My Cart

Commander Catesby ap Roger Jones

Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter remarked at the outbreak of the Civil War that he regretted the loss of only two officers who had left the U.S. Navy during the secession crisis. One was gun designer John Mercer Brooke and the other was Catesby ap Roger Jones. [1]

Tall, well-proportioned, and always immaculately dressed, Jones maintained a commanding presence despite walking with a slight limp caused by a gunshot wound to the hip he received during a riot while on leave in Paris in 1851. He was born at his grandmother’s estate, Fairfield Plantation, in Frederick (now Clarke) County on April 15, 1821. His mother, Mary Ann Mason, was a lineal descendant of William Byrd II and Robert ‘King’ Carter, making her a cousin to  Robert E. Lee. His father was Roger ap Catesby Jones. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1809 and received his commission to become a captain in the US Army. The artillery officer would be breveted to lieutenant colonel as a result of his service with Brigadier General Winfield Scott during the War of 1812. On March 7, 1825, Jones was appointed Adjutant General of the US Army and eventually was breveted to major general in 1848. Jones died in 1854. The unusual Welsh idiom ‘ap’ in Jones’s name means ‘son of.’  Thus, Catesby ap Roger Jones was noted as the son of Roger Jones.

A man sits for a portrait in military uniform
Major General Roger ap Catesby Jones. From Captain Roger Jones, of London and Virginia, some of his Antecedents and Descendants (Albany, NY: Joel Munsell’s Sons, 1891), following page 54.
Public domain.

His equally famous uncle was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. Jones was a War of 1812 hero having unsuccessfully defended the Lake Bourne approach to New Orleans. While Jones was overwhelmed by the British fleet during the Battle of Lake Bourne, he received great accolades for his leadership supporting General Andrew Jackson’s defense of New Orleans. He would later receive national acclaim for his occupation of Monterey, California. [2]

A man sits for a portrait wearing a formal uniform
Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. From Thomas ap Catesby Jones, Commodore of Manifest Destiny (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000) ISBN 1-55750-848-8.
Public domain.

The Beginning of Jones’s Navy Career 

Catesby ap Roger Jones entered the US Navy as a midshipman on June 18, 1836. His first assignment was in USS Macedonian commanded by his uncle. In 1837, he was named aide to the commander of the East India Squadron, Commodore George C. Read. Sailing in the Raritan-class frigate Columbia, the midshipman participated in the 1838 Second Sumatran Expedition. Jones attended the Philadelphia Naval School and became a passed midshipman in 1841.

In 1842, he was assigned to the Depot of Charts serving under Lieutenant Matthew Fontaine Maury. Jones was assigned to the schooner Flirt for coastal surveying duty and then detailed to USS Perry in 1843. When the brig reached Hong Kong, the passed midshipman transferred to the frigate Brandywine. He circumnavigated during Brandywine’s voyage back to the United States arriving in late 1845 at Gosport Navy Yard.

Although he was assigned to the “Exploring Expedition,” when his uncle resigned from that mission, Jones was detailed to USS Ohio as acting master on November 13, 1846. The ship-of-the-line sailed to join the Pacific Squadron arriving in Baja California just as the Mexican-American War was ending. Catesby Jones was promoted to master in October 1848 and lieutenant on May 12, 1849. He took a two-year leave of absence to travel to Europe.

Testing Merrimack’s Battery

In February 1853, Jones was assigned to the US Navy Ordnance Bureau at Washington Navy Yard. He worked directly with the bureau’s chief, John A. B. Dahlgren, on various artillery experiments. This work resulted in the development of the IX-inch Dahlgren shell gun and the gun’s acceptance as the standardized broadside gun for the navy’s Merrimack-class frigates and Hartford-class sloops. At Dahlgren’s request, Jones was assigned as ordnance officer of USS Merrimack from 1856 to 1857 to test the frigate’s new artillery. The tests proved satisfactory; Jones noted that “a vessel with such a great deadrise as the Merrimack’s could not offer heavy battery with substantial stability … . In a heavy sea…it will be difficult to handle her battery.” [3] The lieutenant later served aboard several other ships fitted with Dahlgren shell guns to test them, such as the sloop of war Plymouth and the gunboat Pawnee.

A model of a ship stands against a blue background.
Model of USS Merrimack, 1856. The Mariners’ Museum and Park, 1936.0063.000001.

