Battle of Cockle Creek
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cockle Creek, October 5, 1861, was a minor naval engagement off Chincoteague, Virginia
early in the American Civil War
.
, despite Virginia's vote for secession on May 23--the island was the only part of Virginia to do so. With little need for slaves because of its poor cropland, Chincoteague's economic survival depended on selling seafood to northern cities.
Though loyal to the Union, Chincoteague was surrounded by Confederate sympathizers in Virginia
and Maryland
. Chincoteague Bay
, Sinepuxent Bay
, and Pocomoke River
all served as routes to Maryland and Delaware
which the Confederates were using to smuggle arms north into the two border states. They also had plans to prey on Union shipping entering and leaving Delaware Bay
: at the center of these plans was the schooner Venus.
On July 4, 1861, 418 men from the barrier island
s in Maryland and Virginia met at Chincoteague to celebrate the 85th anniversary of American independence
. All who were present signed a draft declaration prepared by Dr. George Schereer which pledged support for the United States against its enemies. Captain Edward Whaley, Sr., a War of 1812
veteran, shouted, "I will defend the old flag to my last drop of blood, against the lazy, slave-holding aristocrats and their lackeys in Richmond."
On July 5, the declaration, and letters addressed to the commanding officers of the U.S. Navy at Hampton Roads
, were dispatched aboard the sloop Jenny Sharpley. The letters detailed the importation of arms through Chincoteague Inlet
and up the Pocomoke River to Confederate sympathizers; the islanders also requested the right to ship oysters to northern ports and for protection by the Federal Navy. When Jenny Sharpley arrived at Hampton Roads, the packet was delivered to Flag Officer S. H. Stringham
. Stringham ignored the letters, but was enraged that Jenny Sharpley had broken through the Union Blocking Squadron and the islanders had been able to board his ship without being challenged.
The Navy subsequently stonewalled the islanders' requests for several months, but Chincoteague remained loyal, despite growing Confederate forces at the county seat, Drummondtown
. However, during a September 2 cabinet meeting, President Lincoln
was handed a letter by Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase
. Addressed to Flag Officer Stringham
, it read:
Secretary of the Navy Welles
jumped to his feet: "If no action is pending then Stringham will be replaced." General Winfield Scott
suggested that the U.S. Army send several thousand troops immediately for the relief of Chincoteague. On September 19, Captain L.M. Goldsborough
relieved Stringham as flag officer.
By dawn, the three ships had anchored near Cockle Creek and a British flag that had been flying from the schooner, Venus, had been replaced by the Confederate banner. On the afternoon of the 25th, an oyster sloop commanded by Edward Whaley, Jr., and crewed by William Lynch, John Jester, Henry Savage, and Robert Snead set off to Hampton Roads
to again warn the Navy. Whaley and crew were escorted in guard boats to the flagship, USS Minnesota
, and presented to Captain Goldsborough; they then ate with their host in Minnesotas great cabin. Four sailors from Minnesota, armed with rifles and cutlasses, accompanied the men back to Chincoteague with the pledge of immediate aid.
On September 30, Navy Lt. Commander Alexander Murray arrived off Chincoteague with 90 men in the recently-built, propeller-driven iron hull steamer, USS Louisiana
.
Meanwhile, Venus had rapidly been converted into a privateer
of ten guns: in addition to cannon, 1,000 New England rifles, shot, and three tons of powder had been put aboard. The 135 ft. schooner, with her broad beam and shoal draft, would have been ideal to prey on shipping entering or leaving Delaware Bay.
However, at 9 a.m. on October 5, two boats from Louisiana were launched and attacked Venus with howitzers. Louisiana herself was then piloted through Chincoteague Inlet and opened fire with her 32-pounder. Next, a Virginian force of 300 cut off the Louisianas boats, but the Federal crews attacked and boarded Venus. The heavy fire from Louisiana shut down the Virginian defenses, and the Federal boarding party set fire to Venus, which burned to the water line before sinking in Cockle Creek. The two accompanying sloops were captured and taken to Norfolk
as prizes of war. On hearing the news, Winfield Scott is said to have ordered Chincoteague oysters and Bermuda onions at Willard's Hotel.
In early December, Venus rifles and cannon were salvaged from the wreck; her gear is likely still buried in her so-far-undiscovered hull.
