***
The headline of The Anderson Intelligencer from Anderson Court House, South Carolina shouted:
"New Gray Ship Sighted – USS Hawaii "
May 12, 1861, by John Fergus
Another gigantic Gray Ship was sighted yesterday while attacking the CSS Advance. The name of the ship is the USS Hawaii, bearing the number "78" on her superstructure. It is similar in appearance to the USS California, which was seen a few weeks ago, but it had massive guns and other structures that couldn't be identified. Large circular objects along the ship's rails could be seen, four on each side. Their use is unknown. The Advance did not suffer any damage and the Hawaii broke off the engagement. Robert Mason, the Captain of the Advance said, "I have never seen guns so large, nor have I ever seen a ship so fast."
Chapter 51
The California, under a different name every 24 hours, cruised the coast of North Carolina for the next month, punctuated by two trips back to Washington to communicate with the Union command and to take on supplies.
Depending on the day, the ship would be known as the USS California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The ship's actions were becoming almost routine. They would spot a Confederate vessel, fire a warning shot, and then pull a Gray Ship Moon, showing the crews of the rebel ships a new name every day. During any close encounter with a Southern ship, Captain Patterson ordered that General Quarters be sounded, and all hands would man their battle station. This was standard naval doctrine: if there is a possibility of hostile action, battle stations must be manned. It also served a practical purpose: to break monotony and keep morale up.
By June 1, the California had interdicted 36 blockade runners, forcing them to change course away from Wilmington. Not one vessel had fired on the California. Apparently the very sight of one of the Gray Ships was enough to convince a captain to retreat and wait for another day.
On June 2 the California set a course for the mouth of the Potomac for a visit to Washington. The Captain ordered Campbell and Jack Thurber to visit the Navy Department. She wanted Jack Thurber to assess the results, if any, of his leaked newspaper articles.
They arrived at the Navy Department at 1100. Campbell and Thurber didn't expect to meet with Secretary Wells, but he ushered them in as soon as they arrived. Wells thirsted for information and also was bursting to tell them some good news.
"Have a seat, Gentlemen," said Wells. Campbell gave Wells a summary of their encounters in the waters off Wilmington – 36 ships interdicted, 36 turned around. No hostile fire from any Confederate ship. He also discussed the daily costume and name changes, and the ship's maneuvers to make sure the name was visible. He didn't mention that the maneuver had become known as the Gray Ship Moon.
"Here are the results from our intelligence reports," said Wells. "Ship visits to Wilmington have decreased 95 percent in the last two weeks, the two weeks that the California, under her various names, has been on duty. It seems that the very threat that the Gray Ships pose has dramatically altered commerce to that one city alone. As vessels divert to other ports they are attacked by our ships. In two weeks the California has proven to be the most important part of the blockade. Operation Gray Ships is performing splendidly."
"Sir, have you been able to assess whether my newspaper articles have had any impact?" asked Jack.
"Impact, my dear Lieutenant, does not accurately describe what your articles have accomplished."
Wells walked across the room and retrieved a bundle of newspapers from all over the South. He plopped them down on the table in front of Jack.
"Just look at a few of these headlines."
"USS New Jersey is the Latest Gray Ship to Attack Southern Shipping" The Macon Telegraph
"USS Pennsylvania Seen Cruising Near Wilmington, North Carolina" The Weekly Raleigh Register
"USS Oregon — The Latest Gray Ship to Join the Northern Fleet" The Southern Illustrated News
"USS Maryland Fires Guns at British Supply Ship" The Daily Richmond Examiner
"Read some of the details, gentlemen," Wells said. Jack read, in some cases word for word, what he had written for Northern newspapers. It seemed that he had become a one-man wire service for newspapers all over the South. "I don't know if I should be flattered or angry that they're stealing my words," said Jack with a laugh.
"Be neither flattered nor angry, Lieutenant. Be proud that your work is having an enormous impact on our war effort."
"I noticed one upsetting article from the Macon Telegraph," said Campbell. "It says here that we fired on a civilian picnic, killing dozens of people. That is simply not true. We've never fired on the shore. We haven't even fired directly at a ship."
"Commander, truth and war make strange bedfellows."
***
"Sir," said Campbell, "we weren't' expecting to meet with you today. If we were, I'm sure Captain Patterson would have come along."
"Not a problem at all, Commander. I realize that I surprised you. I just wanted to hear the information myself first hand. Please convey to the Captain that the California should cruise off Norfolk, Virginia for the next two weeks. It's less than 200 miles from here, so it will be easy to return if need be."
"Before you leave we should discuss one more thing," said Wells. "Let me ask you a blunt question, Commander. Do you expect hostile fire?"
"Yes sir, I do. Captain Patterson has discussed this with all Department Heads as well. It's inevitable that some overly enthusiastic ship captain, we would call him 'trigger happy,' will open fire on us. Whenever we engage a vessel, we are at battle stations, and all gun and missile batteries are ready to respond."
"When I toured the California, "said Wells, "you told me about your Harpoon Anti Ship missiles."
This guy's got a great memory. Campbell thought.
"Yes Sir. Our Harpoon batteries are ready to fire on command."
