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Lot 37
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CSA Pres Jefferson Davis orders nephew to inspect Fort Fischer Civil War
CSA Pres Jefferson Davis orders nephew to inspect Fort Fischer Civil War
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Description:

Important letter from Jefferson Davis ordering his nephew to inspect southern port defenses, which resulted in the strengthening of Fort Fisher—. Offered with his original commission as Aide de Camp signed by Confederate Secretary of War, James Seddon

JEFFERSON DAVIS (1808-1889) Letter Signed, "Jeffn Davis," 1 page, 7.75" x 9.75" on "Confederate States of America, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT," letterhead, Richmond, February 9, 1865 to his nephew and aide-de-camp, Colonel J. Taylor Wood. Partial separations along horizontal mailing folds repaired on verso, else fine. Offered together with JAMES A. SEDDON (1815-1880) partly-printed Document Signed, "James A. Seddon," as Secretary of War, 1 page, 8.5" x 10.75" on "Confederate States of America, WAR DEPARTMENT," letterhead, Richmond, February 9, 1863 appointing Wood as "Aide-de-Camp with the rank and pay of Colonel of Cavalry In the Provisional Army in the service of the Confederate States." Fine.

Taylor's exploits aboard the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia in its historic battle with the Union's famed Monitor, as well as daring naval raids on the Chesapeake, brought the former U.S. Navy officer to the attention of the government in Richmond. In January, 1863, President Davis asked Taylor to serve as his personal aide-de-camp with the rank and pay of colonel, and tasked him with an inspection tour of major southern ports. Davis formally submitted Wood's name for nomination on January 26, and Davis drafted the present instructions the same day the Confederate Senate confirming his appointment.

Davis writes in full: "You are hereby directed to proceed to Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, Port Hudson and Vicksburg for the purpose of inspection and report. You will inspect, at each of these places, the naval defences [sic] & he vessels afloat with reference to their personnel; armament, and powers of offence and defence. You will ascertain the character, progress and probable time of completion of vessels upon the stocks. You will examine the Naval and machine works, and the work now on hand — the measures that have been adopted to obstruct the channels of harbors and rivers, and the facilities for ingress and egress to vessels running the blockade. You will notice the character and position of the guns bearing upon the shipping, and whatever, in your judgment, may require attention, with reference to our water defences. You will keep me advised; by letter or otherwise, of your progress, and, upon your return to Richmond will report the results of your observations."

Wood departed the following day. According top his later writings, his inspection tour "Occupied some months, and while at Charleston and Vicksburg was present at some of the operations around those places." (Bell, Confederate Seadog: John Taylor Wood in War and Exile, 2002, 26) Perhaps most significantly, Wood reported back to Davis on the state of naval and land defenses around Wilmington, North Carolina, asserting that "the absolute necessity of the place, if it is to be held against naval attack, is heavy guns, larger caliber. With over 100 guns bearing upon the water, there is but one 10-inch, no 9-inch, and but few 8-inch; 24s and 32s form the armament of most of the batteries. Fort Fisher, at New Inlet, is a series of sand and palmetto works, which with proper weight of metal, could defy any water attack. Fort Caswell, much weaker, is in a transition state; the masonry as far as possible is being covered with sand, and on two faces of the work an inclined shield covered with railroad iron and sand-bags is being erected." (Wood to Davis, Feb. 14, 1863, The War of the Rebellion...1897, 680-681).

In May 1863, Union blockaders off the North Carolina coast reported heavy guns being mounted along the expanding fortifications around Fort Fisher. The Union would not attempt an attack on the fort until December 1864. When that attack failed, a second attempt, mounted in January 1865, which included an entire division of black soldiers, successfully captured the fortifications—.

John Taylor Wood (1830-1904) , the son of Union General Robert Wood and Anne Taylor, the daughter of President Zachary Taylor, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1852. Initially maintaining a neutral stance following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, his sympathies headed South after the Battle of Fort Sumter. On April 21, 1861, he resigned his commission in the U.S. Navy and retired to his Maryland farm. The farming life did not last long, however, as life was becoming too dangerous. Fearing for the safety of his family, the Woods moved south to Richmond, Virginias where his uncle, Jefferson Davis, was now presiding over the Confederate capital (Jefferson Davis' first wife, Sarah Taylor, was Wood's mother's sister).

In October 1861, Taylor received a commission as a lieutenant in the Confederate States Navy and became an officer aboard the C.S.S. Virginia (the former U.S.S. Merrimack) and fought against he U.S.S. Monitor at the Battle of Hampton Roads. Wood commanded the rear pivot gun and fired the shot that wounded the Monitor's captain. Appointed an aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis, Wood was awarded the rank and pay of a colonel of cavalry, giving him simultaneous commands in both the Confederate Army and Navy allowing him to serve as an effective liaison between the services and the government in Richmond. In that capacity, Wood undertook an extensive survey of Confederate costal defenses. During the summer of 1863, he led a series of successful raids against Union shipping in Chesapeake Bay. In the summer of 1864, Wood commanded the C.S.S. Tallahassee, a raider and blockade runner. During his tenure aboard the Tallahassee, he captured an astounding 33 Union ships during a ten-day period off the coast of New England.

By April 1865, the situation looked grim for the Confederacy. Wood was with his uncle on April 2, attending St. Paul's Church in Richmond, when a telegram from Lee arrived informing the president that Petersburg would soon fall and the government must evacuate. That evening, he, Davis, and other members of the Confederate government boarded a train for Danville, Virginia. They continued their flight south, where, on May 10, 1865, near the town of Irwinsville, Georgia, Davis and Wood were both captured by Union forces. Wood soon made his escape, with his uncle's permission, by bribing one of his captors and hiding in a nearby swamp until the Federals and their prisoners left the area.

Wood made his way south to Florida and met up with Major General John C. Breckinridge. Acquiring a small boat, Wood, Breckinridge, and several other men first attempted to row east to The Bahamas, but abandoned the plan and decided to instead make their way south toward Cuba. He managed to trade with a crew of Union deserters his boat for their slightly bigger sloop. They reached the north shore of Cuban on June 10. He remained in Cuba for two weeks before heading north to Canada, where his family soon joined him. Reunited, they settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and remained there for the rest of their lives. John Taylor Wood died on July 19, 1904.

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