. On 14 October Louisiana′s Commander Murray witnessed the administration of the oath of allegiance to the United States to Chincoteague's citizens. Louisiana′s boats, led by Lt. Alfred Hopkins, surprised and burned three Confederate vessels at Chincoteague Inlet on 29 October 28 and 29. On December 8, 4,000 Federal troops secured the remainder of the Eastern Shore of Virginia
for the Union.
Although a minor skirmish, the Battle of Cockle Creek eliminated the Confederate threat to Delaware Bay and strengthened Union control over Maryland's and Virginia's Eastern Shores.
Chincoteague, Virginia
Chincoteague is a town on Chincoteague Island in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,317 at the 2000 census. The town is perhaps best known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island...
early in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Background
In 1861 the citizens of Chincoteague voted 138-2 to remain loyal to the UnionUnion (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
, despite Virginia's vote for secession on May 23--the island was the only part of Virginia to do so. With little need for slaves because of its poor cropland, Chincoteague's economic survival depended on selling seafood to northern cities.
Though loyal to the Union, Chincoteague was surrounded by Confederate sympathizers in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Chincoteague Bay
Chincoteague Bay
Chincoteague Bay is a lagoon between the Atlantic barrier islands of Assateague and Chincoteague and the mainland of Worcester County, Maryland and northern Accomack County, Virginia...
, Sinepuxent Bay
Sinepuxent Bay
Sinepuxent Bay is an inland waterway which connects Chincoteague Bay to the Ocean City Inlet. It separates Sinepuxent Neck, in Worcester County, Maryland, from Assateague Island, and is crossed by the Verrazano Bridge on Maryland State Highway 611 Sinepuxent Bay is an inland waterway which connects...
, and Pocomoke River
Pocomoke River
The Pocomoke River stretches approximately from southern Delaware through southeastern Maryland in the United States. At its mouth, the river is essentially an arm of Chesapeake Bay, whereas the upper river flows through a series of relatively inaccessible wetlands called the Great Cypress Swamp,...
all served as routes to Maryland and Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
which the Confederates were using to smuggle arms north into the two border states. They also had plans to prey on Union shipping entering and leaving Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
: at the center of these plans was the schooner Venus.
On July 4, 1861, 418 men from the barrier island
Barrier island
Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
s in Maryland and Virginia met at Chincoteague to celebrate the 85th anniversary of American independence
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
. All who were present signed a draft declaration prepared by Dr. George Schereer which pledged support for the United States against its enemies. Captain Edward Whaley, Sr., a War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
veteran, shouted, "I will defend the old flag to my last drop of blood, against the lazy, slave-holding aristocrats and their lackeys in Richmond."
On July 5, the declaration, and letters addressed to the commanding officers of the U.S. Navy at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, were dispatched aboard the sloop Jenny Sharpley. The letters detailed the importation of arms through Chincoteague Inlet
Chincoteague Inlet
Chincoteague Inlet is an inlet on the Eastern Shore of Virginia at the mouth of the Chincoteague Channel between Wallops Island and Assateague Island....
and up the Pocomoke River to Confederate sympathizers; the islanders also requested the right to ship oysters to northern ports and for protection by the Federal Navy. When Jenny Sharpley arrived at Hampton Roads, the packet was delivered to Flag Officer S. H. Stringham
Silas Stringham
Silas Horton Stringham was an admiral in the United States Navy.-Biography:Born in Middletown, New York, Stringham served in the United States Navy from the War of 1812 through the American Civil War. During the War of 1812, he served in the frigate and took part in the engagements with the...
. Stringham ignored the letters, but was enraged that Jenny Sharpley had broken through the Union Blocking Squadron and the islanders had been able to board his ship without being challenged.
The Navy subsequently stonewalled the islanders' requests for several months, but Chincoteague remained loyal, despite growing Confederate forces at the county seat, Drummondtown
Accomac, Virginia
Accomac is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 547 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Accomack County.-General information:* ZIP Code: 23301* Area Code: 757* Local Phone Exchange: 787...
. However, during a September 2 cabinet meeting, President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
was handed a letter by Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
. Addressed to Flag Officer Stringham
Silas Stringham
Silas Horton Stringham was an admiral in the United States Navy.-Biography:Born in Middletown, New York, Stringham served in the United States Navy from the War of 1812 through the American Civil War. During the War of 1812, he served in the frigate and took part in the engagements with the...