When Virginia left the Union on April 17, 1861, Jones resigned his commission. On the same day, Governor John Letcher appointed Jones as captain in the newly formed Virginia Navy and dispatched him to Norfolk. Once there, Jones supported Capt. Thomas Kevill of 41st Virginia in the capture of Fort Norfolk across the Elizabeth River from Gosport Navy Yard. The fort contained the yard’s entire supply of gunpowder totalling 300,000 lbs. [4] Gosport was abandoned by Union forces on April 20/21, 1861.

Balding man poses for a portrait wearing a uniform
Commander Catesby ap Roger Jones, ca. 1863-1864. Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 48723.

The Virginia Navy then merged with the Confederate Navy, and Jones was commissioned lieutenant. He was assigned to build and command the fortifications on Jamestown Island in June 1861. He built several batteries, one atop the 1607 Jamestown fort. Jones, as an ordnance expert, became keenly interested in the conversion of the damaged wooden steam screw frigate Merrimack into an ironclad ram at Gosport Navy Yard. He considered Merrimack “the most important naval affair the country has to deal with and consequently am deeply interested in her success, and anxious that it may be completed.” [5]

His friend, Lieutenant John Mercer Brooke was charged with coordinating the guns and iron plate for the conversion project. Brooke wanted thicker plates than Tredegar Iron Works could produce. The foundry was only set up to make one-inch iron plate. Unsure of the casemate’s shot-proof qualities, Brooke resolved to test the protective nature of three courses of one-inch plate with Jones at Jamestown Island.

Jones prepared a target in early October 1861 to replicate the proposed shield of the ironclad. Constructed of 24 inches of oak and pine, the target was inclined at an angle of 36 degrees and covered with three layers of one-inch iron plate. An eight-inch Columbiad was positioned 327 yards from the target, and several rounds of solid shot were fired using 10 lb. powder charge. Jones believed that this distance and shot would closely represent the shot enemy ship’s could fire at the Confederate ironclad. The test shield was immediately shattered with the ball entering five inches into the wood backing. It was obvious that one-inch iron plate was insufficient. Jones noted that if explosive shells had been used, the wood backing would have caught fire. [6]

A ship sits in a dry dock with people on board.
CSS Virginia (Merrimac) in drydock.
The Mariners’ Museum and Park, # P0001.01404–PN.c89_1

Another target was set up using two layers of two-inch iron plate. An VIII-inch and IX-inch shell guns were fired at the target. The outer plate shattered, but the interior plate was only cracked. The wood backing was not touched. The experiment proved that the Merrimack‘s casemate must be shielded with two-inch iron plate. Just to be sure, a third target was covered with two layers of railroad T-iron. This configuration was easily penetrated by both the VIII- and IX-inch shell guns. Lt. Jones submitted the findings of these tests in an October 12, 1861 report to Confederate Secretary of War Stephen Russell Mallory. He wrote that the sloped sides of the casemate would greatly enhance the shot-proof qualities of the shield, but Merrimack must be clad with four-inches of iron, preferably with two layers of two-inch iron plate. [7]

Secretary Mallory’s concerns about the ironclad project prompted him to assign Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones as Merrimack’s executive officer. Jones’s early assignment as Merrimack’s executive officer in November 1861 expedited construction, in part, by mitigating the disagreements between Lt. John Mercer Brooke and Chief Naval Constructor John Luke Porter. His duties included mounting the ironclad’s ordnance, mustering a crew, and preparing the vessel for sea. Jones had numerous problems to solve. The conversion project was scheduled for launching in late November, but it was not ready until the end of January when the ironclad neared completion. [8]

Jones and CSS Virginia in Battle

When Capt. Franklin Buchanan was named as commander of the James River Defenses with CSS Virginia as his flagship, Catesby Jones was “actually oppressed with undue expectations.”[9] He knew the ship from stem to stern and he had pushed forward to completion. Nevertheless, as the ironclad’s executive officer, he continued to recruit crew and prepare for action. Buchanan did not take long to pit Virginia against the Union wooden fleet in Hampton Roads. On March 8, 1862 Buchanan struck at USS Cumberland and USS Congress off Newport News Point. Cumberland was rammed and quickly sank. Congress ran aground while striving to escape; however, the Confederate shelled the Union frigate into submission. While observing the tugs CSS Raleigh and CSS Beaufort take off wounded from the burning frigate, Buchanan became enraged and began shooting at the Union soldiers on the shore. Such an obvious target, Buchanan was shot in the thigh. The bullet grazed his femoral artery, and Buchanan was carried below and ordered Catesby Jones “to plug hot shot into her and don’t leave until she’s afire.” [10]

