In Support of the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner
Carte de visite by M.H. Kimball of New York City. The five guns of the Union warship Chippewa pounded Fort Wagner during the week leading up to the July 18, 1863, attack led by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. The Chippewa, and the rest of the fleet that included ironclad monitors, hurled a massive number of shells to soften the rebel defenses.
One eyewitness estimated, "the amount of shell thrown into Fort Wagner would almost build another Ironsides," a reference to one of the monitors engaged in the bombardment.
On the Chippewa, the concussions from the steady beat of gun blasts reverberating across the decks affected the hearing of the officer pictured here, Acting Ensign James Morris Crocker.
A peacetime mariner in Stonington, Conn., Crocker had joined the navy as an acting master's mate in November 1861 and before the year's end received an assignment to the crew of the Chippewa. He and his comrades spent the early part of the war on the opposite side of the Atlantic hunting Confederate cruisers. The highlight of this time occurred in late 1862, when the Chippewa and Kearsarge trapped the raider Sumter in Gibraltar. Crocker and others spent night after night peering through telescopes to observe the vessel's activities. The threat ended when the Sumter was disarmed and auctioned. Most of the Sumter's crew, including Capt. Raphael Semmes, escaped and went on to wreak havoc on the U.S. merchant fleet aboard the new raider Alabama.
Less than a year later, the Chippewa steamed along the South Carolina coast to Charleston Harbor. On July 18, the vessel occupied a position between the ironclads and the wood-sided warships, and participated in the long-range bombardment of Fort Wagner in preparation for the ground assault.
An unidentified naval officer aboard the vessel wrote a day after the failed assault, "The Chippewa has gained credit for going nearer than any of the other gun-boats, and firing faster and making the best shots, and for answering signal, &c.; in fact the ship has got something of a name at last." The rebel batteries returned fire, most of it aimed at the ironclads.
The officer paid homage to the 54th Massachusetts and other infantry regiments engaged in the assault late that day: "Our work was play compared with the charge in the face of the fire from Fort Wagner and Sumter." He added, "They fought very hard, our men were in the fort something like two hours, and it was nothing but the confusion and darkness—not being able to tell friend from foe, that obliged them to get out."
Despite the loss, the officer added, "Fort Wagner is destined to be ours." He was correct. Confederates abandoned it on Sept. 6, 1863, after a two-month siege.
Crocker suffered permanent damage to his right ear as a result of the bombardment. He remained aboard the Chippewa until the following summer, when he transferred to the frigate Sabine, a training ship for new sailors. After the war ended, Crocker returned to life as a mariner in Stonington. His service had not dampened his passion for ocean voyages. "He was a seafaring man" noted a friend. But by 1871, his hearing had deteriorated further, and his eyesight declined, forcing him no abandon his chosen profession. In 1876, he and his wife, Eunice, who he had married during an 1862 leave, moved to Brooklyn. Crocker worked as a fish buyer, which kept him connected to the sea. He had another reminder of his open-going days: Two tattoos, a bracelet on left wrist and double anchor on his right hand.
Crocker lived until 1909, dying at age 79. Eunice survived him and lived until 1917. They had no children.
I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.
In Support of the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner
Carte de visite by M.H. Kimball of New York City. The five guns of the Union warship Chippewa pounded Fort Wagner during the week leading up to the July 18, 1863, attack led by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. The Chippewa, and the rest of the fleet that included ironclad monitors, hurled a massive number of shells to soften the rebel defenses.
One eyewitness estimated, "the amount of shell thrown into Fort Wagner would almost build another Ironsides," a reference to one of the monitors engaged in the bombardment.
On the Chippewa, the concussions from the steady beat of gun blasts reverberating across the decks affected the hearing of the officer pictured here, Acting Ensign James Morris Crocker.
A peacetime mariner in Stonington, Conn., Crocker had joined the navy as an acting master's mate in November 1861 and before the year's end received an assignment to the crew of the Chippewa. He and his comrades spent the early part of the war on the opposite side of the Atlantic hunting Confederate cruisers. The highlight of this time occurred in late 1862, when the Chippewa and Kearsarge trapped the raider Sumter in Gibraltar. Crocker and others spent night after night peering through telescopes to observe the vessel's activities. The threat ended when the Sumter was disarmed and auctioned. Most of the Sumter's crew, including Capt. Raphael Semmes, escaped and went on to wreak havoc on the U.S. merchant fleet aboard the new raider Alabama.
Less than a year later, the Chippewa steamed along the South Carolina coast to Charleston Harbor. On July 18, the vessel occupied a position between the ironclads and the wood-sided warships, and participated in the long-range bombardment of Fort Wagner in preparation for the ground assault.
An unidentified naval officer aboard the vessel wrote a day after the failed assault, "The Chippewa has gained credit for going nearer than any of the other gun-boats, and firing faster and making the best shots, and for answering signal, &c.; in fact the ship has got something of a name at last." The rebel batteries returned fire, most of it aimed at the ironclads.
The officer paid homage to the 54th Massachusetts and other infantry regiments engaged in the assault late that day: "Our work was play compared with the charge in the face of the fire from Fort Wagner and Sumter." He added, "They fought very hard, our men were in the fort something like two hours, and it was nothing but the confusion and darkness—not being able to tell friend from foe, that obliged them to get out."
Despite the loss, the officer added, "Fort Wagner is destined to be ours." He was correct. Confederates abandoned it on Sept. 6, 1863, after a two-month siege.
Crocker suffered permanent damage to his right ear as a result of the bombardment. He remained aboard the Chippewa until the following summer, when he transferred to the frigate Sabine, a training ship for new sailors. After the war ended, Crocker returned to life as a mariner in Stonington. His service had not dampened his passion for ocean voyages. "He was a seafaring man" noted a friend. But by 1871, his hearing had deteriorated further, and his eyesight declined, forcing him no abandon his chosen profession. In 1876, he and his wife, Eunice, who he had married during an 1862 leave, moved to Brooklyn. Crocker worked as a fish buyer, which kept him connected to the sea. He had another reminder of his open-going days: Two tattoos, a bracelet on left wrist and double anchor on his right hand.
Crocker lived until 1909, dying at age 79. Eunice survived him and lived until 1917. They had no children.
I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.