"Don't hesitate to use them, Commander."
Chapter 52
When they returned aboard the California, Campbell and Thurber briefed the Captain on their meeting with Wells.
"I hope he wasn't insulted that I didn't join you," Ashley said.
"Not at all, Captain. His meeting with us was a surprise."
"Our Rules of Engagement have been changed," Campbell said. "Secretary Wells remembered our weapons from his tour. He said that if we're fired upon that we shouldn't hesitate to use our Harpoon anti-ship missiles."
***
The California steamed off Norfolk on June 3, disguised for that day as the USS Colorado. At 1100 hours the Officer of the Deck reported to Captain Patterson that a large combatant vessel was three miles off the California's starboard side and closing on the California's position. Through his high powered binoculars the OOD could see that the ship carried eight large guns on each side. He estimated the ship's length to be 200 feet. She was under sail, but he could see that she was designed for steam as well as sail. Also, four merchant vessels were within sight.
The OOD contacted the Captain, who ordered him to sound General Quarters, sending the crew to their battle stations.
Ashley put on her helmet and flak jacket and went to the bridge, her battle station.
As the Confederate ship came within 500 yards of the California, it fired a volley of eight cannon shells. The shells hit the water 100 feet off the California's port bow.
Each of the California's missile and gun batteries had a number. Battery five was the Harpoon anti-ship missile battery.
Ashley pressed the talk button on her headset.
"This is Captain Patterson. Battery Five fire one." The Harpoon missile is 15 feet in length, weighs 1,140 pounds and carries a 490-pound warhead of penetrating explosives. It is guided to its target by active radar signal.
The missile struck the Confederate warship in the middle of her hull and exploded inside the ship, sendi
ng a fist of smoke and fire 100 feet into the air. The ship visibly cracked in half as the blast lifted it out of the water. The aft section sank immediately. The bow section bobbed at the surface for 15 seconds before it sank.
Captain Patterson ordered the California/Colorado to close on the ship's final position to look for survivors. They found two sailors clinging to wreckage. The Captain eased the ship next to them and lowered a ladder. Neither man was seriously hurt because they were fortunate enough to be standing behind an iron bulkhead when the Harpoon hit. When asked, they said that their ship was the CSS Chattanooga. They were brought to sick bay for a medical exam and given clean fatigues to wear. They were then escorted to the Captain's office.
Both men were still visibly frightened. They were also amazed that the Captain of the ship was not only a woman but a colored woman. Ashley ordered coffee and sandwiches and told them to have a seat.
"Do either of you have any idea why your captain chose to open fire on this ship?" Ashley asked. One of the men, Jubal Johnston, answered. "Captain, Ma'am, our Captain, Randolph Brown, has been looking for a fight with the Gray Ship ever since he first heard of it. It's like he couldn't get it out of his mind. The rest of us thought that we were picking a fight that we couldn't win. I guess we were right."
"You're on the USS..." Ashley had to think for a moment, "Colorado. How many other Gray Ships have you personally seen?" One man said he had seen five, the other ten.
After a few questions, Ashley realized that these men had no significant intelligence to give her. She then gave them a verbal tour of the California's (Colorado's) weapons, exaggerating their number and strength. The men had seen what a Harpoon missile can do first-hand, so they didn't doubt what she was telling them.
"Our orders are plain, sailors," said Ashley. "If any Gray Ship is fired upon, the attacking vessel will be sunk immediately."
The men assumed that they were prisoners of war, and, judging from the food, they weren't unhappy with the prospect. They were shocked when the Captain told them they would be put ashore under cover of darkness.
The Captain's final words to them, as they were boarding a Zodiac for their trip to land, was meant to be spread. "Whoever will listen to you, tell them to do all they can to end this war. You cannot win it."
The Zodiac shoved off with one man steering and a Marine guarding the two sailors.
The sinking of the Confederate ship was the first combat the California had encountered. Ashley hoped that the two released survivors would spread the word. Fighting a Gray Ship means death.
Chapter 53
Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States of America since its inception. Elected to a term of six years in 1861, he would serve through the entire Civil War. Davis wasn't well known for his ability to work with others, and he insisted on answers from subordinates even when there were no answers to be had.
On June 5, 1861, he met with Stephen Mallory, Secretary of Confederate Navy. Mallory was a former United States Senator and had long held the position of Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs for the United States. Mallory knew the United States Navy as well as any man alive. Jefferson Davis wanted to know everything Mallory knew about the Gray Ships.
"Have a seat, Mr. Secretary. We have a lot to talk about. If there is one subject that I hear about every day it is the Gray Ships. Just this morning I received a report that the Chattanooga was sunk two days ago with just one shot from the USS Colorado, one of the Gray Ships. Please tell me what you know, Mr. Secretary."
"Mr. President, I served as Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs for over 10 years, and I knew everything there was to know about the ships of the United States Navy. I was kept informed about any new ship building projects. A log in my office had details on every vessel in the Navy. I never heard anything about any Gray Ships,. an obvious secret that nobody wished to share with the Senate."
"You never heard any mention about any secret shipbuilding project?" asked Davis.
"No Sir. If it was a secret I would be the first to know. Congress provided the funding for all naval matters."
