John P. Brennan was my second great grandfather. In 1879, he sailed from New York City to Newfoundland and visited with his mother. He boarded a ship to return to New York and was never heard from again. The most likely explanation for his disappearance was that he took sick and died while trying to return to his family. This mystery became the story of his life. But the real story was his three- year naval commitment in the Civil War. He served on the U.S.S. Winona during its entire challenging, often grueling, tour of duty. His service reveals much more about John P. Brennan than his disappearance. This story is dedicated to my great aunt, Mary Brennan Mohr, who always knew John P. was a hero.
The Winona must have been lovely to watch skating on the waves with her sails unfurled, but a closer look would have revealed a much different reality, including portholes which accommodated artillery. The Winona was a United States Navy (USN) gunboat built for battle during the Civil War.
It is impossible to imagine what life must have been like on one of those gunboats. John P., unlike most of his fellow seamen, at least had experience on ships. Reading the diaries of men who served on vessels in the Civil War and letters and a diary specifically about life on the Winona, it is clear the conditions were horrendous even before she engaged in battle.
Everything, including and maybe even especially clothing and bedding, was damp all the time. Nothing was clean, despite required daily baths and deck swabbing. Vermin from roaches to rats thrived on the ships. The air below decks was horrible, a mix of bilge water, coal dust and who knows what else, and below deck is where the sailors were much of the time. The sailors slept in canvas hammocks 19 inches wide, which does not even seem possible. Breakfast was weak coffee and hard biscuits, always stale. The noon and evening meals consisted of salted beef or pork, beans, rice, bread–often moldy–and sometimes desiccated vegetables.
For men accustomed to walking in the open, even those from crowded inner cities, the confinement of a small ship for months and months was claustrophobic. Companionship, all men, never varied. Depression was a huge problem. Desertion was such a problem that “liberty”, an authorized absence, was seldom granted.
John P. endured and survived these conditions.
When the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in April of 1861, the USN was totally unprepared. There weren’t enough ships and there weren’t enough men. To further complicate matters, ships were transitioning from being propelled by the wind to being propelled by steam engines. At the beginning of the war, the USN had a total of 42 ships ready to go. New boats were rapidly built. Old boats were bought and outfitted. Men were recruited.
The Winona was one of the “Ninety Day Gunboats” so named because of the government’s requirement that the building be completed in ninety days. In fact, the Winona was completed in forty-six working days. She was 158 feet long, just over half the length of a football field, and 28 feet wide. Her hull (exterior) was made of wood and totally vulnerable to enemy fire. She was a two-masted (sails) schooner. A “modern” ship, she could be propelled by both wind and steam. She was well armed for serious combat with howitzers, Dahlgrens and Parrott rifle artillery.
John P. enlisted in the Navy in New York City on Monday, December 2, 1861. Most likely, he enlisted in order to earn money. Throughout the war, the USN advanced pay up to three months for men with experience. There was also the very great appeal of earning a bounty, prize money for capturing an enemy ship.
John P. described himself as five feet eight inches tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a florid complexion. Consistent with other records, Newfoundland was listed as his place of birth. He gave his age as 30, but other documents suggest he was six or more years older than that.
After signing the enlistment book, John P. reported to a receiving ship, the North Carolina. There he was given a basic physical examination and evaluated for the best possible assignment consistent with his skills and the needs of the ship. He must have stood out because he was immediately elevated to the rank of petty officer. On December 19, 1861, Lt. Cdr. Edward T. Nichols, Commander of the Winona, recorded John P. as Captain of the Hold on “The Muster Role of the crew to be transmitted to the Secretary of the Navy…”. The entire crew was anywhere from 96 to 108 men of whom 21, including John P., held the most important positions.
As Captain of the Hold, John P. oversaw the storage of all the cargo in the hold. This would have included food, supplies and ballast. He also oversaw the men who did all the loading and unloading. Storage had to be accomplished in such a way as to maintain the ship’s balance. There were also times on the Mississippi River when the Winona ran aground in shallow water and cargo had to be off loaded and then reloaded. John P. was a busy man.
