Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Battle of Fair Oaks (Seven Pines) (5/31 - 6/1/1862) - Dec. 17th, 2003
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/HMore/battleof.htm ^

Posted on 12/17/2003 12:00:28 AM PST by SAMWolf

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 181-184 next last
ACCOUNTS OF THE BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS, VA.
(FROM LETTERS OF THE 20TH MASS. PARTICIPANTS)


20th Mass. officer Henry Abbott's account:

"In about an hour we let up on the firing along the line, the smoke partially cleared, & we saw the rebels charging from the woods to take Rickets' battery, which, by the way, did admirably. Instantly there went up a tremendous shout along the line & the biggest volley of the battle sent the rebels yelping into the woods. Then our whole line charged, the first halfthe distance in quick time, without cheering, except from old Sumner, who cheered us as we passed, the second half the way taking the double-quick with the loudest cheers we could get up [...]


Map showing the battlefield of May 31, 1862. The California Regiment's first position is shown. Subsequent to this, the men moved to their right into a position in the rear of the 65th New York and 1st Minnesota and to the left of the Courtney house (building depicted to the right of the 1st Minnesota's line).


Over the fence we went...It was now dark. We lay on our arms, on marshy ground; without blankets, officers being obliged to sit up, every body wet through as to his feet and trousers, & we had brought our blankets, but gave them all up to the wounded prisoners, of whom our regiment took a large number....My company took 10 unwounded, & 11 wounded rebels prisoner in the woods. Among the former, 5 of the celebrated Hampton Legion of South Carolina, & one Tennessee, two North Carolinans, a Georgia & a Louisiana Tiger.

Among the wounded, Brig. Gen. Pettigrew of SC & Lt. Col. Bull of the 35th Georgians. Pettigrew had given up all his side arms to some of his people before they ran away, in anticipation of being taken prisoner, & had only his watch, which of course I returned to him. Pettigrew will get well. Bull had his side arms, of which I allowed Corp. Summerhayes, his captor, to keep his pistol, an ordinary affair, while I kept his sword, an ordinary US infantry sword, which I intended to send as a present to you, but the Col., knowing [p.129] his family's address, wants me to send it to them, & as the poor fellow is dead, of course I can't hesitate to do any thing which would comfort his family. His scabbard, however, I found very convenient, as mine got broken in the battle and I threw it away. I am going to send you, instead, a short rifle which I took from a H[ampton's] Legion fellow, who were all around with them & the sword bayonet. The rest of the rifles we of course turned over to the col., as in duty bound, except one revolving Colt's rifle, 5 barrels, worth $60 or $70 apiece...which one of my men took from a dying officer, & which I let him keep as a reward of valor."

---Robert Garth Scott, ed., Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1991) pp. 128-129.

20th Mass. Corporal John W. Summerhayes' account:


[Fair Oaks, Va. Twin houses on battlefield, with 32-pdr. field howitzer in foreground]


"Lieutenant Abbott ordered me into the woods, with a file of men, to bring out all the wounded, and rebels, that could be found. As I started, seven came out, belonging to the Hampton Legion, SC, the finest brigade in the rebel service. After coming in with them, I advanced into the woods, and hearing a groaning, walked up and there found Lieut. Col. Bull of the 34th Georgia [sic]. I took his sword and revolver, and sent him in. After taking several more, I fell in with one, whom I knew, although his side arms were gone, was of some high rank, and so he proved to be. Although he would not give me any answers, the Colonel was more fortunate, for he found out that it was Brigadier General Pettigrew, of the State of South Carolina."

---Richard F. Miller and Robert F. Mooney, The Civil War: The Nantucket Experience (Nantucket: Wesco Publishing, 1994) pp. 187.

20th Mass. Lt. Henry Ropes' account:


[Fair Oaks, Va., vicinity. Capt. Rufus D. Pettit's Battery B, 1st New York Light Artillery, in Fort Richardson]


"[...] On Saturday last, May 31st, we had not the slightest idea of danger being near till about noon when very heavy firing broke out from the woods West of us and at one time approached very near. ... At about 4 o'cl. orders came to fall in with one day's rations and we marched from Camp, and crossed the Chickahominy on the log bridge built by the Mich. Regimt. We came out on a low meadow where our Artillery was stuck in the mud. The 19th Mass. was on picket behind us, the Tammany we left here, and the 7th Mich. and we pushed on alone. After passing the meadow we ascended a small hill, and found the country dry and hilly in front. Soon we halted, loaded and primed and then marched on again. In a few minutes we heard guns ahead, and we pushed on rapidly, crossed a stream knee deep and took the double quick, for musketry and artillery were now heard in front, rapidly increasing. We drove forward out of breath and very hot, saw the smoke rising over the trees, and soon the road turned from along the edge of the woods, and we saw at the farther end of a large field our Artillery firing with the greatest rapidity, the Infantry forming, all hid in smoke. We again took the double quick step and ran through deep mud and pools of water toward the battle. The whole field in the rear of the line of firing was covered with dead; and wounded men were coming in in great numbers, some walking, some limping, some carried on stretchers and blankets, many with shattered limbs exposed and dripping with blood. In a moment we entered the fire. The noise was terrific, the balls whistled by us and the shells exploded over us and by our side; the whole scene dark with smoke and lit up by the streams of fire from our battery and from our Infantry in line on each side. We were carried to the left and formed in line, and then marched by the left flank and advanced to the front and opened fire. Our men behaved with the greatest steadiness and stood up and fired and did exactly what they were told. The necessary confusion was very great, and it was as much as all the Officers could do to give the commands and see to the men. We changed position 2 or 3 times under a hot fire. Donnelly and Chase of my company fell not 2 feet from me. The shell and balls seemed all round us, and yet few seemed to fall. We kept up this heavy firing for some time, when the enemy came out of the woods in front and made a grand attack on the battery. They were met by grape and canister and a tremendous fire of the Infantry. They faltered and fell back. Some Regiment charged on them; the whole Rebel line was now in front of us, and Genl Sumner ordered our whole line to advance. We rushed on with tremendous cheers, the whole together at a charge. The Rebels did not wait for the bayonets but broke and fled. Our Regiment came over a newly ploughed field and sank to the knee. We drove them to the edge of the woods and opened a tremendous fire for a few moments, and then..



