam frigate) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Barrosa (steam corvette) - anchored in Lynnhaven Outer Roads
Jason (steam corvette) - on patrol
Racer (steam sloop) – on patrol near Cape Henry






After some days of preparation, Farragut determined to execute his plan on the 13th – somewhat earlier than his original plans had allowed for, but the serious damage done to Fort Monroe on the 12th had forced his hand.

Farragut's planning was bold and daring, and relied on his superior charts of the Chesapeake to make use of two narrow channels in Nautilus Shoal under cover of darkness, before engaging the British squadron at dawn. The distance between the British squadron (reportedly patrolling near the very mouth of the Chesapeake) and the rest of the British force, at Fort Monroe, was considered to give the plan every chance of success.

Making full use of his ships, the largest three (Minnesota, Roanoke, and Congress, under Goldsborough who was still aboard Minnesota) would traverse the deeper western route, despite the dog-leg it imposed; the rest of the force, led by Farragut's own flagship Hartford, would take the shallower eastern one. The rise of tide was expected to allow enough leeway for all the ships to make it through, but it would be fairly tight.

Once traversed, Farragut's force would attempt to surround the British heavy ships – the tougher frigates holding them in play while the lighter gunboats and sloops surrounded them and raked or fired into less well defended quarters. Though the situation was a little unclear – too much so to assign specific targets – Farragut made a point of stressing that the way to carry the day was by bold, aggressive action.



In fact, Farragut's information was out of date. Several reinforcements had arrived at Bermuda for Milne some days prior, and the Severn (under Capt. Montressor) had taken them to the Chesapeake in a body – arriving late on the 12th, with the Severn continuing to join Milne and the remainder dropping anchor in Lynnhaven Outer Roads. Shadwell took the opportunity to reorganize his blockade force, and while there were indeed four ships patrolling the main Chesapeake mouth there were another four (including two frigates and one battleship) a few miles to the west.


Farragut's ships moved into position overnight, navigating by the lights on Smith's Island and at Mobjack Bay, and reached the Nautilus Shoal area about six AM. The tide's timing was not ideal for him - owing to the way the moon was near full, the high tide was coming in rather than going out, and would peak about two hours after sunrise - but the flow was not strong, and his vessels all carefully navigated through the muds of the Nautilus Shoal in the pre-dawn gloom to slip through the few channels, some just scraping the bottom at 23 feet of depth.



Shadwell's squadron were alert enough in general - already three or four vessels had been caught by the blockade, and they wanted to avoid being caught out - but most of the attention of the lookouts was on the south and east (towards the sea) and towards the northwest (where ships following the main shipping channel would be), and Farragut's ships were not sighted until the lead vessels (the Minnesota and the Roanoke, the two with the deepest draft) had negotiated the shallowest part of the western channel and were picking up speed to the east, ready to turn south once the finger of the Middle Ground shoal was no longer in the way. With their successful passage, the independent steam gunboats (many of them shallower and with more leeway) also raised full steam to come through the next passage to the east, led by the Hartford – the resultant shower of sparks betraying their position, but the alarm had been raised and so it was less of a concern.



The first engagement that developed was between the Minnesota and the Mersey, both big fast ships. Mersey made an early attempt to turn Minnesota towards the shoals by getting ahead of her and turning to port, but quickly had to abandon it, and before long the two vessels had settled into a private gun duel – one which was interrupted briefly by fire from the Emerald, though the British vessel was quickly engaged herself by Roanoke. Both pairs of frigates were comparatively evenly matched, with tough sidewalls and big guns (the Emerald possessing the most small guns of below 8” in size, though a few of these were Armstrongs; this gave her a considerable advantage in rate of fire, though not in individual broadside weight.) Emerald was however troubled early on by a particularly well aimed broadside from the Roanoke, which to her detriment happened to be at one of the ranges where Union time fuzes worked best – she suffered considerable casualties to her gun deck as a consequence, and was forced to turn to bring her undamaged broadside into action (though narrowly escaped a rake).



The Melpomene was some way to the east, a little past the second channel, and found herself set upon by the Hartford and most of her consorts – the Union sailing vessels being some way behind, as the wind was inconvenient for them and their tugs were having to work hard to move them. Melpomene's captain began by firing a broadside at Hartford, attempting to catch her while she was vulnerable, but then switched her attention to the nearest gunboat (the Southfield) and hammered the double-ender gunboat with heavy fire – shot from her long guns and shell from her larger shell guns. Considerable damage was immediately done, as the gunboat was a converted civilian ferry, and her above-water boiler was pierced on the third broadside which instantly crippled the craft.


