Confidential.
‘Wabash’ Dec. 6, 61.
Port Royal, SC
My Dear Sir
Raymond Rodgers returned this morning from a splendid
reconnaissance of the Wassaw Inlet strangely overlooked heretofore by the Coast
Survey. He had Stevens, Ammen and Bankhead's vessels, found 21 f. on the bar,
went up ten miles from it and saw the steeples of Savannah.
Boldly advancing on the fort, to his astonishment he found
it abandoned like those in St. Helena Sound. Eight heavy guns had been removed —
the magazine blown up, the beds and circles broken. The Fort now building is on
Wilmington Creek near a Coast Survey triangulation station and ten miles from
Savannah.
Now my Dear friend I want to make a point as the Japanese
express it. We are you will see going more and more into the flanks of the
rebels, driving them from these coast defences and keeping up our prestige I
think, — but alas my vessels are so spread and absorbed, that we have to come
out of these places again. Drayton is holding all the St. Helena waters and
the Dale is to be the depot ship — at Otter island and keeping up this
demonstration off Savannah by the ships in Tybee roads is right also, — and now
comes Wassaw, and I believe (I don't know) that Ossabaw and the rest of
the Coast of Georgia will be ready to fall into our hands. This you will
remember was the regular plan of the Department, but I never thought I could
carry it out so fast — then again we were to begin at the lower end and work up,
but having made this great breach in the centre, by the occupation of Port
Royal, we are working towards both ends at the same time.
Mr. Welles and Yrself have been so kind that I dislike to be
troubling you for more vessels — but besides the above disposition of them, the
constant and necessary repairs to every steam vessel are more frequent and
consume more time than you have any idea of. I don't want to say anything of a
most remarkable ignorance which seems to prevail among some of my fine fellows
here in handling vessels in a tide way, so that our collisions are more
frequent than they should be, hence more tinkering.
Your stone fleet has arrived, and so far as Savannah is
concerned anticipated — besides Tattnall is doing the work for us and I sent to
Missroon to get him word if he could, that we would supply him with a half
dozen vessels to help his obstructions off Pulaski. I have written to Lardner about
the Charleston bar and have ordered the fleet in here in the meantime. They
doubt less caused an awful fright in Savannah yesterday and certainly captured
Wassaw. It is wonderful how safely they came. One encountered a water spout,
which took his sails out of him. One or two got into Tybee just in time to go
down. One in a sinking condition was towed to the beach for a breakwater and
wharf.
I thought the inside of the Light House had been burnt, by
an incendiary, but it was more likely the result of spontaneous combustion. The
new frame barracks most comfortable structures were spared. These barracks seem
to be holding out imploring looks, to be occupied by our troops! What I write
is about our business, but I yearn to see Savannah and Charleston taken —
then the neck of the foul thing will be broken.
Davis and Rodgers send their warm regards to you. We are all
three excessively busy but very happy.
Yours most truly
S. F. DuPONT
G. V. Fox Esq.
Washington
P.S.
Could you not take a holiday and run down and see us here?
You always bring us good luck.
S. F. DP.
I have been told a brigade goes to Beaufort! Glad to hear of
any movement, but Beaufort is not Savannah, nor the way to get to it.
SOURCE: Robert Means Thompson & Richard Wainwright,
Editors, Publications of the Naval Historical Society, Volume 9: Confidential
Correspondence of Gustavus Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1861-1865,
Volume 1, p. 76-8
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