....We fired into the woods and then charged and drove them before us. We were then ordered back, and by the left flank and again charged the Rebels in a field on the left where they had rallied. We drove them and halted in the middle of the field and gave a few final volleys. It was then dark. We staid there that night. Ground covered with their killed and wounded. We took many prisoners.

[...] All Officers well and unhurt. [...] Our total loss 30.

B

My Company suffered most in the battle.

Henry."

--From the Letters of Lt. Henry Ropes, 20th MA (ms, Boston, 1888)
Rare Books and Manuscripts Dept., Boston Public Library
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library


Oliver Wendell Holmes' Account

...May 31st We heard heavy firing from Casey's Div and soon our Div was under arms & marched 4 miles I sh'ld think-the last part through a stream above our knees and then double quick through mud a foot deep on the field of battle [....]


Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.


Soon we filed round and formed under fire in 2nd posit. left of a N.Y. Regt. (34th New York) and opened fire on the Reb line wh. was visible--Our fire was soon stopped (by order) and we could see in the field (where our 3d position was later) Rebs moving by twos and threes-apparently broken up[....]

When we got to the road the R. Wing entered the woods firing hard and the left wing advancing more slowly to avoid getting fired into by our own men- A Co. of Rebs trying to pass out of the woods was knocked to pieces-and thus we took the final position of the 1st day.. Here we blazed away left oblique into the woods till we were ordered to cease firing & remained masters of the field....

Well we licked 'em and this time there was the maneurvering of a battle to be seen-splendid and awful to behold...It is singular what indifference one gets to look on the dead bodies in gray clothes which lie all around...

As you go through the woods you stumble...perhaps tread on the swollen bodies, already fly blown and decaying, of men shot in the head back or bowels-Many of the wounds are terrible to look at [...]

Source- Anthony J. Milano, "Letters from the Harvard Regiments: The Story of the 2nd and 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiments from 1861 through 1863 as told by the letters of their Officers" (Civil War: The Magazine of the Civil War Society, Vol. XIII, pp. 23-24)

THE FATE OF THE CHARACTERS


Col. Lee, was too ill to resume command after Antietam and resigned on 12/17/62. Died 1891

General Lee (CSA), spent the postwar years as President of Washington College, in Lexington VA. Died 1870

Lt. Henry Ropes, killed by friendly fire at Gettysburg

General Pettigrew (CSA), killed in the retreat from Gettysburg.

Capt. Henry Abbott, killed in the Battle of The Wilderness.

Lt. Robert Emory Park (CSA), survived the war to become Treasurer of Georgia in 1900.

Of the two men who fell wounded within feet of Lt. Ropes, Pvt. Chase was discharged for disabilities the following year, but Pvt. Donnelly never made it home. He was missing in action at the Battle of The Wilderness.

John W. Summerhayes, survived the war and made a career of the US Army. He died in 1911 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. survived three battle wounds and served on the US Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932

1 posted on 12/17/2003 12:00:30 AM PST by SAMWolf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it; PhilDragoo; Johnny Gage; Victoria Delsoul; Darksheare; Valin; bentfeather; radu; ..
March 8th 1862

Dear Mother,

I take this opportunity of writing a few lines to let you know that I received your letter and was glad to hear that you all was well. We are all well and hoping when these few lines reach you .. I hope they will find you and all the rest enjoying the same good health. We was out into Washington day before yesterday to go to a General's funeral and it was pretty muddy in some places and it was nice and dry overhead. That was the first funeral that I was at and there was our Regiment and one Company of Artillery and one Company of Cavalry was to the funeral. It was the biggest crowd that I ever seen and the streets was crowded from one street to another and it was a pretty sight to see the pretty ladies. This was the first time that we was out into Washington pretty near all the winter and it done us good to see what we did see.

Mother, you don't tell me whether you have plenty to live on and if you don't, please tell me and the next time we get paid I will send more money to you .. for I don't expect to send any to "Old Jacob" (his grandfather) this time for I think I won't have a pair of boots and I must have some spending money left. I will send you ten dollars and the rest I will save. The boots is very dirty and if I could not afford them I would not get them but they say that we have to go into Washington to stand guard. Other regiments have to all go into Washington and that is our favorite as we will get the weather that is your favorite feel. I hope that it may continue the same good weather for I am tired of seeing this kind of weather. I don't know what kind of weather you have up there and know I crossed some too. Also these few lines leaves us all in good health. Write soon and tell me all the particulars.



