Huggins Island Fart Guarded Inlet
By TUCKER X. LITTLETON
la the mast racent article in the
Annals series, we learned of the
capture of Nie tewn of Bwansbore
by the men under command of
Colonel Stevenson of ihe 2|th Mass
achusetts. No official report gives
any detailed account of the cap
ture, but there are still liying sen
ior ckieens whose paeeots gave
them a firsthand account.
One story has always amused
me. The evening before the cap
ture of the town, the bead officer
came into town and found that all
the male citizens were away fight
ing. *
According to tradition, the of
ficer forewarned all the lady'resi
dents that his men would be com
ing into town early the next morn
ing and that it would be advisable
for them to round up all their hogs,
chickens, goats, etc., and make
sure they were penned if the good
ladies did not want his men to
pillage and steal the animals.
Accordingly, the ladies, ever too
confident in the goodness of human
nature, had no misgivings whatso
ever and followed the officer's sug
gestion explicitly. The next morn
ing when the soldiers came into
town, they found that the chickens
were all cooped up, the hogs pen
ned, and the mules gathered.
Nothing, therefore, remained for
them to do save to go straight to
the pens and chicken houses and
carry all away. When the ladies
realized how they had fallen for
the enemy’s design, they became
furious. One elderly lady, a■ Mrs.
Bloodgood, watched the Yankee
soldiers carry all her chickens and
hogs away and then return for her
last animal—a much prized white'
mule.
Having stood all she could take,
the little old lady ran into the
kitchen and grabbed her butcher
knife. And hobbling as fast as her
short legs would take her, she
paced behind the Yankees, sling
ing her butcher knife and reciting
all the derogatory terms she could
call to mind.
Determined to get blood, she fol
lowed them all the way to the in
tersection of Main and Elm streets,
where all the animals in town were
being collected. When the head
This drawing, by an unidentified Yankee Midler, shows She gunbont Elite engaging • VnfcM steamer. The Ellis, one of the few blockade
inars owned and onerated by the state of North Carolina, was soon captured. It was one of seven vessels used by the Yankees in the first
tent* of Swansboro. (Photo courtesy of lb* *ht York Eteterttal Inotetr, New York Chy).
Defendant Fined
In Beach Court
bra K. Alfred, Biyk*tt> was con
victed in Atlantic Beach mayor’s
court Monday night of carrying a
concealed weapon and disturbing
the peace. The court confiscated
his switch hlade knife and fined
him $16 and costs.
Three defendants from Morohesd
City. Gerald Jones, 406 Fisher St.,
Frank Lee Parker and Charles Ed
C> Weils, paid costs for dlsturb
the paeon. They went also re
stricted from the beach far four
months and warned that if they
violate conditions of the judgment
they would fas restricted for two
yean.
Ueyd Elks, Orhpaalaad. charg
ed with buying beer for a minor,
was fined $15 and costa. The same
penalty was given Glenn JL Ho
gan. charged with public drunk
ennaas, disorderly eoaduet and an
Harold L. tndorsiw. merchant;
mariner, paid $6 and carte far pub
Ur drtmhrngrn end disturbing the
officer aaw Mrs. Bloodgood com
ing. he himself wai ae much amus
ed by her actions and appearance
that he allowed her to take her
white mule home again—provided
she would quit ilinging that butch
er knife!
It was after they had pillaged
and captured the town, then, that
the Union forces set out to destroy
the fort on Huggins Island. Few
details are known e( the aalt fac
tories destroyed near the town,
but there is a mention of them.
Major-General J. G. Foster, in his
report to Washington, toils of some
of the salt factories destroyed and
the destruction of Huggins Island
Fort.
Note that the fort is given the
name Huggins Island Fort for lack
of a better name. No records have
so far revealed the official name.
It could have been the Bogue Inlet
Fort or ime other. But since the
island, now known as Russeils Is
land, was then known as Huggins
(or Higgins) Island, I have arbi
trarily called it Huggins Island
Fort.
Actually, the fort was located on
the end of Huggins Island that
faces Bogue Inlet, and the breast
works of, the fort are still evident.
To the westward of the fort was
located West Channel (formerly
called Ship Channel), through
which most of the ocean vessels
reached Swansboro,
Foster’s report follows: “New
Bern, N. C. August 20, 1862. Ma
jor-General H. W. Halleck, Gen
eral: I have the honor to report
that all is well within this depart
ment.