While this was going on, Shadwell had already noticed the firing and raised the alarm. The Barrosa dashed west at full steam to alert Admiral Milne, while the rest of his squadron made for the sound of the guns – led by the Galatea and the Phoebe, the fastest of the squadron.

Milne was woken and alerted of the news a few minutes later, relayed by flag signal from Barrosa, and was faced with a conundrum – one which he quickly solved, ordering some of the shallower ships in his force north through the strait between the Horseshoe shoal and the Horseshoe Tail shoal. At the same time he had his faster heavy vessels take a course east, not to join the battle but to make for the area southeast of Mobjack Bay.


Back around Nautilus Shoal, the Jason joined the battle from the west (having been on the inner patrol line) and her first broadside struck and sank the Zouave. This stranded the Congress in the mouth of the strait through Nautilus Shoal, and the Jason made her distance (taking moderate damage from two broadsides of Congress) before firing on her at range.


The situation was by now chaotic, with Union gunboats sailing hither and yon attempting to attack the vulnerable areas of British warships and plentiful gunsmoke rising in pillars into the nearly-still air of a cold morning. This very confusion tended to obscure the course of the battle, with Farragut in the Hartford focused on attempting to defeat the Melpomene – bringing the Cumberland into the fight as well – and Goldsborough's current ship the Minnesota mainly concerned with the ongoing duel with Mersey. This meant there was effectively nobody in the Union squadron paying sufficient attention to notice the arrival of Shadwell's main force.

The troubled Congress was his first victim, taking broadsides from Aboukir and Galatea in quick succession – their speed allowing each British vessel only one or two broadsides before being out of arc, but the combination sufficing to leave the Congress listing and finally to induce her surrender.


As Shadwell moved east, he next came to the duel with Roanoke and Emerald. In this case the big Union frigate had been getting much the better of the engagement, aided by her lucky early broadside as well as the assistance of gunboats, and she (and the gunboats supporting her, the Valley City, Jamestown and Hunchback) observed Shadwell's flotilla in good time to make for the remaining pass through Nautilus Shoal – though damage to the Jamestown's mast from the battle with Emerald led to the sailing vessel being cut free, as she slowed the Hunchback too much. The Jamestown struck her colours about ten minutes later, as Aboukir came past.


The Hartford, for her part, got somewhat the better of the engagement with the Melpomene, but this was largely at cost of much of her supporting squadron - the Stars and Stripes, Commodore Perry, Daylight and Gemsbok being rendered hors d' combat one by one as the Melpomene's manoeuvres took her closer to one or another, and Farragut's plan of having his lighter ships attack the vulnerable bow and stern of the Melpomene obviated by her speed and adroitness in manoeuvre. Charles A. French in the Whitehead was even rammed, his 136-ton gunboat being totally unable to resist the impact of the 3,800 ton Melpomene at ten knots; however, the shock opened some seams, and the confusion resulting from the need for damage control caused a slackening of fire.



At about this point, Farragut was wounded by a shell, which rendered him unconscious (though the wound was not mortal, it would later cost him the leg) and the battered Hartford also headed north to escape through the Nautilus shoal.





The battle between Mersey and Minnesota, for its part, ran many miles out to sea, and was only concluded when both ships ran aground on Smith's Island Shoal – the crash opening too many of the already-strained seams of the Mersey to allow her to be recovered, though the crew were rescued by the Phoebe well before she was in danger of breaking up. The guns were also retrieved, as was the Minnesota (which had not hit quite so hard, and which was recoverable with some fothering).



The final act in the main battle took place around noon, when the retreating Cumberland, Hartford and Roanoke – all badly damaged – and their remaining consorts, the Valley City, Hunchback and State of Georgia, plus the Dragon towing Cumberland – found a fresh squadron of Milne's force sailing into their path.

Farragut's flag captain sent the order to scatter and proceed to port independently, making it in Farragut's name (an action which Farragut would later assert had been under his own orders, despite his being unconscious at the time) and the Roanoke would ultimately make it to Baltimore, though not without taking some more fire. The Hartford and Cumberland stood their ground, being battered into submission to allow the valuable screw frigate to escape, and Farragut himself would be transferred to shore aboard the Valley City (and thence up the Delmarva peninsula to Baltimore).


The cost to the British was not inconsiderable – the Mersey was a total loss, the Emerald and Melpomene in need of serious work (and replacement of casualties) and lesser damage to several other ships, including the Severn (which had been most closely involved with the final defeat of the Hartford and Cumberland). But the cost to the Union fleet was proportionately much worse – very much a consequence of the weakness of the Union squadron and the demand for action, Farragut's clever move could not achieve what he had hoped for.


The ultimate fate of the Roanoke upon arriving back in Baltimore was to immediately be designated for ironclad conversion – it being clear that the Union could not fight a conventional wooden war.