Dear Mother, write soon. We all join in sending our love to you all. Tell "Hugh" to be a good boy and grow and write fast .. and when I get home .. we go up country. Tell "Angeline" to be a good girl and I will try to get her a present if I can find anything that will please her. Is "Steven" grown any or not. You know more at present, Dear Mother.

Good-bye .. Sisters and Brothers and Father and Mother. I am heavier now then I ever was before and feel better. Being a Soldier agrees with me now. Direct your letters to Wilson Fryling.




On 1 June 1862 (only 85 days after this letter was written to his family in Bucks County, PA) .. Pvt. Wilson Fryling (Co. A, 104th PA Volunteers) .. succombed to his death at the age of 22 .. during the Battle of Fair Oaks, VA on 31 May 1862.

He never had the opportunity to take Hugh, his youngest brother, "up country".

Pvt. Wilson Fryling's letter made it back home to Pennsylvania.

He did not.

Additional Sources:

www.peninsulacampaign.org
www.ehistory.com
www.people.virginia.edu
www2.cr.nps.gov
usa-civil-war.com
www.allstar.fiu.edu
www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean
www.ngb.army.mil
www.gallon.com

2 posted on 12/17/2003 12:01:26 AM PST by SAMWolf (INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All
Fair Oaks


Other Names: Seven Pines, Fair Oaks Station

Location: Henrico County, VA

Campaign: Peninsula Campaign (March-September 1862)

Date(s): May 31-June 1, 1862

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan [US]; Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith [CS]

Forces Engaged: (84,000 total)

Estimated Casualties: 13,736 total (US 5,739; CS 7,997)

Description: On May 31, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Federal corps that appeared isolated south of the Chickahominy River. The Confederate assaults, though not well coordinated, succeeded in driving back the IV Corps and inflicting heavy casualties. Reinforcements arrived, and both sides fed more and more troops into the action. Supported by the III Corps and Sedgwick’s division of Sumner’s II Corps (that crossed the rain-swollen river on Grapevine Bridge), the Federal position was finally stabilized. Gen. Johnston was seriously wounded during the action, and command of the Confederate army devolved temporarily to Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith. On June 1, the Confederates renewed their assaults against the Federals who had brought up more reinforcements but made little headway. Both sides claimed victory. Confederate brigadier Robert H. Hatton was killed.

Result(s): Inconclusive


3 posted on 12/17/2003 12:01:50 AM PST by SAMWolf (INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: All


Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.





Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.





Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.



4 posted on 12/17/2003 12:02:14 AM PST by SAMWolf (INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: carton253; Matthew Paul; mark502inf; Skylight; The Mayor; Professional Engineer; PsyOp; Samwise; ...



FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Wednesday Morning Everyone

If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

5 posted on 12/17/2003 4:08:09 AM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.
6 posted on 12/17/2003 4:09:36 AM PST by E.G.C.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
I will never leave you nor forsake you. —Hebrews 13:5


When all around me is darkness
And earthly joys have flown,
My Savior whispers His promise
Never to leave me alone

Fear will leave us when we remember that God is always with us.

7 posted on 12/17/2003 4:15:30 AM PST by The Mayor (If God could Vote, he would vote with the Right wing conspiracy)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: E.G.C.
For those using Norton, today is the day they update their anti-virus files, be sure to update your anti-virus software.
8 posted on 12/17/2003 5:03:44 AM PST by E.G.C.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Birthdates which occurred on December 17:
1706 Gabrielle Châtelet [La belle Emilie] French writer (Voltaire)
1734 William Floyd US soldier/signer (Declaration of Independence)
1778 Sir Humphrey Davy discovered several chemical elements
1797 Joseph Henry US, scientist/inventor/pioneer of electromagnetism
1824 John Kerr System physicist (electro-visually Kerr-effect)
1824 Manning Ferguson Force Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1899
1835 Alexander E Agassiz US, businessman/biologist/geology
1873 Ford Madox Ford England, novelist/editor (The Inheritors)
1874 William Lyon Mackenzie King (L), 10th Canadian PM (1921-30, 1935-48)
1894 Arthur Fiedler Boston MA, conductor (Boston Pops)
1894 Hans [Henry] Kramers Dutch theoretical physicist (quantum mechanics)
1903 Erskine P Caldwell author (Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre)
1908 Willard Frank Libby inventor (carbon-14 "atomic clock" (Nobel 1960))
1935 Cal Ripken Sr baseball manager (Baltimore Orioles)
1939 Eddie Kendricks Alabama, rocker (Temptations-My Girl, Boogie Down)
1942 Paul Butterfield Chicago IL, blues musician (Better Days)
1944 Jack L Chalker US, sci-fi author (Charon: A Dragon at the Gate, Saga of Well World)
1970 Benedictine [St Bernard] becomes heaviest known dog (137 kg)