“Brave and cool, determined old Jones fought the action out in his quiet way,” noted Lt. Robert Dabney Minor, “giving them thunder all of the time.” [11] Jones, “who knew the ship from her keel upwards and who had been made responsible for the efficiency of her battery,” [12] assumed command of Virginia and continued firing on Congress until it was engulfed in flames. “Dearly did they pay for unparalleled treachery,” wrote Lt. John Randolph Eggleston.”We raked her from fore and aft with hot shot and shell.” [13]  Then, Jones took his ironclad back into Hampton Roads intent on destroying two grounded frigates: USS Minnesota and USS St. Lawrence. Even though the tide was receding, it had grown “so dark that we could not see to point the guns with accuracy,” remembered the ironclad’s new commander. By 8 p.m., the battle in Hampton Roads was over, but Jones was determined to renew the attack in the morning. [14]

Once anchored at Sewell’s Point, Catesby Jones focused on preparing Virginia for the next day’s action. Jones inspected the ironclad for damage and discovered a small leak in the bow but did not notice that the ram was missing because of the dark. He merely thought that the ram was twisted from its collision with Cumberland. Despite the missing anchors, boats, flagstaffs, railings, and howitzers, most of which were lost during the fight with Cumberland, Jones believed that Virginia was ready to venture out against the Union’s wooden fleet. The Confederate ironclad had stood the test of battle rather well during its maiden voyage. [15] 

Two ships doing battle in the water. Other ships surround the fray.
“Terrific combat between the Monitor 2 guns & Merrimac 10 guns.”
Courtesy Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/90710608.

The Arrival of USS Monitor

Catesby Jones gave his men breakfast at dawn and got underway from Sewell’s Point about 6 a.m. on March 9, accompanied by CSS Patrick Henry, CSS Jamestown, and CSS Teaser. Due to heavy fog, the small squadron delayed entering Hampton Roads until 8 a.m. Jones saw that Minnesota was still stranded on the shoal as his ship steamed into range. At 8:30 a.m., Virginia’s forward Brooke rifle sent the first shot of the day at a range of 1,000 yards through the frigate’s rigging. Another shot quickly followed, exploding on the inside of the ship, causing considerable destruction and setting the ship on fire. Jones expected to make short work of Minnesota; however, a dark object that looked like “a barrel head afloat with a cheesebox on top of it,” [16] moved slowly out from under Minnesota and steamed toward the Confederate ironclad. Jones, who had been following the Union ironclad’s construction in Northern newspapers, calmly told his officers that there “was an iron battery near” Minnesota. Jones knew that it was USS Monitor and prepared his crew for “some hot work.” Monitor opened fire at 8:45 a.m., and for the next four hours, the two ironclads pounded each other with shot and shell. [17

Virginia entered the battle totally unprepared to engage another ironclad, It only had explosive shells, hot shot, and canister to use against wooden ships. The decision not to produce armor-penetrating for the Brooke rifles now haunted Jones. The Confederate ironclad’s commander knew, however, that he could still destroy the wooden ships in the harbor. Yet, Monitor continued blocking Virginia’s access to the frigate. The battle was primarily fought at a range of less than 100 yards. Often, the ships almost touched each other as each ironclad sought to gain an advantage. Monitor’s small size and quickness frustrated the Confederates, who tried to fire at the Union ironclad’s gunports, but found that the turret revolved too fast. [18] Lt. Eggleston complained that “we never got sight of her guns except when they were about to fire into us.”[19] Eggleston was later chided by Catesby Jones for not firing his gun at the Union ironclad. He replied to Jones, “It is quite a waste of ammunition to fire at her. Our power is precious, sir, and I find I can do the Monitor as much damage by snapping my finger at her every five minutes.” [20]

Ironclad ships battling in water.
The First Encounter of Ironclads. Hampton Roads, Virginia, U.S.A., March 9th, 1862. The Mariners’ Museum and Park, 1933.0557.000001.

