The following letter was written by Andrew Wallace Johnson (1826-1887) of the US Navy. He was appointed midshipman in 1841, and commissioned lieutenant, 15 September, 1855. He was made lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, and in 1864-‘5 served with the South Atlantic blockading squadron, being on the iron-clads “Lehigh” and “Montauk ” in their engagements with Confederate batteries in Stono river, South Carolina, in July, 1864. He was commissioned commander, 2 February, 1869 and captain, 5 April, 1874, and served as chief of staff of the South Atlantic squadron from 1869 till 1870. After being assigned to special duty for several years at Washington, D. C., and at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Captain Johnson was retired by operation of law.
Andrew wrote the letter from the gunboat USS Unadilla which was patrolling the coast off Tybee Island, Georgia, conducting frequent reconnaissance surveys, and reporting on both suspected Confederate troop movements in the area and the construction and movements of the ram CSS Savannah. In January 1864, she underwent repairs at Port Royal and, in March, was dispatched to St. Johns River, Florida, for reconnaissance and convoy duties. After striking a sand bar, Unadilla returned to Port Royal in May where carpenters discovered that the battle-weary vessel needed an extensive overhaul. Unadilla was detained briefly in Ossabow Sound but, on 19 June, 1864, finally received orders north to the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
[Note: This letter is from the private collection of Greg Herr and was transcribed and published on Spared & Shared by express consent.]
Transcription
U. S. S. Unadilla, Tybee Roads, Georgia
January 27th 1864
My dear Colonel,
Sincerely do I sympathize with yourself in the difficulties which have so suddenly and so singularly come upon you, but, feeling that you are the man for emergencies, I am hopeful whatever the future may develop for either you or I—for it seems that I too am in the melee and my friend Chaplin 1 also—let us meet it as cooley as possible and in our patience, possess our soul. There are always two sides to a question, and ours may be the bright side, notwithstanding all our misgivings and repinings. So far as General S. 2 is concerned, I presume his [ ] and conscience is not so topological as to be beyond one’s access.
I had intended to drop in on you this morning but the exercises of the vessel prevented me. I hope to do so tomorrow if the weather and the rules of the Army will permit me to communicate with you. Believe me, whatever the result of this affair may be.
Truly and sincerely your friend, — Johnson
1 J. C. Chaplin was the commander of the USS Dai Ching, a steam gunboat built in Shanhai that was purchased by the US Navy and was assigned duty in the South Atlantic Squadron at Tybee Roads with the USS Unadilla in 1864.
2 I suspect this is Gen. Truman Syemour who was placed in charge of the newly created District of Florida and was preparing for an expedition to Florida in February 1864 in which he planned to capture Jacksonville. The “melee” may have been related to some disagreement between the Army and Navy who often found difficulty working constructively together.
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