Deaths which occurred on December 17:
0695 Begga ancestress of the Carolingians/saint, dies
1187 Gregory VIII [Alberto de Morra] Italian Pope (1187), dies
1679 Don Juan ruler of Spain, dies
1830 Simon Bolivar President of Colombia, dies at 47 in Colombia
1891 Msiri king of Garanganja (Katanga), dies in battle
1899 Frederick "Freddy" Roberts son of British field marshal, dies in battle
1909 Leopold II king of Belgium dies
1957 Dorothy Leigh Sayers [Atherton Fleming] author (Whose body), dies at 64
1967 Harold Holt Australian premier (1966-67), drowns at 59
1969 Arturo da Costa e Silva President of Brazil (1967-69), dies at 67
1973 Charles G Abbot US astronomer (Sun Constant), dies at 101
1991 John Blatnik (Representative-MN, 1947-75), dies at 80
1992 Dana Andrews actor (Laura, Best Years of Our Lives), dies of pneumonia in Los Alamitos at 83
1993 Janet Margolin US actress (Annie Hall), dies at 50 of ovarian cancer



Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 BOYER TERRY L.---VISALIA CA.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 ELLIS JEFFREY T.---CALDWELL NJ.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 FLEENOR KENNETH R.---BOWLING GREEN KY.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied
by the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.


On this day...
A bunch of stuff


1903 At 10:35 AM, 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight (Orville Wright)
The brothers' own account, transmitted by The Associated Press on Jan. 5, 1904, and retransmitted for the 75th anniversary in December 1978. Punctuation, spelling and style are from the original typewritten document.


DAYTON, Ohio -- It had not been our intention to make any detailed public statement concerning the private trials of our power "Flyer" on the 17th of December last; but since the contents of a private telegram announcing to our folks at home the success of our trials, was dishonestly communicated to the newspapermen at the Norfolk office, and led to the imposition upon the public, by persons who never saw the "Flyer" or its flights, of a fictitious story incorrect in almost every detail; and since this story together with several pretended interviews or statements, which were fakes, pure and simple, have been widely disseminated, we feel impelled to make some correction.
The real facts were as follows:
On the morning of December 17th, between the hours of 10:30 o'clock and noon, four flights were made, two by Orville Wright and two by Wilbur Wright. The starts were all made from a point on the level sand about 200 feet west of our camp, which is located a quarter of a mile north of the Kill Devil sand hill, in Dare County, North Carolina.
The wind at the time of the flights had a velocity of 2 miles an hour at ten o'clock, and 24 miles an hour at noon, as recorded by the anemometer at the Kitty Hawk Weather Bureau Station.


This anemometer is thirty feet from the ground. Ground measurements, made with a hand anemometer at a height of four feet from the ground, showed a velocity of about 22 miles when the first flight was made, and 20 1/2 miles at the time of the last one.
The flights were directly against the wind. Each time the machine started from the level ground by its own power alone with no assistance from gravity, or any other source whatever.
After a run of about 40 feet along a monorail track, which held the machine eight inches from the ground, it rose from the track and under the direction of the operator, climbed upward on an inclined course until eight or ten feet from the ground was reached, after the course was kept as near horizontal as the wind gusts and the limited skill of the operator would permit.
Into the teeth of a December gale the "Flyer" made its way forward with a speed of ten miles an hour over the ground and 30-35 miles an hour air.
It had previously been decided that for reasons of personal safety these first trials would be made as close to the ground as possible. The height chosen was scarcely sufficient for maneuvering in so gusty a wind and with previous acquaintence with the conduct of the machine and its controlling mechanisms. Consequently the first flight was short.
The succeeding flights rapidly increased in length and at the fourth trial a flight of fifty-nine seconds was made, in which time the machine flew a little more than a half a mile through the air, and a distance of 852 feet over the ground.
The landing was due to a slight error of judgement on the part of the aviator. After passing over a little hummock of sand, in attempting to bring the machine down to the desired height, the operator turned the rudder too far; and the machine downward more quickly than had been expected. Reverse movement of the rudder was a fraction of a second too late to prevent the machine from touching the ground and thus ending the flight. The whole occurence occupied little, if any, more than one second of time.
Only those who are acquainted with practical aeronautics can appreciate the difficulties of attempting the first trails of a flying machine in a twenty five mile gale. As winter already was well set in, should have postponed our trails to a more favorable season, but for the fact that we were determined, before returning home, to know whether the machine possessed sufficient power to fly, sufficient strength to sustain the shocks of landings, and sufficient capacity of control to make flight safe in boisterous winds as well as in calm air.
When these points had been definitely established, we at once packed our goods and returned home, knowing that the age of the flying machine had come at last.
From the beginning we have employed entirely new principles of control; and as all the experiments have been conducted at our own expense without assistance from any individual or institution, we do not feel ready at present to giveout any pictures or detailed discription of the machine.

Somemore stuff



Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Bhutan : Ascension to the throne of the 1st King/National Day
Colombia : Independence Day (1819)
US : Pan American Aviation Day/Wright Brothers Day (1903)
US : Tell Someone They're Doing A Good Job Week (Day 4)
Venezuela : Bolivar Day (1830)
World : Underdog Day (Friday)
Ancient Rome : Saturnalia
Hi Neighbor Month


Religious Observances
Christian : Fiesta of the Virgin of the Lonely
Anglican, Roman Catholic : Ember Day



Religious History
1843 Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was first published. The "social conversion" of Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve may be seen as a literary symbol (based on the events of the first Christmas night) of the human potential released through spiritual conversion.
1917 Confiscation of the property of the Russian Orthodox Church and abolition of religious instruction in schools was announced by the Bolshevik government.
1920 The first orphanage founded by the Church of God opened in Cleveland, Tennessee. Its establishment was the result of the vision and efforts of Church of God pioneer, A.J. Tomlinson.
1934 Birth of Kurt Kaiser, contemporary American Christian songwriter and composer. His abiding works include: "Oh, How He Loves You and Me," "Pass It On" and "Master Designer."
1943 German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'The consciousness of being borne up by a spiritual tradition that goes back for centuries gives one a feeling of confidence and security in the face of all passing strains and stresses.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.