“The health of the men is re
markably good, considering the
unhealthfulness of this climate at
this season. The convalescents are
rapidly brought up by a short stay
at the general hospital at Beau
fort.
“I started a reconnaissance on
the 16th instant toward Wilmington
for the purpose of destroying some
salt-works known to be in opera
tion at or near Bogue Inlet, and
to ascertain the force of the enemy
in that section, the character of
the country, depth of water in the
sounds, inlets,' and rivers, &c. I
have now the honor to report their
return and the successful accom
Knoxville, Tenn (AP) - Come
dun Jack Benny, IB, get soma kind
word* from televisions Pally ler
Wi«i recant vialt to her home
town.
She called Benny “a man I’ve
admired since I was a child, that
Architect's Bad Dream
Breves to be Vary Roof
La Jolla, Calif. (AP)—One night
Edward fiecey, architectural
draftsman, thought he dreamed
that he saw someone sitting oo his
bedroom dresser.
It wasn't g dream he learned a
few days later when * burglar
toek notice around to six La Jolla
homos he had entered. One of
them was Deeey'a. He bad fat an
the bureau while he smoked a cig
Stony Creek, V*„ public drunkep
ness, A. J. (Buster) Willis, route
t Newport, disturbing the ponce;
nni George Bay Janes, Merehesd
at*..
sifting
plUhment of their object and with
out resistance. One man was
slightly wounded by a guerrilla’s
shot and we took one prisoner.
“The reconnaissance was under
command of Colonel Stevenson,
commanding the Second Brigade
of my division, and consisted of
seven companies of the Twenty
fourth Massachusetts Volunteers,
Riggs’ battery Third New York
Artillery, and a large detachment
of the Marine Artillery, Colonel
Howard.
“The force was embarked on
seven light-draught steamers, five
of which proceeded to Bc„ue Inlet
from Beaufort outside, and two
through Bogue Sound to the same
point. The vessels rendezvoused
at the mouth of White Oak River,
Swansborough, landed, and took
possession of the town.
“The next day the two lightest
draught steamers started up
Stumpy (Stump) Sound, and, hav
ing proceeded 2 miles, landed a
detachment of troops, who, march
ing down the banks of the sound,
found and destroyed the salt-works
of a Mr. Hawkins, with a store
house partially filled.
-These works were quite exten
sive and well filled up, and had a
capacity of about 7,000 bushels per
annum. The force then proceeded
to the works of Colonel Saunders
(Sanders) (capacity about 2,500
bushels per annum), which they
destroyed, and hearing of no other
works of any consequence, the de
tachment returned to their vessels.
“During their absence Lieuten
ant Porter, commanding the Naval
gunboat Ellis, kindly furnished me
by Lieutenant Colhoun, the senior
officer at this station, found and
destroyed two small works on
Queens Creek.
“Having destroyed all the known
works in this part of the country
and obtained much information,
the forces started for their return,
first destroying a well-constructed
unarmed fort built to protect the
entrance to Bogue Inlet, the guns
of which had been taken (six in
number) to New Berne to aid in
the defense of that point and were
there captured by us, and had not
since been replaced.
“Before closing this report I
must make my acknowledgements
of the promptness, willingness, and
efficiency of Lieutenant Colhoun,
of the Navy.
Officer Held* 19
Job* in Battery
Norfolk, ¥«. (AP)—If you cell
et Headquarters Battery of the 3rd
Air Defense Artillery Group and
ask for the athletic and recreation
officer, claims officer, recruiting
officer, training officer or voting
Officer they’ll refer you to Lt.
Thomas B. Williams.
He’s alao savings officer, infor
mation and education officer,
chemical biological and radiolog
ical warfare officer, motor officer,
character guidance officer, postal
officer, utilities officer, insurance
officer, battery public information
officer, supply and property offic
er, mess officer, custodian of tell
tickets and recorder of the uait
fund.
He also is executive officer of
the headquarters battery group.
SOMMER COLD
His cordial mod over-ready co
operation with me in any move I
may make, joined with his high
character as an officer and a gen
tleman, convinces me that he is
one of the most worthy and deserv
ing of those ex-officers of the Navy
who at the call of their contry re
entered the service, hoping and
wishing to be reinstated in the
Regular Navy of the United States.
Than Lieutenant Coihoun none are
more worthy.
“I am, General, with much re
spect, your obedient servant, J. G.
Foster.”
