Lot 1181

(UNION NAVY) USS CARONDELET SAILOR CHASES HOOD AFTER NASHVILLE

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(UNION NAVY) USS CARONDELET SAILOR CHASES HOOD AFTER NASHVILLE

Estimate: $160 - $200

Starting Bid: $80

(0 Bids)

by Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
July 31, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
106 East Main Street, Suite 103
Elkton, MD, US 21921

(UNION NAVY) USS CARONDELET SAILOR CHASES HOOD AFTER NASHVILLE
A fine content, war-date letter, 4pp. legal folio, East Port, AL, Jan. 15, 1865, from U.S. Navy boilerman John Hagerty of the City-class ironclad gunboat USS CARONDELET, to his wife, Maggie. Hagerty describes his squadron's pursuit of the Army of Tennessee under John Bell Hood following its defeat at the Battle of Nashville, in large part: ‘...Dear Maggie this morning Sunday January the 15 at 10 Oclock we arived at East Port in the state of Alabama some three hundred miles from Clarksville by water there was a convoy of Steamboats with us there was 36 boats togather 11 of them was gunboats the Carondelet was in the advance we was flagship coming up the boats was all loaded with Soldiers the are folling up the Rebel army that was at Nashville the are at Corinth 18 miles from the river we cannot get near them with the Gunboats Maggie I seen General [George H.] Thomas the man the whiped the Rebs at Nashville there is a great lot of Steam Boats here all in Government business Maggie I am very tired this day after fireing so far Since Tom Jennings died there is but John O Donnell and me on our watch and it makes it harder on me and John & Maggie this is the South Shure enough for it is as warm as Summer very near… Maggie I am going to tell you what my work is… we are 4 hours on watch and 8 of and when we are standing still there is but one of us in the fire room at a time… the first thing in the morning is up all hammocks at 6 oclock we have 15 minutes to get up and put our Hammocks away if it is not away in that time hoever is longer than that time is put on the black list some for 2 weeks and some longer Maggie the blacklist is that the are put at all kinds of work such as scrubing and other dirty work… Maggie I hope this is the best thing that ever hapened to me for I hope to be able to bring about 2 hundred dolars home with me with the help of God if nothing hapens – and as long as I am on the Carondelet I am all right it was reported in all the newspapers that the U S Gun Boat Carondelet was blown up with a torpedo but I did not believe it when I herd it for She is the Same old Boat yet and the letter that McTighe rote to me there was a piece cut out of the Pittsburgh Evening Chromacal about the blown up of the Carondelet… Dear Maggie if such news would reach you it would be to bad but I hope you did not hear any thing about it for there is so many falce reports… [all sic]' Shows original mailing folds, with splits showing cello tape repairs on the second and third pages, as well as an approx. 5.75 x 1.5 in. loss to the top edge of the third page, eliminating two lines, in good to very good condition overall. USS CARONDELET would have one of the most active service lives of any of the Union's river gunboats, participating in the captures of Forts Henry and Donelson, the passing of Island No. 10, and the bombardments of Fort Pillow and Memphis. She would suffer heavy damage in action against the ironclad CSS ARKANSAS as the latter forced he way out of the Yazoo river to Vicksburg. After her transfer to the Navy, she would participate in the ill-fated Steel's Bayou Expedition and would bombard Vicksburg until that city's surrender, before joining the Red River Expedition and then attempting to suppress Confederate batteries at Nashville.

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