Thought for the day :
"Every human being comes equipped with a brain at no extra cost."


Question of thee day...
Can you be a closet claustrophobic?


Murphys Law of the day...(Gerrold's Law)
A little ignorance can go a long way.
(Lyall's Addendum: ...in the direction of maximum harm.)


Amazing Fact #49,991...
The longest time someone has typed on a typewriter continuously is 264 hrs., set by Violet Gibson Burns.
9 posted on 12/17/2003 5:40:01 AM PST by Valin (We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
Leaders reflect on 100 years of flight
12/16/2003 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The following is a joint message from Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper:
"It was the most significant 12 seconds of the last 100 years.
"On Dec. 17, 1903, two bicycle builders from Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright, launched the world on a path to the heavens when their rudimentary airplane of wire, wood and canvas wings lifted off a windy, grassy hill at Kitty Hawk (N.C.).
"Since their marvelous achievement, aviation has enabled our expansion, enhanced our commerce and expanded our communication.
"Military aviation developed quickly after that first flight. The names and exploits of our airpower pioneers are melded into our nation's history: Rickenbacker, Mitchell, Doolittle, Davis, Cochran and Yeager, to name just a few.
"While our past is storied, our present and future remain as boundless and adventurous as the Wright Brothers' dream. Because of our great airmen in today's Air Force, we have developed, operated and exploited advanced weapons systems and technologies -- from sensors and aircraft to lasers and satellites -- enabling us to own the ultimate high ground and dominate any battlespace.
"The centennial of flight is as much about our future as it is about our past. We commend you for all that you do every day to promote this heritage and provide our nation with the finest air and space force in the world. We're proud to serve along side you as we continue to discover ways to slip the surly bonds and deliver peace and freedom for our nation."
10 posted on 12/17/2003 5:46:22 AM PST by larryjohnson (USAF(Ret))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; All

Good morning everyone in The Foxhole!

11 posted on 12/17/2003 5:52:30 AM PST by Soaring Feather (I do Poetry.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: bentfeather; snippy_about_it; SAMWolf
I'm in.
12 posted on 12/17/2003 5:55:02 AM PST by Darksheare (Saddam's next physical: The electric enema followed by a minor bit of squeezing and shredding.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
Good morning Snippy.
13 posted on 12/17/2003 6:08:18 AM PST by SAMWolf (INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: E.G.C.
Morning E.G.C. We have a heavy fog this morning.
14 posted on 12/17/2003 6:09:05 AM PST by SAMWolf (INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: The Mayor
Good morning Mayor.
15 posted on 12/17/2003 6:10:42 AM PST by SAMWolf (INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf

Today's classic warship, USS Tennessee (BB-43)

Tennessee class battleship
displacement. 33,190 t.
length. 624'
beam. 97' 3 1/2"
draft. 31' s. 21 k.
complement. 1,401
armament. 12 14", 14 5", 4 3" AA, 2 21" tt.

The USS Tennessee was laid down on 14 May 1917 at the New York Navy Yard; launched on 30 April 1919; sponsored by Miss Helen Lenore Roberts, daughter of the governor of Tennessee; and commissioned on 3 June 1920, Capt. Richard H. Leigh in command.

Tennessee and her sister ship, California (BB-44), were the first American battleships built to a "post-Jutland" hull design. As a result of extensive experimentation and testing, her underwater hull protection was much greater than that of previous battleships; and both her main and secondary batteries had fire-control systems. The Tennessee class, and the three ships of the Colorado-class which followed, were identified by two heavy cage masts supporting large fire-control tops. This feature was to distinguish the "Big Five" from the rest of the battleship force until World War II. Since Tennessee's 14-inch turret guns could be elevated to 30 degrees-rather than to the 15 degrees of earlier battleships-her heavy guns could reach out an additional 10,000 yards. Because battleships were then beginning to carry airplanes to spot long-range gunfire, Tennessee's ability to shoot "over the horizon" had a practical value.

After fitting out, Tennessee conducted trials in Long Island Sound from 15 to 23 October 1920. While Tennessee was at New York, one of her 300-kilowatt ship's-service generators blew up on 30 October, "completely destroying the turbine end of the machine" and injuring two men. Undaunted, the ship's force, navy yard craftsmen, and manufacturers' representatives labored to eliminate the "teething troubles" in Tennessee's engineering system and enabled the battleship to depart New York on 26 February 1921 for standardization trials at Guantanamo. She next steamed north for the Virginia Capes and arrived at Hampton Roads on 19 March. Tennessee carried out gunnery calibration firing at Dahlgren, Va., and was drydocked at Boston before full-power trials off Rockland, Maine. After touching at New York, she steamed south; transited the Panama Canal; and, on 17 June, arrived at San Pedro, Calif., her home port for the next 19 years. For the next two decades, the battleship divisions of the Battle Fleet were to incl ude the preponderance of the Navy's surface warship strength; and Tennessee was to serve here until World War II.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, Tennessee was moored starboard side to a pair of masonry "mooring quays" on Battleship Row, the name given to a line if these deep water berths located along the southeast side of Ford Island. West Virginia (BB-48) was berthed alongside to port. Just ahead of Tennessee was Maryland (BB-46), with Oklahoma (BB-37) outboard. Arizona (BB-39), moored directly astern of Tennessee, was undergoing a period of upkeep from the repair ship Vestal (AR-4), berthed alongside her. The three "nests" were spaced about 75 feet apart.