Jones attempted to move against Minnesota, but ran his ship aground and was barely able to free Virginia from the shoal. Jones then decided to ram Monitor. The Confederate ironclad made a half-mile run at Monitor, but only struck the Union warship with a glancing blow and did little damage. The missing prow may have made a difference. Monitor’s evasive move enabled Jones to move against the stranded frigate. Seeing Virginia riding high in the water due to all of its usage of coal, shells, and powder, prompted the Union ironclad’s commander. Lt. John Lorimer Worden, to attempt to ram Virginia. At the last moment, a steering malfunction caused Monitor to veer by the Confederate ironclad. A shell from the stern 7-inch Brooke gun struck Monitor’s pilothouse, blinding the ship’s commander Lt. Worden. Monitor broke off action and steamed onto a shoal. [21]

Catesby Jones could see that Monitor was damaged. So he decided to renew the attack on Minnesota; however, the tide was receding, and he could not get his ship close enough to effectively shell the frigate. Jones then walked along the gun deck, conferring with his officers. The commander summarized the situation: that this “ship is leaking from the loss of her prow; the men are exhausted by being so long at their guns; the tide is ebbing, so we shall have to remain here all night unless we leave at once. I propose to return to Norfolk for repairs. What is your opinion?” [22] A majority argued for a return to Norfolk. Jones commented that “had there been any sign of Monitor’s willingness to renew the contest we would have remained to fight her.” The ironclad commander then headed his warship into the Elizabeth River destination Gosport Navy Yard. [23]

The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff

Even though the Confederates were the victors of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the failure to capture or destroy Monitor dampened Southern spirits. Some stated that Jones should have done more to destroy the Union fleet on March 9; officers like Chief Engineer Ashton Ramsay believed that “Jones was a clear-headed, cool and determined man and his reasoning doubtless good.” Jones was soon replaced as commander of Virginia by War of 1812 hero Josiah Tattnall. Nevertheless, he remained as executive officer and focused on repairs to the ironclad while it was in drydock. On two occasions, the Confederate Navy attempted to draw Monitor into battle without result. Virginia remained the primary gatekeeper for the James River until Norfolk was abandoned by the Confederate army on May 10, 1862. Virginia no longer had a deep water port and had few courses of action to take. Flag Officer Tattnall decided it would be best to lighten the ship from a draft of 23 feet to that of 18 feet. As Virginia had lessened its draft, the pilots informed Tattnall that because of the wind and tide, Virginia could not be taken up the James River to Richmond. The ship was run aground on Craney Island and then scuttled by Jones who set a slow match to the powder trails and rowed for shore by the light of the burning Virginia.  

 As Jones organized the crew for the 22-mile march to Suffolk, he paused, and, as recounted by Landsman John F. Higgins, remembered: “Lieutenant Jones halted and addressed a view encouraging words to his men. He then said if anyone had a family or friend in Norfolk or Portsmouth, he would not blame them for returning then, “but be men,” and “be true to the South.” [24] Only two men stepped out of ranks, and the crew resumed their march to Suffolk. Once there, they entrained to Petersburg and marched onto Drewry’s Bluff. 

Several ships sail down a narrow body of water amid smoke plumes arising from the surrounding land.
Battle of Drewry’s Bluff. From Harper’s Weekly, 1862. Courtesy New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

Jones and his men arrived at the bluff on May 13. He understood that the enemy, including USS Galena, USS Monitor, USRCS Naugatuck, USS Port Royal, and USS Aroostook, was in the “river; and extraordinary exertions must be made to repel him.” [25] Lt. Jones organized his crew into work parties to construct new gun emplacements. The morale of the men was very low. Although Lt. John Taylor Wood thought that the Confederate Navy for the time had been destroyed, they “must seek other ways of rendering ourselves useful.” [26] By dawn May 15, 1862, Jones’s sailors had mounted five heavy guns, while James River Squadron sailors built a gun position into the brow of the bluff for a seven-inch Brooke gun in an earth-covered log casemate.

By 7:45 a.m., the Union flotilla commanded by Captain John Rodgers brought his ships to within 600 yards of Drewry’s Bluff and the river obstructions. He placed Galena at the front of the column and opened fire on the Confederate batteries. The Confederates’ return fire was deadly. Plunging shot and shell wrecked havoc on Galena. The ironclad was struck by 43 projectiles and its weak iron plating was penetrated 13 times during the four-hour battle. Two guns were manned by the Southside Artillery and one gun was crewed by the Bedford Artillery. These guns were in a perfect position to rain fire down upon the Union ships. Jones was stationed with the Southside Artillery and his role was to assist the volunteer artillerists in managing their heavy guns. However, he was so exhausted by his efforts of the past five days, that he actually dozed off while sitting on a shell box. Rodgers was unable to pass over the obstructions, and his flotilla was forced to retreat downriver.