John P. did not spend Christmas with his wife, Catherine, who was five months pregnant, and his two young sons, John and William, because on December 20, 1861, the Winona took off for her assignment with the West Gulf Blockading Squadron under the leadership of Flag Officer David G. Farragut.
One week after the Confederacy had attacked Fort Sumter, President Lincoln declared a naval blockade of the southern coastline, which ultimately included the coast from Virginia to Texas, about 3,000 miles. The goal was to prevent the Confederacy from exporting cotton, the major source of the Confederacy’s income, and from importing needed munitions and supplies.
At the same time, the commanding general of the U.S. Army, Winfield Scott, proposed taking over the Mississippi River thereby dividing the Confederacy in half and adding to the effectiveness of a coastal blockade. Before mid-January of 1862, the Winona was in the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River with the responsibility of intercepting any vessel going into or out of the Mississippi.
New Orleans, then the largest city in the South and the second busiest port after New York City, is located on the Mississippi River 125 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. She was very important to the South economically and psychologically. The North sought to capture New Orleans, a first step to dominating the river.
The South relied almost entirely on two forts 75 miles south of New Orleans, Forts Jackson and St. Philip, to defend the city. They also constructed a chain, supported by the hulks of old ships, across the river between the forts; and put ironclad ships in position to add firepower. They, also, used rafts, which they set on fire, and then pushed in the direction of enemy ships.
In April of 1862, Farragut assembled his squadron and began upriver toward New Orleans. The forts were situated one on each side of the river at a bend so that ships passing through had to slow down almost to a stop thus exposing themselves to a barrage of cannon balls and bullets. The forts had a combined 177 guns aimed at passing ships. Between April 18 and 25, Farragut sent mortar schooners ahead to level the forts. That did not happen, but the forts were damaged.
At 3 o’clock in the morning on April 24, Farragut’s fleet began moving toward a gap in the chain barricade across the river, a gap which the Union had made. They were to move in two parallel columns, each column shooting at the Fort on its side of the river. The command was to keep moving upriver. It was hoped that the darkness and smoke would make it difficult for the Confederates to accurately aim at the passing ships and so keep casualties to a minimum. John P. and the Winona were in that fleet.
All but three ships managed to get past the forts. The Winona was one of the ships which did not get through. She became entangled in all the obstructions in the water and was forced to turn back. Under heavy fire, the Winona lost 3 men and 5 men were wounded.
In his official report, Lt. Nichols wrote: “I took my position as soon as possible in the line, astern of the Itasca, and followed her red light, but suddenly found myself involved in a mass of logs and drift stuff held by the chain and moorings of the hulks. While trying to back clear, the Itasca backed and fouled me on the starboard bow. After a delay of from twenty minutes to half an hour, I proceeded on my way, although I felt pretty sure that the bulk of the fleet had passed. Day was breaking fast, and my vessel was brought out in bold relief against the bright sky, presenting a fair mark for the gunners of the fort. Fort Jackson fired at me as I approached, and the first gun killed one man and wounded another. The third and fourth gun killed and wounded every man at the rifle gun except one. Judging that the burning raft was on the Fort Jackson side, I steered passed it on the port hand, and did not discover my error until the whole lower battery of Fort St. Philip opened on me at less than point-blank range…It was with reluctance I gave the order to head downstream and run out of fire, first ordering the officer and crew to lay down on deck.”
Flag Officer Farragut later wrote of the action, “...the passing of the forts, Jackson and St. Philip, was one of the most awful sights and events I ever saw or expect to experience.”
Incredibly, Farragut’s fleet made it to New Orleans where there was no significant resistance. New Orleans was in Union hands. This was a very important economic, military and psychological blow to the South.
John P. survived that awful night and was later awarded prize money for his part in the capture of New Orleans.
Farragut’s fleet, including the Winona, then continued upriver. It was hoped that they could capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, in June, but that did not happen. Instead, the fleet once again endured and survived a hail of cannon fire.
After Vicksburg, the Winona continued blockade duty on the Mississippi River. It was grueling work. It was difficult to impossible to see enemy ships in darkness. There were many false alarms and often sailors would go to sleep only to be awakened several times during the night by false alarms. Care had to be taken to avoid shallow water because ships regularly became grounded. Then, too, there were mosquitoes and always sickness.