The battle disrupted operations against Fort Monroe, but only for one day. This allowed a little preparation to be done by the garrison, who surrendered the next day (on the 14th) after the destruction of the water battery by the Nile firing from close to the south face; all the guns at Fort Monroe were spiked and the powder detonated before the surrender of the fort, ensuring that the Confederates who would presumably come into possession of Fort Monroe would need to rebuild it. (In the event, earthwork batteries would be built behind the collapsed south wall and alongside the remains of the water battery, as well as smaller ones elsewhere, and the guns put into them would bear a suspicious resemblance to the guns of the Union vessels surrendered at Nautilus Shoal.)




(I've tried my best to reflect the capabilities of each ship. The basic problem the Union has is that, well, they have two frigates and a sloop for main steam combatants, plus two sail frigates, against a fleet considerably stronger than their entire navy of the previous year.
If they'd engaged against the whole force of the British squadron, they'd have been pretty thoroughly defeated; they might also have withdrawn into Baltimore, but I wasn't sure on that front and it would basically mean leaving Fort Monroe on the vine.
The other alternative would be for Farragut to basically retreat up the Potomac instead, to protect the capital - though he couldn't make it past Mattawoman Muds AFAICT.)
 
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Well that was bloody but effective for the RN. The main US force on the east coast has largely been nullified which will ease pressure on Milne's force as will be the destruction of Fort Monroe. Farragut made a valiant bid but I suspect the Fort was already doomed and the best he could have achieved would have been to isolated and defeat a section of the RN force, as he tried. However the quick entry into the fray of Shadwell's force made this impossible and a defeat almost certain while Milne's move to cut off the retreat turned a defeat into a shattering loss.

Good summary of the battle.
 
The next naval battle, which I should probably do next up, is basically Dacres catching up with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron on the way north. Dacres' squadron isn't nearly as big as that of Milne, but it does have Warrior which is frankly kind of like cheating - the heaviest guns with Dupont's SABS are a few 11" guns on light ships (e.g. the Mohican has two 11" guns) and Warrior is almost immune to them while also possessing all the bells and whistles. (That meaning - faster than just about anything in the SABS, heavy broadside of 68-lbers and 110-lbers, and Martin's shell.)
In fact, I suspect she's likely to be sent out to the east somewhat as a flank unit, pressuring them from their northwest (intended to keep the Union ships bunched up to some extent).



As for the results - yes, essentially the choice the Union has under these circumstances is to try to fight or to remain as a fleet-in-being. In this case Farragut went for fighting - partly because that was his mandate, and partly because Farragut historically (New Orleans) jumped the gun and went too soon on at least one occasion.
Mind you, knowing how reporting works in wartime he'll probably be down as having sunk a battleship.
 
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Okay, so, ORBAT. Milne's staying in the Chesapeake for the next few days - he's sorting out the damage from the 13th and this is also where he plans to apportion ships for blockade locations (something I'm going to do myself after the Cape Hatteras battle). Dunlop has finished his sweep of the Gulf and is en route north (indeed, he probably catches the Pensacola at about this time, even if she's not crashed into Key West) though he probably missed the Tahoma (now out raiding).
The main element of the RN fleet is Dacres, coming up from Port Royal and overhauling Dupont, though a couple of ships are also coming in from Bermuda and they'll also be available later in the action.



Dacres has:

Algiers (91 gun liner)
Edgar (91 gun liner)
Queen (86 gun liner)
Shannon (51 gun frigate)
Amphion (36 gun frigate)- n.b. unusually slow, at ~7 knots under steam, may be left behind if the chase gets serious
Doris (32 gun frigate)
Scylla (21 gun corvette)
Zebra (17 gun sloop) - 9 knots
Rapid (11 gun sloop) - 9 knots
Flying Fish (6 gun gunvessel)
Alacrity (4 gun gunvessel)
Warrior (40 gun ironclad)


And coming in on the flank:

Euryalus (51 gun frigate)
Racoon (21 gun corvette)
Chanticleer (17 gun sloop) - 9 knots


(Everything else is 10+ knots)


Dupont, meanwhile, has a large quantity of transport (holding a large division's worth of troops) and a fairly major collection of ships - though they're poor on heavy combatants.