At about 0755, Japanese carrier planes began their attack. As the first bombs fell on Ford Island, Tennessee went to general quarters and closed her watertight doors. In about five minutes, her antiaircraft guns were manned and firing. Sortie orders were received, and the battleship's engineers began to get steam up. However, this quickly became academic as Oklahoma and West Virginia took crippling torpedo hits. Oklahoma capsized to port and sank, bottom up. West Virginia began to list heavily, but timely counter-flooding righted her. She, nevertheless, also settled on the bottom but did so on an even keel. Tennessee, though her guns were firing and her engines operational, could not move. The sinking West Virginia had wedged her against the two massive concrete quays to which she was moored, and worse was soon to come.

As the Japanese torpedo bombers launched their weapons against Battleship Row, dive bombers were simultaneously coming in from above. Strafing fighters were attacking the ships' antiaircraft batteries and control positions as high-level horizontal bombers dropped heavy battleship-caliber projectiles modified to serve as armor-piercing bombs. Several bombs struck Arizona; and, at about 0820, one of them penetrated her protective deck and exploded in a magazine detonating black-powder saluting charges which, in turn, set off the surrounding smokeless-powder magazines. A shattering explosion demolished Arizona's foreport, and fuel oil from her ruptured tanks was ignited and began to spread. The torpedo hits on West Virginia had also released burning oil, and Tennessee's stern and port quarter were soon surrounded by flames and dense black smoke. At about 0830, horizontal bombers scored two hits on Tennessee. One bomb carried away the after mainyard before passing through the catapult on top of Turret III, the elevated after turret, breaking up as it partially penetrated the armored turret top. Large fragments of the bomb case did some damage inside the turret and put one of its three 14-inch guns out of operation. In stead of exploding, the bomb filler ignited and burned, setting an intense fire which was quickly extinguished.

The second bomb struck the barrel of the center gun of Turret II, the forward "high" turret, and exploded. The center gun was knocked out of action, and bomb fragments sprayed Tennessee's forward superstructure. Capt. Mervyn S. Bennion, the commanding officer of West Virginia, had stepped out on to the starboard wing of his ship's bridge only to be mortally wounded by one of these fragments.

While her physical hurts were relatively minor, Tennessee was still seriously threatened by oil fires raging around her stern. When Arizona's magazines erupted, Tennessee's after decks were showered with burning oil and debris which s tarted fires that were encouraged by the heat of the flaming fuel. Numerous blazes had to be fought on the after portion of the main deck and in the officers' quarters on the deck below. Shipboard burning was brought under control by 1030, but oil flowing from the tanks of the adjacent ships continued to flame.

By the evening of 7 December, the worst was over. Oil was still blazing around Arizona and West Virginia and continued to threaten Tennessee for two more days while she was still imprisoned by the obstacles around her. Although her bridge and foremast had been damaged by bomb splinters, her machinery was in full commission; and no serious injury had been done to ship or gunnery controls. Ten of her 12 14-inch guns and all of her secondary and antiaircraft guns were intact. By comparison with most of the battleships around her, Tennessee was relatively unscathed.

The first order of business was now to get Tennessee out of her berth. Just forward of her, Maryland-similarly wedged into her berth when Oklahoma rolled over and sank-was released and moved away on 9 December. The forwardmost of Tennessee's two concrete mooring quays was next demolished-a delicate task since the ship's hull was resting against it-and had been cleared away by 16 December. Tennessee carefully crept ahead, past Oklahoma's sunken hull, and moored at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard.

Temporary repairs were quickly made. From Turret III to the stern on both sides of the ship, Tennessee's hull gave mute evidence of the inferno that she had survived. Every piece of hull plating above the waterline was buckled and warped by heat; seams had been opened and rivets loosened. These seams had to be rewelded and rivets reset, and a considerable amount of recaulking was needed to make hull and weather decks watertight. The damaged top of Turret III received a temporary armor patch.

On 20 December, Tennessee departed Pearl Harbor with Pennsylvania (BB-38) and Maryland-both superficially damaged in the Japanese attack-and a screen of four destroyers. From the moment the ships put to sea, nervous lookouts repeatedly sounded submarine alarms, making the voyage something more than uneventful. Nearing the west coast, Pennsylvania headed for Mare Island while Maryland and Tennessee steamed north, arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 29 December 1941, and commenced permanent repairs.