Being relatively close to shore also exposed sailors to land based attack. Confederate military and civilians used this proximity to attack Union sailors. A particularly dark side of the war on the Mississippi River were the guerrilla fighters, who followed no rules and attacked sailors who went on land to forage for food or who were exposed on board a ship which came too close to shore. Reports of guerrilla attacks tell awful, often barbaric, stories.
In addition to “routine” river blockade duty, John P. and the Winona carried out blockade duty in Mobile Bay, Alabama. In December of 1862, the Winona was sent back to the Mississippi River and in April of 1863 provided support for the siege of Port Hudson, Mississippi, one the last two Confederate strongholds on the river. She also contributed to the final stages of the successful siege of Vicksburg, a major military victory which went largely unnoticed because it occurred on the day after Gettysburg, July 4, 1863.
From August of 1863 to February 1864, the Winona underwent what must have been extensive repairs in Baltimore, Maryland. It is amazing that a wooden ship endured so much war for as long as she did. John P. must have been very happy to spend several months with his young family back in New York City. He had a third son who was almost two years old and whom he had probably not seen. This was my great grandfather, Thomas.
With the Mississippi River in Union hands when the Winona returned to action, she joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia. She served primarily on the coast but did capture and destroy a Confederate steamer on the Suwannee River, a wild, blackwater river in South Carolina.
John P. served on the Winona until Christmas Day of 1864 having served three full years. He was honorably discharged on January 6, 1865 and returned home to his family on East 13th Street in New York City. How does a country ever adequately thank John P. and all those sailors who served on the Winona and all the other servicemen and women who have endured so much for our country?
Sources:
Barry, Kathleen, Brennan Family History, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2011
Bennett, Michael J., Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, North Carolina Press, 2005
Hearn, Chester G., The Capture of New Orleans 1862, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, LSU Press, 2001
John P. Brennan file, no. 14618, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War and Later Navy Veterans (Navy Widows’ Certificates, 1861-1910, Washington, DC, The National Archives, 1861-1920
Purcell, Patrick, editor, This Jolly Little Gunboat: the USS Winona on the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River, 1861-1863, Iowa City, Iowa, Camp Pope Publishing, 2014
Sayner, Donald B. and Edward Tatnall Nichols, The Battles of New Orleans from the Official Letters of the U.S. Gun Boat Winona under the Command of Edward T. Nichols, 1861-1862, Tucson, Arizona, University of Arizona Press, 1976
The “Winona”, Harper’s Weekly, New York City, New York, 38 September 1861, page 612, column 4
U.S., Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891, Provo, Utah, Ancestry.com, 2014
A very special thank you to Gordon Calhoun and Michael Galloway at the National Museum of the United States Navy for explaining their Civil War exhibit, defining basic nautical terms particularly as they applied to the Civil War, and tolerating my questions!
My Mother would have loved this. Another great job!
Your mother was very upset by the disappearance story! This was her grandfather and she thought him a real war hero, which he was!
What a great story your research continues to pay off with very interesting stories. I made sure to add link on homepage of mymamaullrich.com
I can’t wait to share this with the boys!
I now know why I suffer from claustrophobia (Brendan as well).
Fascinating!!
I am reading this at 5:30am and thinking I must wake Steve up so he can enjoy this but no I will wait until dinnertime tonight. He will LOVE this blog. Just the description of the conditions on the boat made my stomach turn and ache for those brave men!
You did a very superior job of research on John Pl Brennan’s life. I am one generation closer and still did not know all these things. I feel sad about what he, and others suffered on the Winona. and other gunboats. Still he was a survivor as well as a hero. He went on to marry and raise 4 sons, all of whom revered him and grieved at his loss, All of his descendants can be proud of this hero.
Fabulous Lynn, what a treasure. This series will be in need of printing and binding when you are done. A true family treasure. What a legacy. Bravo. Bonnie
Thank you for making the Winona and her crew come to life. Your post reminds me to give thanks for the millions of military men and women who never became famous or won a medal, yet endured great hardship in service to this country.
Lynn, you did a fabulous job. I know how much research & time you had to put into this. It is wonderful to know that the generations after us will know their ancestors because of your work. Can’t wait for the next project!