The full list is:
(n.b. list speeds are not specified as steam only, unlike for the RN)

Wabash (screw frigate) (9 knots)
Keystone State (sidewheel gunboat) (9.5 knots)
Vandalia (sail sloop)
Mohican (screw sloop) (10.5 knots)
Seminole (screw sloop) (9.5 knots)
Bienville (paddle gunboat) (15 knots)
Ellen (paddle gunboat) (8 knots)
Florida (paddle gunboat) (13 knots)
James Adger (paddle gunboat) (11 knots)
OM Pettit (paddle gunboat) (8 knots)
Mercury (paddle tug)
Susquehanna (paddle frigate) (10 knots)
Courier (storeship)
GW Blunt (sail)
Gem of the Sea (sail)
Hope (sail)
Onward (sail)
Release (storeship)
Relief (storeship)
Restless (sail)
Roebuck (sail)
Augusta (paddle gunboat) (11 knots)
EB Hale (paddle gunboat) (8 knots)
Flag (screw gunboat) (12 knots)
Henry Andrew (screw gunboat) (unknown)
Isaac Smith (screw gunboat) (unknown)
Norwich (screw gunboat) (9.5 knots)
Penguin (steam gunboat) (10 knots)
Alabama (paddle steamer) (13 knots)
Pocahontas (steam gunboat) (unknown) *Mahan onboard*
Potomska (screw gunboat) (10 knots)
Sumpter (steam gunboat) (unknown)
Western World (screw gunboat) (7 knots)
Wyandotte (screw gunboat) (7 knots)
Pawnee (screw sloop) (10 knots)
Huron (purpose built screw gunboat) (10 knots)
Ottawa (purpose built screw gunboat) (10 knots)
Seneca (purpose built screw gunboat) (10 knots)
Unadilla (purpose built screw gunboat) (10 knots)
Penimba (purpose built screw gunboat) (10 knots)
Crusader (screw gunboat) (8 knots)
Dale (storeship)
Bibb (steam cutter) (unknown speed)
Flambeau (screw gunboat) (unknown)
Santiago de Cuba (paddle gunboat) (14 knots)

I assume the storeships proceed under sail.

But I think Dupont would be very leery about trusting anything that has to rely on sail alone. It looks like there's broadly four categories - the purpose built warships, the sail gunboats, the slow steamers and the fast steamers.

Combat wise the most serious unit is the Wabash, and there's also a few sloops of war and the five Unadilla gunboats. None of them is fast enough to escape the RN's faster units, but they've got enough firepower between them to do at least some damage if the RN's ships split up too much.
The sail gunboats are basically easy targets. Most of them aren't well armed, and none of them can reliably run.
The slow steamers are slightly harder to fight, but not much harder to catch.
And the fast steamers, the ships of 12 knots and up, have a real chance of getting away. There's not many of them, though.


The other thing that matters is the transports. They're a mix of steam and sail (basically a lot of them are the ones being collected up for Burnside's Roanoke operation) and some of the steamers might be able to successfully run - not a lot of them, though.

The question that comes up is essentially whether DuPont would fight a delaying action (that is, gather together every warship that can't make at least eleven knots and try to force the British to engage), have everyone scatter, or try to remain in a body - or something else, of course.
 
That sounds potentially bad for the union presuming Dacres catches Dupont successfully. [Which given the size of the US convoy and its relative slow speed is probably likely. ]

In terms of what Dupont does it probably depends on how much he knows about the RN force, his personal character and what orders he has. It would be politically difficult for him to abandon the troopships to be captured but he may decide its more important to save the warships in the hope that they can reach union ports. As they might be more valuable to the union than the troops. Also given that its likely RN ships will be operating further north, presuming he knows something about Milne's forces even if he escapes Dacres's force he has to consider what might be saved from both RN squadrons/fleets.

Of course a similar question might apply with Dacres. If he sees the warships fleeing and abandoning the troops does he concentrate on picking up the latter or try and scoop up as many warships as he can, and if the latter how much does he split his forces to do so?

There are a lot of union ships so if they scatter then a number should get away but they still have a fair way to go to reach a safe port and to find a way past whatever blockade or patrolling forces the RN has out.

Nearly missed that Warrior is with the force which means that any attempt to stand and fight by Dupont is likely to be pretty disastrous for the union. I thought you said something about she was going to turn up at the Chesapeake a day or two after the Fort Monroe battle and the defeat of Farragut's force?
 
I thought you said something about she was going to turn up at the Chesapeake a day or two after the Fort Monroe battle and the defeat of Farragut's force?

Yes, I meant along with Dacres. The rest of Dacres' force is just more-of-the-same with what Milne already had, though somewhat more rifle-heavy, but Warrior is just a complete game breaker in fort attack terms.
 
Yes, I meant along with Dacres. The rest of Dacres' force is just more-of-the-same with what Milne already had, though somewhat more rifle-heavy, but Warrior is just a complete game breaker in fort attack terms.
So long as her Captain and officers remember her draught and don't go charging in where she won't fit !
 
It may not be relevant given that this little punch up may be short lived. The intention to convert the ships of line into steam frigates will now presumably become ironclad frigates - those that weren't scuttled at Gosport that is.
 
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