, it read:
Secretary of the Navy Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
jumped to his feet: "If no action is pending then Stringham will be replaced." General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
suggested that the U.S. Army send several thousand troops immediately for the relief of Chincoteague. On September 19, Captain L.M. Goldsborough
Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron...
relieved Stringham as flag officer.
Battle
On the evening of September 24, eight small boats were spotted rowing toward Chincoteague Inlet from the mainland. An alarm bell was rung in front of W.H. Watson and Company warehouse, and 94 armed men from Chincoteague responded, taking up positions along their warehouses and docks. It soon became clear that the boats were not attacking Chincoteague, but marking the channel with lanterns, so two sloops and a large schooner could enter the inlet.By dawn, the three ships had anchored near Cockle Creek and a British flag that had been flying from the schooner, Venus, had been replaced by the Confederate banner. On the afternoon of the 25th, an oyster sloop commanded by Edward Whaley, Jr., and crewed by William Lynch, John Jester, Henry Savage, and Robert Snead set off to Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
to again warn the Navy. Whaley and crew were escorted in guard boats to the flagship, USS Minnesota
USS Minnesota (1855)
USS Minnesota was a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy. Launched in 1855 and commissioned eighteen months later, the ship served in east Asia for two years before being decommissioned...
, and presented to Captain Goldsborough; they then ate with their host in Minnesotas great cabin. Four sailors from Minnesota, armed with rifles and cutlasses, accompanied the men back to Chincoteague with the pledge of immediate aid.
On September 30, Navy Lt. Commander Alexander Murray arrived off Chincoteague with 90 men in the recently-built, propeller-driven iron hull steamer, USS Louisiana
USS Louisiana (1861)
The second USS Louisiana was a propeller-driven iron hull steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Steamboat Origins:...
.
Meanwhile, Venus had rapidly been converted into a privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
of ten guns: in addition to cannon, 1,000 New England rifles, shot, and three tons of powder had been put aboard. The 135 ft. schooner, with her broad beam and shoal draft, would have been ideal to prey on shipping entering or leaving Delaware Bay.
However, at 9 a.m. on October 5, two boats from Louisiana were launched and attacked Venus with howitzers. Louisiana herself was then piloted through Chincoteague Inlet and opened fire with her 32-pounder. Next, a Virginian force of 300 cut off the Louisianas boats, but the Federal crews attacked and boarded Venus. The heavy fire from Louisiana shut down the Virginian defenses, and the Federal boarding party set fire to Venus, which burned to the water line before sinking in Cockle Creek. The two accompanying sloops were captured and taken to Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
as prizes of war. On hearing the news, Winfield Scott is said to have ordered Chincoteague oysters and Bermuda onions at Willard's Hotel.
In early December, Venus rifles and cannon were salvaged from the wreck; her gear is likely still buried in her so-far-undiscovered hull.
Aftermath
Louisiana remained at Chincoteague until late December. Two days after the battle, she captured the schooner S.T. Carrison with a cargo of wood near Wallops IslandWallops Island
Wallops Island is a island off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.It is located in Accomack County, Virginia...
. On 14 October Louisiana′s Commander Murray witnessed the administration of the oath of allegiance to the United States to Chincoteague's citizens. Louisiana′s boats, led by Lt. Alfred Hopkins, surprised and burned three Confederate vessels at Chincoteague Inlet on 29 October 28 and 29. On December 8, 4,000 Federal troops secured the remainder of the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Eastern Shore of Virginia
The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties on the Atlantic coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is separated from the rest of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay. Its population was 45,553 as of 2010...
for the Union.
Although a minor skirmish, the Battle of Cockle Creek eliminated the Confederate threat to Delaware Bay and strengthened Union control over Maryland's and Virginia's Eastern Shores.
See also
- List of American Civil War battles
- Naval Battles of the American Civil WarNaval battles of the American Civil WarThe naval engagements of the American Civil War changed the foundations of naval warfare due to the first-time use of ironclads and submarines, and the introduction of newer and more powerful naval artillery....
- Chincoteague, VirginiaChincoteague, VirginiaChincoteague is a town on Chincoteague Island in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,317 at the 2000 census. The town is perhaps best known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island...