Foster’s report clarifies several
things: he gives the reason why
there was so little resistance from
Huggins Island Fort. The guns
had been taken from the fort to
help defend New Bern in the fam
ous Battle bf New Bern, had been
captured, and the fort had been
destroyed before the Confederates
could replace the guns:
While showing that the main im
portance of Swansboro and the
Boguc Inlet area was in the pro
duction of salt, Foster also men
tions that Swansboro win on the
direct route to Wilmington. For
that reason, the entire White Oak
River region was an important
buffer area between Yankee-held
Carteret County and Rebel-control
led Wilmington.
In his report Foster indicates
that the gunboat Ellis, under Lieu
tenant Porter, was one of the sev
en steamers that participated in
the first capture of Swansboro. The
Ellis was originally a Rebel steam
er, one of the few blockade run
ners owned and operated by the
State of North Carolina. But the
Yankees soon captured the Ellis
and used it as a Federal gunboat.
There are no extant photographs
of the Ellis. The only likeness of
the gunboat is a pencil drawing
of the Ellis made while it was still
in Rebel hands. That drawing is
here reproduced by the gourtesy
of The New York Historical So
ciety, New York City, owners of
the original drawing.
Our next installment will tell of
the second capture of the town,
which occurred only two months
later. AGAIN we will see the El
lis visiting Swansboro, but the sec
ond time under command of a
much more famous figure than
Lieutenant Porter.
Coast Guardsman Rotires
*
h
Accorded the honor of inspecting Coast Guardsmen at Fort Macon station was P. I. TUIett, right, fol
lowed by Lt. John Riddell, U8CG, commanding officer of Fort Macon group. Mr. Tiilett retired Weibies
day from the Coast Guard after 26 years’ service.
Census Records
Provide Proof
Of Age, Birth
Last year, 9,032 residents of
North Carolina' turned, to the US
Bureau of the .Census for help in
proving they were born. These
persons were among an estimated
30 million United States residents
who are without proof of age or
birth. The historical records of
the Census Bureau provide the
only source of this information for
most of those 30 million people.
Proof of age or birth is needed
today to collect social security and
other retirement benefits. It is
needed to obtain passports. It is
needed to qualify for jobs carrying
certain age or citizenship require
ments. It is needed for some forms
of insurance.
Since 1920, the Census Bureau
has provided more than three and
one-half million persons with
copies of their Census records on
age, place of birth, citizenship, or
kinship. Persons seeking iheh rec
ords of facts about themselves
should write to the Personal Cen
sus Service Branch, Bureau of the
Census, Pittsburg, Kan., for a Cen
sus Records Search Application
Form.
A fee of $3 is charged for a
search of not more than two cen
suses for one person and for one
copy of the information found.
Additional copies cost $1 each.
An expedited search costs $4.
Expedited searches are usually
completed within a few days while
the routine $3 search may take up
to 30 days, depending upon the
backlog of requests and the ease
or difficulty in locating the infor
mation
The personal information in the
records of the 1900 and later Cen
suses is confidential by law and
may be furnished only upon the
written request of the person to
whom it relates or, for a proper
purpose, - a legal representative
such as guardian or administrator
of an estate.
Information regarding a child
who has not reached legal age may
be obtained upon the written re
quest of either parent.
Y’all Be There, Now
Indiapanolis (API —It probably
wasn’t meant that way, but the
men’s chorus rehearsal reminder
in the St. John Evangelical Church
bulletin read: “AH male communi
cants who wlU be able to sin at
the services next Sunday are urg
ed to take part.”
as all outdoors I
for tasty outdoor cooking-no messy cleanup, iW|gf
W. P. FREEMAN WHOLESALE GO.
1M N. era ST. MQgfnrfn CITY
Engine-mate Chief Pennell .T.
Tillett, Harkers Island, retired
from active duty with the Coast
Guard Wednesday after 20 years
of service. Official ceremonies
marking the retirement were
held at Fort Macon.
Mr. Tillett first enlisted in the
Coast Guard in September of
1939 at Norfolk and after com
pleting basic training at Ellis
Island, N. Y., drew his first as
signment aboard a Coast Guard
cutter in New York harbor. Since
that time Mr. Tillett has had
tours of duty from Fort Macon
to the Solomon Islands.
Echo I in Orbit
Balloon satellite Echo I moves
across the sky Tuesday night.
This view was taken from Broad
and Marsh streets, Beaufort.
The satellite shows on film as a
streak of light. The small jog
in the line at upper right is
Where the camera was moved to
follow the satellite.