"But here is what I now know about these strange ships," said Mallory. "There have been hundreds of sightings by hundreds of people, most of whom are of unimpeachable integrity. My office has put together all of the reports and organized the information. Twenty different ships have been sighted. Each ship is between 600 and 1,000 feet in length, although size estimates vary. All of the ships are extremely fast, over 30 knots. They are also highly maneuverable."
"They all bear a resemblance to the USS California, the first Gray Ship sighted, but there are many different variations. Some of the ships boast gigantic guns on their forward turrets. Some of the ships have round white objects about ten to twelve feet in diameter along the rails of the ship. There are six on each side. We have no idea what these objects are for. Many of the armaments aren't recognizable. Some of the weapons are not guns as we know them. In the incident where the Chattanooga was sunk two days ago, The Gray Ship only fired one shot. Witnesses described the shell as a long object, between 10 and 15 feet. It entered the Chattanooga's hull and exploded. When it hit the Chattanooga, the ship was blown up into two pieces and sunk in less than a half minute. Witnesses from nearby ships told of a tower of fire and smoke over 100 feet in the air."
"We have interviewed the only two surviving sailors who had been taken prisoner," Mallory continued. "They described sights that are hard to believe. They told of weapons so powerful, that the shell that sank the Chattanooga was only a small part of their arsenal. We don't know why the men were put ashore and not kept as prisoners of war. Neither do the men themselves. They described being treated fairly and even in a friendly manner. The most amazing thing that they reported was that the captain of the ship is a colored woman."
Davis stood up. If Mallory had told him that the Gray Ship was made out of cheese, he couldn't have been more shocked. "Are these men reliable?" asked Davis. "They went through a terrifying ordeal, and it may have affected their thinking."
"I met them myself, and I'm convinced of their truthfulness. They talked about meeting with the captain in her office and being given coffee and food. They described her physical appearance so exactly I find it impossible to believe that they created the story."
"Mr. Secretary, you held the office of Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs until five months ago. Besides not knowing about the Gray Ships, you were also kept ignorant of a colored woman serving as a captain of a Union ship. How can that possibly be, sir?"
Mallory shook his head as if to clear it. "Mr. President, I was in regular communication with Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Union Navy until he was replaced by Gideon Wells three months ago. Toucey and I had become friends, and we met at least once a month. He kept me informed about personnel matters as well as the fleet. I find it unbelievable that he would have kept from me the fact that a Negro woman was the commanding officer of a Navy ship."
"Secrecy," Davis said, "appears to be deeply imbedded in the Union government. I was in the United States Senate, and I served as Secretary of War under President Pierce. I never heard of these matters and neither did you. I wonder how much other information was kept from us."
"Mr. Secretary, keep me informed by cable dispatch whenever you hear of anything new involving the Gray Ships or the mysterious captain."
"I fear that there will be many more surprises for us in the future," said Davis.
Chapter 54
The California steamed up and down the Southern coast for three weeks. Captain Patterson followed the procedure of firing across the bow of merchant ships and blockade runners, then executing The Gray Ship Moon to make sure the men on the Confederate vessel got a good look at her name.
On June 26, 1861, under the name USS Massachusetts, the California was cruising slowly to update her nautical charts. The Officer of the Deck received a sonar report that an underwater object was bearing down on the ship at a slow rate of spe
ed. Based on research from Father Rick's Civil War library, the OOD identified the object as the CSS Hunley, a Confederate submarine. According to the history books, the Hunley was 40 feet long and travelled at a speed of four knots, propelled by a hand cranked shaft. The Hunley carried a crew of eight. It was armed with an explosive torpedo at the end of a long spar. Whoever commanded the vessel was unaware of sonar, and believed that he could sneak up on the California.
The OOD contacted Captain Patterson who immediately went to the bridge. The Hunley was 200 yards from the California and closing. "Whoever is driving this thing is crazier than the skipper of the Chattanooga," Ashley said to the OOD.
"Order all ahead two-thirds and steer course 090 Lieutenant." A course that would take the California away from the submarine. "Aye Aye, Captain."
That thing can't possibly do us any harm, thought Ashley. Yes, it's an enemy vessel, and yes, it's aiming for us, and yes, we can blow it out of the water easily, she thought. But the idea of killing eight people who didn't stand a chance bothered her.
"Screw it," Ashley said the Bellamy. "We'll just leave the area and let them get their exercise with their hand-driven propeller. Do not engage."
"Aye Aye, Captain."
Chapter 55
The California headed north to prepare for the Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Ashley knew that Bull Run was the second prong of the California's role in the war effort, the first being the blockade duty and Operation Gray Ships. Bull Run had to be a success.
In her previous communications with Lincoln's war staff, she suggested that a Union Colonel or General come aboard the California to help plan for the battle. The Union high command could count on naval support from its existing Navy, but, because of her weapons, the California would bring an entirely new dimension to battle planning. Also, for the first time, the Union Army would have air support. Lincoln ordered Brigadier General Irwin McDowell, the Commander of the Army of Northeastern Virginia, to report aboard the California. McDowell would bring his aide, Colonel James Burns.
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