Working around the clock during the first two months of 1942, shipyard craftsmen repaired Tennessee's after hull plating and replaced electrical wiring ruined by heat. To allow her antiaircraft guns a freer field of fire, her tall cage mainmast was replaced by a tower similar to that later installed in Colorado (BB-46) and Maryland. An air-search radar was installed; fire-control radars were fitted to Tennessee's main-battery and 5-inch antiaircraft gun directors. Her three-inch and .50-caliber antiaircraft guns were replaced by 1.1-inch and 20-millimeter automatic shell guns, and her 5-inch antiaircraft guns were protected by splinter shields. Fourteen-inch Mark-4 turret guns were replaced by improved Mark-11 models. Other modifications improved the battleship's habitability.

On 26 February 1942, Tennessee departed Puget Sound with Maryland and Colorado. Upon arriving at San Francisco, she began a period of intensive training operations with Rear Admiral William S. Pye's Task Force 1, made up of the Pacific Fleet's available battleships and a screen of destroyers. From February through August 1942, she operated off the U.S. west coast, then briefly went to Pearl Harbor before returning to Puget Sound for extensive modernization.

By the time Tennessee emerged from the navy yard on 7 May 1943, she bore virtually no resemblance to her former self. Deep new blisters increased the depth of her side protection against torpedoes by eight feet-three inches on each side, gradually tapering toward bow and stern. Internal compartmentation was rearranged and improved. The most striking innovation was made in the battleship's superstructure. The heavy armored conning tower, from which Tennessee would have been controlled in a surface gunnery action, was removed, as were masts, stacks, and other superstructure. A new, compact, superstructure was designed to provide essential ship and gunnery control facilities while offering as little interference as possible to the fields of fire of the ship's increasingly essential anti-aircraft guns. A low tower foremast supported a main-battery director and bridge spaces; boiler uptakes were trunked into a single fat funnel which was faired into the after side of the foremast. Just abaft the stack, a lower structure accommodated the after turret-gun director. Tennessee's old 5-inch battery, and combination of 5"/25 antiaircraft guns and 5"/51 single-purpose "anti-destroyer" guns, was replaced by eight 5"/38 twin mounts. Four new directors, arranged around the superstructure, could control these guns against air or surface targets. All of these directors were equipped with fire-control radars; antennas for surface- and air-search radars were mounted at the mastheads. Close-in antiaircraft defense was the function of 10 quadruple 40-millimeter gun mounts, each with its own optical director, and of 43 20-millimeter guns.

Though the slow battleships were still incapable of serving with the carrier striking force, their heavy turret guns could still hit as hard as ever. Naval shore bombardment and gunfire support for troops ashore-then coming to be a specialty in its own right-was well suited for this the earlier generation of battleships which were also still quite usable for patrol duty in areas where fire-power was more important than speed. The refurbished Tennessee's first tour of duty combined both of these missions.

She almost immediately moved up to the Aleutians area, where her 14-inch guns bombarded Kiska when that island was invaded in August. During the next year, from November 1943 into September 1944, she participated in bombardments of Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, New Ireland, and Saipan, where she was damaged by Japanese counter-fire.

D-Day on Saipan was 15 June 1944. Tennessee's assault station was off the southern end of the landing beach. During the first wave's approach, her guns enfiladed that end of the objective to prepare the way for the right-hand elements of the 4th Division. She checked fire as the troops neared the beach, resuming it a few minutes later as the marines fought to establish themselves ashore. Japanese 4.7-inch field guns, emplaced in a cave on Tinian, opened on Tennessee. The battleship commenced counterbattery fire, but the third enemy salvo scored three hits, all of which burst on impact. One projectile knocked out a 5-inch twin gun mount; the second struck the ship's side, while the third tore a hole in the after portion of main deck and sprayed fragments into the wardroom below. An intense fire inside the disabled gun mount was subdued in two minutes by repair parties and men from nearby gun crews; the hit to the hull damaged external blister plating, but was prevented from inflicting further damage by the battleship's heavy belt armor. Eight men were killed by projectile fragments, while 26 more were wounded by fragments and flash burns. Tennessee's damages did not prevent her from delivering call fire to help break up a developing Japanese counterattack near Agingan Point before leaving the firing line to make emergency repairs. During the afternoon and night, she took station to screen assembled transports. Four Japanese dive bombers attacked nearby ships at 1846, and Tennessee's 5-inch guns briefly engaged them but claimed no hits. That evening, Tennessee buried her dead. Tokyo radio claimed victory in the battle for Saipan, stating that they had sunk a battleship which they identified as "probably the New Jersey."

The Tennessee went on to provide gunfire support for the invasions of Guam, Tinian, Anguar and Pelieu. In October, Tennessee's guns pounded the Leyte invasion area as U.S. forces returned to the Philippines, and, on the night of 24-25 October, she helped sink the Japanese battleship Yamashiro in the Battle of Surigao Strait.

On the morning of 25 October 1944, the Tennessee would finially fight the battle she had been designed for. The Tennessee, along with five other battleships, including four other survivors of Pearl Harbor, would avenge that defeat in the last battleship vs battleship fight in history at Surigao Strait.

Sailing eastwards towards Surigao Strait on the night of the 24th was Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura, and the battleships Fuso and Yamashiro. Accompanying them would be the heavy cruiser Mogami, the destroyers Shigure, Michishio, Asagumo and Yamagumo. Following close behind would be a second force sailing from Japan under the command of Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima. This second force would consist of two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and four destroyers. Unfortunately for Nishimura and Shima, the Americans would be perfectly deployed and anxiously waiting for all of the Japanese ships to sail into their trap.