Library to Close
The Carteret County public li
brary, Beaufort, will be closed all
day Monday, Sept. 5, in observ
ance of Labor Day.
During the war he was aboard
the destroyer USS Little that
launched the initial attack on the
Japanese-held Solomons. He was
also aboard the Little when it
was sunk by a Japanese cruiser
Sept. 5, 1942.
Tillett is originally from Kitty
Hawk, but now lives on Harkers
Island where he is married to
the former Miss Alice Davis.
The couple and their three chil
dren, June Kay, Sheila Marie
and Jesse Wayne, plan to m?ke
their home on the island after
Tillett’s retirement.
Newport Club
Hears T. Kemp
Truman Kemp, general manager
of Carteret Industries Inc., was the
guest speaker Monday night at the
Newport Rotary club. Mr. Kemp
outlined the growth and develop
ment of the modern garment in
dustry from its piece-making start
in the nineteenth century through
to today’s production-line opera
tion. ..
Mr. Kemp listed development,
mechanization and constant im
provement of modern machinery
as being the factors contributing
most to the rapid growth of the
garment industry.
Speaking of his own firm Mr.
Kemp said that Carteret Industries
now employs a staff of 95 workers
and six night employees. With a
continued increase in orders, Mr.
Kemp said that the company anti
cipates adding more night workers
in the near future.
Raymond Edwards of Newport
attended the meeting as the guest
of John Tomlinson and Larry How
ard and Henry White attended as
the guests of Moses Howard. Lon
nie Howard had his son, Tommy,
as a guest.
Garland Scruggs of Morehead
City was a visitor.
Driver Fined
$106 in City
Court Monday
Artie Robert Nelson of Atlantic
was fined $100 and court costs in
Morohead City recorder’s court
Monday after he was convicted of
driving drunk. K. K. Jackson,
Morehead City, forfeited bond
when he failed to appear to answer
charges of being drunk in an auto
mobile.
Judge Herbert O. Phillips issued
an order for another defendant,
who failed to appear, to be brought
to trial in two weeks. The defend
ant was Thomas Richard Reedy
of Roanoke, Va., who is charged
with speeding and having an im
proper muffler.
Han Whealton, Morehead City,
charged with simple assault was
given a 30-day jail sentence, sus
pended on payment of costs and
one year’s good behavior. Marvin
Matthews, Fayetteville, also charg
ed with assault, was not prosecut
ed.
A Morehead City man, Wjllie
Moore Harkley, was acquitted on
charges of having no driver’s li
cense, hit and run and leaving the
scene of an acicdent. On another j
warrant Harkley was charged with
having no driver’s license and
careless and reckless driving. In
this case he was acquitted of care
less and reckless driving but fined
$75 and court costs for having no
license.
James Allen Lewis of Morehead '
City was given six months in jail!
for assault on his wife, Ida Mae j
Lewis. Judge Phillips suspended;
the jail sentence on payment of
$25 and costs and a year’s good
behavior. Lbwis was also ordered
to pay $25 a week to the court for
the support of his child.
Two Camp Lejeune defendants,
George W. Burk and John W. Rog-i
ers, charged with aiding and abet
ting in disturbing the peace, werf!
not prosecuted.
Margie L. Smithson of Havelock
was fined $25 and court costs for
having no driver’s license and
Gerald Dale Ockwig of Cherry
Point ,was taxed with one-half
costs for driving the wrong way
on a one-way street.
John Norman Edens, Morehead
City, paid $10 and costs on a speed
ing conviction and the court order
ed W. T. Kenon of Newport to pay
costs and honor a check on a
charge of issuing a worthless
check.
Malicious prosecution was ruled
in the case against Harrison Long
of Morehead City, charged with
trespassing and using loud and
profane language in public. Court
costs were paid by the prosecuting
witness.
Tommy Gilbert of Morehead City
v/as convicted of assaulting and
molesting George Lewis Jr. Judge
Phillips suspended judgment for
Gilbert on payment of costs and
one year’s good behavior.
Thirteen cases were continued
until next week’s term of court.
Thief Has Choice of Two
Bags, Takes Dog Bones
Richmond, Ky. (AP)-J. Walters
Jr. put $200 in receipts from a
charity event into a paper bag ,and
started home.
He stopped on the way for a
snack. Returning to his car, He
noticed it had been entered. The
thief had taken one paper bag and
left another. The one he took con'
tained bones for Walters’ dog.
SEPTEMBER
HEATER SALE
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