 April 25-27, 2008 |
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Cushing's Torpedo Launch |
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| With the completion of the 63 ft. replica of the CSS Albemarle, we wasted no time in moving on to our next project, which was a full scale 30 ft. wooden replica of Cushing's Torpedo Launch used to sink the Albemarle. Talented local wooden boat builder, Marvin Spencer built the boat based on plans from the Smithsonian Institute. | |||
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"The Hero of the Civil War" by Tom Harrison There has been much written about the famous Confederate ironclad ram, the CSS Albemarle. The construction of the 63' scale replica launched last April in Plymouth has brought even more attention to her colorful history. But let's not overlook the significance of the Albemarle's assassin - Lt. William Barker Cushing. |
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 Marvin Spencer beside the finished hull.  Stern of Torpedo Launch |
After all, the Union Secretary of
the Navy, Gideon Welles, once wrote, "...the great chief of the American Navy,
Farragut who was endowed with like heroism, and for whom alone, the office of admiral was
created and its honors intended, said to me that while no navy had braver or better
officers than ours, young Cushing was the hero of the War." That is a pretty
strong statement coming from significant contemporary authorities! But there is more. Cushing had a private audience with Abraham Lincoln, and received a Vote of Thanks from Congress after sinking the Albemarle. Admiral Porter said, “The gallant exploits of Lieutenant Cushing previous to this affair will form a bright page in the history of the war, but they have all been eclipsed by the destruction of the Albemarle.” After sinking the Albemarle, Herman Melville published a poem about Cushing titled, “At Cannon’s Mouth”. W.B. Cushing lived a most remarkable life, though a regrettably short one. A native of Fredonia, NY, he was a natural born leader, with a propensity for excitement and daring deeds. As an undisciplined youth these acts of daring took the form of pranks. They reached an art form at the US Naval Academy where he received 188 demerits his freshman year. If a midshipmen received 200 he was expelled. This trend continued until at the end of his senior year only weeks before graduation he was expelled. He was expelled on March 23rd and Beauregard fired on Fort Sumter less than three weeks later on April 12, 1861. The indomitable Cushing was nonetheless able to join the US Navy as a Master’s Mate after the War broke out and made a name for himself. His fearless and reckless nature now worked in his favor in many exploits that space does not allow to expound upon. |
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However, the
zenith, (but certainly not his last exploit!), of his career took place on a rainy night
October 26, 1864 on the Roanoke River at Plymouth. He
led a group of volunteers up the Roanoke in a 30’ steam launch on a commando raid
that none were expected to survive. Cushing’s
goal was to capture the Confederate ironclad, Albemarle, that was responsible for
the death of one of his best friends and former commanders, Charles Flusser. If he were unsuccessful in capturing the Albemarle,
he would destroy her using a spar-mounted torpedo. A
barking dog woke the sleeping sentry and thus prevented the capture of the Albemarle. Now amid a hail of bullets Cushing began the
tedious and methodical execution deploying the torpedo that would result in the
destruction of the most successful Confederate ironclad of the Civil War. Cushing had to direct the launch to the north side of the river to
turnaround and build a head of steam in an effort to hit the protective log boom, (that
the Confederates had placed to prevent such an attack), at a 90 degree with sufficient
momentum to pass over it and get close enough to detonate the torpedo. Just as he turned the launch a shotgun blast took
out the entire back of his jacket. Now he was
headed full speed at the sillouette of the docked Albemarle. A rifle bullet took away the sole of his
shoe as he stood on the bow quarterdeck. Cushing
fired a bow-mounted howitzer at the Confederates just before hitting the log boom where
the launch became stranded. Two things were
immediately apparent to the young Lieutenant. First,
the distance was about right to lower the torpedo spar under the hull of the Albemarle. Secondly, he was staring into the mouth of one of
the Albemarle’s 6.4” Brooke Rifled Cannon!
He could hear Commander Warley onboard the ironclad giving the commands to load and
prepare to fire! Cushing had a series of lines that operated the spar torpedo that had
to be carefully pulled in sequence, in the dark, and under fire. As he coolly executed the task, a bullet tore at
his collar, and two more ripped through his clothing.
He gently pulled the last line that removed a pin detonating the torpedo under the
ironclad just as the Albemarle’s cannon fired! The Albemarle immediately began to sink, but her cannon had
not been able to depress to a low enough angle to hit Cushing’s Launch and instead
passed over the their boat momentarily blowing a huge hole in the water that seemed to
swallow the launch. But it bobbed back to
the surface, and Cushing dove into the river making his escape. Three of his men followed. Two of them drowned. The rest of his crew was captured. Years after the war, The Albemarle’s Commander, W. F. Warley, wrote of the incident saying, “… a more gallant thing was not done during the war.” The Washington County Historical Society now has under construction a full scale wooden replica of Cushing’s Launch in Plymouth at Brush Creek Yachts. Funding is needed to finish the project. For more information on the Washington County Historical Society projects, events, and local history, please visit our web site at www.plymouthmuseum.com. For further reading on the extraordinary life and times of W.B. Cushing, look for a copy of Lincoln’s Commando by Roske and Van Doren. |
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