Rear Admiral Jesse B. Olendorf had a collection of old battleships. Among them were the West Virgina and California – both of which had been officially "sunk" at Pearl Harbor nearly three years earlier. But they had been recovered, rebuilt, and redeployed to exact a measure of revenge from the Japanese. Armed with the latest radar and fire control systems, they waited. Along with these two were the Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, also veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack (these three were all damaged but not sunk) and the Mississippi.

The battle was fought using tactics centuries old, with Olendorf "capping the T" of Nishimura. At 3:51AM, Olendorf ordered the cruisers Louisville, Portland, Minneapolis, Denver, Columbus, Phoenix, Boise and HMAS Shropshire to commence firing, followed by the battleships two minutes later. The Japanese suffered a terrible beating. The West Virginia fired 93 rounds of 16" armor piercing (AP) ammunition, while the Tennessee and California added another 132 rounds of 14" AP. The other three battleships did not have as sophisticated fire control radar, and were therefore slower to join in the mauling being delivered. The Maryland picked up the splashes from West Virginia’s rounds on radar, and soon added 43 rounds of her own to the mix. The Mississippi fired a single salvo, and the Pennsylvania never had a chance to fire at all.

But it didn’t matter. The Fuso was burning red-hot. The Mogami was a shambles. And the little Shigure was running away as fast as she could manage with no working instruments at all. When the helmsman of the Shigure cried out that he no longer had control of the rudder, she too came to a full stop dead in the water. Yamashiro, still able to make 16 knots after her frightful beating, was fatally hurt and, at 0419, rolled over and sank with all but a few of her crew. And thus ended the Battle of Surigao Strait. Two Japanese battleships, one cruiser, and three destroyers became the final victims in history of classic battle line tactics. It is perhaps fitting that this fight would take place among ships a quarter of a century old, given one final curtain call to fight in the manner of centuries of naval engagements.

The next several days were quiet ones for Tennessee, though the Japanese sent numerous land-based air strikes against Leyte Gulf. On 29 October, the battlewagon's crew was told that their next destination was to be the Puget Sound Navy Yard. Late that day, she got underway for Ulithi with West Virginia, Maryland, and four cruisers. From there, she proceeded to Pearl Harbor and thence to Bremerton where she entered the shipyard on 26 November.

After a Stateside overhaul, Tennessee supported the Iwo Jima operation in February and March 1945, firing nearly 1400 fourteen-inch and over 6000 five-inch shells at targets on the small, but fiercely defended island. Beginning in late March, she bombarded Okinawa. Hit by a suicide plane on 12 April (Twenty-two men were killed or fatally wounded, with another 107 injured), Tennessee remained in action until 1 May, when she went to Ulithi for repairs, then returned to Okinawa to continue her gunfire support during June. In July and August, she operated in the waters off China.

The battleship's final assignment of the war was to cover the landing of occupation troops at Wakayama, Japan. She arrived there on 23 September, then went on to Yokosuka. Tennessee's crew had the chance to look over the Imperial Navy's big shipyard and operating base and do some sightseeing before she got underway for Singapore on 16 October. At Singapore Oldendorf shifted his flag to the cruiser Springfield (CL-66), and Tennessee continued her long voyage home by way of the Cape of Good Hope.

On the fourth anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the old veteran moored at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. During those years, she had hurled 9,347 14-inch rounds at the enemy, with 46,341 shells from her 5-inch guns and more than 100,000 rounds from her antiaircraft battery.

The process of trimming the wartime Navy down to postwar size was already well underway. Tennessee was one of the older, yet still useful, ships selected for inclusion in the "mothball fleet;" and, during 1946, she underwent a process of preservation and preparation for inactivation. The work went slowly; there were many ships to lay up and not too many people to do it. Finally, on 14 February 1947, Tennessee's ensign was hauled down for the last time as she was placed out of commission.

Tennessee remained in the inactive fleet for another 12 years. By then, time and technology had passed her by; and, on 1 March 1959, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. On 10 July of that year, she was sold to the Bethlehem Steel Company for scrapping.

Tennessee earned a Navy Unit Commendation and 10 battles stars for World War II service.

16 posted on 12/17/2003 6:13:04 AM PST by aomagrat (IYAOYAS)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Valin
A bunch of stuff

Somemore stuff

LOL! Thanks for posting the Press Release from the Wright Brothers.



17 posted on 12/17/2003 6:16:40 AM PST by SAMWolf (INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Fair Oaks. It is so distressing to read these stories of the WBTS, so sad that we had to fight each other, so many died because of the politics of a few. I am still a believer in State's rights and we should have never lost that, imo. The proof is in the pudding, just look at the mess we are in today.

Pvt. Wilson Fryling's letter made it back home to Pennsylvania.
He did not.

As was true of too many.

Thanks SAM for brining us this history.

18 posted on 12/17/2003 6:17:49 AM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: E.G.C.
Good morning EGC. It's to stay at about 24 degrees with light snow flurries all day here in Ohio.
19 posted on 12/17/2003 6:18:46 AM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: The Mayor
Good morning Mayor, coffee looks especially inviting today.
20 posted on 12/17/2003 6:19:36 AM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 181-184 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson