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Federal Sailor’s Letter Archive

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War-date sailor’s group of sixteen (16) Autograph Letters Signed, "John A. Stammers", multipaged, dated from October 2, 1861 through March 1864, with the majority penned while on ship, they read in part: "...[10/2/1861]I am now in the U.S. Steamer Release on the Potomac River and have got my billet as 2nd class fire man...we are stationed here to watch the Rebels from crossing over to Maryland. We can see them every day there are about 5 miles from us, we hear firing most every day. They have got a steamer over there but they don’t hardly show it. They are afraid to. We have got some guns aboard that would blow them sky high and they know it. Their guns cant reach us and ours can but we cant fire at them without orders from the commodore of the fleet. The slaves are running away from them every day. We had six men and a good looking woman with us who got away in a boat. They give a great deal of information they send them up to Washington Navy Yard. They had a big fight last week near Washington a peace called Mansions Hill the rebels had but our men got it away from them which partly saved Washington....We seen the steamer RB Forbes in the yard when I was there they have got the officers in Prison...[10/31/61]we are here still and in a tight place, the river is completly blockaded by the rebels. We can’t go up to Washington, and nothing cant come down. The rebels have got as much as 6 or 7 batteries here, they fire across to Maryland. We went up to them the other day and fired at them for an hour and 20 minutes, but they drove us back, the shots flew pretty hot around us but did not hit any of us. One struck the steamer near the pilot house and came near hitting me...[11/11/61] Ships are running the blockade every night, the Union troops are building a battery on Maryland opposite thr Rebels we will commence the work together. We got news that Genl Floyd was taken prisoner yesterday bya body guard of Col Reinstens Co. tough times here...[12/15/61] We have had some heavy firing at the rebels batteries since we come down here. You might see in some of the papers about it I saw it in the N. York Herald....I commenced this letter yesterday and had to stop as we had to get under way to go to shell a new battery. The rebels were building, we fired some 60 shells at them but could not drive them off as they were too far in the woods...we are at a place called Freestone point....[2/10/62] the rebels dont fire so much now, some of our boys had a great skirmishing time of it the other night. We sent a boat crew of 15 from us and some 15 from the other steamers here about 50 in all commanded by some officers to catch some rebel pickets on Virginia shore about 10 miles up the river, they started about 3 oclock in the morning it was snowing awful our boys got ashore and suceeded in capturing 3 of them...[1/28/62] it has been quite still here since until tonight the batteries are blazing away like the Devil at a small tug boat that went down the river, it seems they have plenty powder and shot, they have got a strong battery. They planted a new rebel flag on there on Sunday, we can see it with a spy glass plain....We thought we would have another night of it with the Brig Perry she went down but they did not fire at here they did not see her it was too dark the next one will be going out of the river is the Harriet Lane, I think we will see her down...[2/28/62]waiting for something to turn up which we are expecting very soon now on this river, as they are making arrangements for an attack on those batteries soon and sweep them clean out. They don’t fire so much as they used to of but I guess they know they are going to catch hell soon from us so they are saving what ammunition they have got...We had Genl. Sickles and Genl. Hooker and Genl. Lane on board of us this week. I believe they are going to cross over the same time...report came tonight that Genl Banks was defeated in Centerville and 2,000 of his men taken prisoners...[3/10/62]we have taken all the batteries on this river without being fired at once. We got unde way about 2 oclock yesterday afternoon and kept firing until 8 oclock we landed a boats crew and went and spiked all their guns and planted the American flag on the pole on Cokpit point, then after finding that place deserted we went to Quantico Creek batteries and fired at them, finding no one to return the fire. We sent a boat ashore and planted the flag there...[4/17/62]we have been up the York river trying our guns and I tell you it is a tough spot. They are 4 or 5 big gun boats there from Boston, they are firing at the rebel batteries every day. So we went in alone one day and fired over 30 shot at them, but they never returned the fire. They all said that our shots went right in on them. Genl McClernon was on the flag ship looking at all of it, his troops are behind them and expect to attack them in a few days...[5/1/62]we captured 2 rebel steamers and 8 schooners with a lot of cargo for the rebels, one schooner had a cargo of dry goods, the captain said was worth 45,000 dollars alone...their was 2 more steamers up at Fredericksburg but they burnt them before we got up there. We went up there with the Commodores ship...The commodore is an awful lying son of a bitch everything we do he gets all the praise for it...we have a band of minstrels and a good one...[5/26/62]The rebel soldiers here are giving up their arms to us everyday about 500 of them come to us and said when they left Yorktown it was time for them to go home. We have their arms onboard and a splendid flag belonging to a Texas regiment and they are all happy now...[7/24/62]we were ordered up here from the mouth of the river, as they report taht Stonewall Jackson was going to come and take the city, but he ain’t come yet, he will have a good time if he comes...[8/12/62]our troops are having a little skirmish about 12 miles from here with Stonewall Jackson’s men. Burnsides troops were here last week & was talking to some of them I knew a few of them that belong to the 28th Massachusetts. Old Pope and Burnside will make them howl...[9/10/62]they say Washington is full of soldiers and that Stonewall is in Maryland as I said and still say this war will last another year...[3/6/64]last week we went to Mississippi Sound in company with 6 mortar schooners to bombard a rebel fort called Fort Powell. We bombarded 6 days and hauled off again without doing much damage, as there was not water enought to get up to it, but we gave it to the rebs pretty hot at a long range. We had Admiral Farragut on board of us while we were in action and he was well pleased with our firing...." More. VG. A nice naval letter group.

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