Moving Up Through the Ranks

On July 22, 1862, Jones was transferred from Drewry’s Bluff to supervise the construction of the gunboat CSS Chattahoochee at David S. Johnston’s shipyard at Saffold, Ga. on the Chattahoochee River. The gunboat was armed with six guns and had a speed of 12 knots. Lt. Jones had hoped to take the steamer down the Apalachicola River to Apalachicola Bay thence into the Gulf of Mexico to attack blockaders. Unfortunately, once the gunboat neared completion, the Confederate Army abandoned the city of Apalachicola and placed obstructions in the river to block any Union advance up the river. This situation meant that Chattahoochee was blocked from reaching the Gulf of Mexico. [27]

Image of a ship.
Reconstruction of CSS Chattahoochee. Joshua Beschutzer, artist.
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CS_Navy_twin-screw_steam_Gunboat_%22CSS_Chattahoochee%22.jpg

Just as Catesby Jones asked for a more active assignment, Major General John Bankhead Magruder, commander of the Department of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, requested that Jones be detailed to his command. Magruder had just liberated Galveston. During the engagement, the former revenue cutter Harriet Lane was placed under the command of Lt. J.N. Barney. Barney had fought during the battle of Hampton Roads with Jones. Secretary Mallory approved Jones’s transfer on January 24, 1863, as Magruder believed he could arm 10 to 15 gunboats in the near future. Jones was named commodore of all Confederate gunboats in Magruder’s district and was simultaneously promoted to colonel to serve on the general’s staff. [28] Capt. H. H. Bell, commander of USS Brooklyn, stationed off Galveston on March 19, 1863, noted that Jones was in Galveston fitting out CSS Harriet Lane.[29]

Jones was not destined to serve in Texas long nor is it confirmed that he arrived there. He was considered to be a brilliant ordnance officer by Stephen Mallory, who detailed Jones on May 9, 1863, to the Charlotte Navy Yard. Before he assumed these new duties, on April 29, 1863, Jones was promoted to the rank of commander for his “gallant and meritorious conduct” during the battles of Hampton Roads and Drewry’s Bluff.” [30]

Selma Gun Factory

Secretary Mallory felt Jones would better serve the Confederacy as commander of the Selma Gun Factory producing Brooke guns for coastal defense and ship armament. Commander Jones was assigned there in early June 1863.The Selma Ordnance and Naval Foundry was founded by Colin J. McRae to produce cannon, shovels, uniforms, swords, and buttons. The pre-war Mount Vernon Arsenal was moved to Selma in 1862, which enabled the production of more weapons. The facility was the largest of its kind in the Deep South. At its peak, the entire complex of over 100 buildings covering 50 acres employed 10,000 workers.

Selma was the perfect place to build a gun foundry. It was situated on the Alabama River, which provided power to operate machinery and gave riverine access to Mobile Bay to arm forts and ironclads. Iron and coal were plentiful and easily shipped by railroad or barge. Jones’s leadership and ordnance skills resulted in the production of over 70 Brooke guns at the gun factory. The production of one Brooke rifle took six to seven weeks. The process included the initial casting, cooling, and banding process, lathing the bore, and cutting the barrel grooves. The factory produced 7-inch Brooke rifles (13,879 lbs.), 6.4-inch rifles (10,680 lbs.), and XI-inch shell guns (23,600 lbs.). Jones’s brilliant mind and exceptional engineering talents made the Selma Gun Factory into a major manufacturer of artillery. He personally supervised each large casting and, on one occasion, narrowly escaped death or severe injury from an explosion. Due to the efforts of Catesby ap Roger Jones, the Selma Gun Works produced half of the Confederacy’s heavy cannon and two-thirds of artillery ammunition. [31]

Black and white image of the ruins of a building.
The ruins of the Confederate States Naval Foundry at Selma, Alabama, 1865. Courtesy Alabama Department of Archives and History.

As the war neared its conclusion, Jones was assigned to the Mobile Bay Squadron. He was paroled on May 9, 1865, aboard USS Stockdale. Immediately after the war, Jones established a business partnership with former naval associates John Mercer Brooke and Robert D. Minor. Together they purchased military supplies in the United States and sold them to foreign governments. The business failed.

The Death of Cateby Jones

Catesby Jones returned home to Selma to sell insurance and live with his young family. He married Gertrude T. Tartt on March 23, 1865. They had six children together. His next-door neighbor was Jared Alphonzo Harrel and his family. Harrel was co-owner of the merchant firm of Harrel & Clay. On the afternoon of June 19, 1877, one of Jones’s sons was playing in the neighbor’s yard when he slapped Harrel’s daughter and began fighting with her brother, who was 10 years old. The fight was broken up by Jones’s sister-in-law. The son, Tartt, was taken home and punished. The next morning, Mrs. Jones sent her son next door with a note of apology and a basket of fruit. Mr. Harrel did not read the note and instructed his son to fight Tartt ap Catesby Jones. A fierce fight ensued. This prompted Catesby Jones to visit. Jones used a cane, and when he arrived at Mr. Harrel’s threshold, excitedly tapping his cane, he asked Mr. Harrel what was meant by this conduct and earnestly asked him if he had read the note. Harrel retorted that he had not read the note and would not have allowed the fight if he had done so; but wished to know if Capt. Jones came there for a fight. Jones told him ”that he did not, and that he would not let himself be drawn into a fight with such a contemptible puppy as he was.” Jones adamantly added, “ ‘I will not shake hands with you,’ stamping his cane hard on the floor.” Harrel immediately drew a revolver and shot Jones through the lungs. Catesby Jones was mortally wounded and would die the next day. Meanwhile, Harrel was arrested and posted a bond of $15,000 and was later found not guilty of murder. [32]

Thus ended the life of one of the great heroes of the Confederate Navy. He was an outstanding ordnance officer and should be known as one of the men who helped to transform USS Merrimack into the powerful ram CSS Virginia. Much of his fame is because Catesby ap Roger Jones is the man who fought USS Monitor to a standstill on March 9, 1862, during the Battle of Hampton Roads. His contribution to naval ordnance both before and during the Civil War was excellent and made Jones a trusted, capable, and outstanding officer throughout his career.

ENDNOTES

1 David Dixon Porter, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War, New York, D. Appleton & Company, 1885,  p.73,

2 Gene A. Smith, Thomas ap Catesby Jones, Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000, pp. 3-6.

3 Oliver W. Griffiths, “The New War Steamers,” United States Nautical Magazine (April 1855), p. 302.

4 Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., Memoirs of Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr.: Rear Admiral, U.S.N., New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1924, p. 27-28.

5 Jones to Minor, September 1861, Robert Dabney Minor Papers, Minor Family Papers Collection, Virginia Historical Society.

6 John Mercer Brooke, “The Plan and Construction of the Merrimac,” In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. I, Edited by Robert Underwood and Clarence Clough Buel, New York: Century Co., 1887, 240-41.

7 T. Catesby Jones, “The Iron-Clad Virginia,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 49 (October 1941), pp 301-302.

8 William N. Still, Jr., Iron Afloat:The Story of Confederate Armorclad. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1985, p.21.

9 James Phinney Baxter, III, The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1933, p. 129 and George M. Brooke, Jr., John M. Brooke, Naval Scientist and Educator, Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1980, p.240.

10 John V. Quarstein, CSS Virginia: Sink Before Surrender, Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012, p.135 and William Norris, “The Story of the Confederate States’ Ship Virginia(Once Merrimac):  Her Victory Over the Monitor, Born March 7th, Died May 10th, 1862, Southern Historical Society Papers 41 (September 1916), p. 208.

11 John M. Kell, Recollections of a Naval Life, Washington, D.C.: Neale Publishing Company, 1900, p. 283.

12. Norris, Story of the ‘Virginia,’ p. 208.

13 John R. Eggleston, “Captain Eggleston’s Narrative of the Battle of the Merrimac,” Southern Historical Society Papers 40 (1916), p. 208.

14 Catesby ap Roger Jones, “Services of the Virginia,Southern Historical Society Papers 11 (January 1883), p.68.

15 Ibid., pp.70-71.

16 Henry Ashton Ramsay, “The Most Famous of Sea Duels, The Story of the Merrimac’s Engagement with the Monitor, and the Events that Preceded and Followed the Fight, Told by a Survivor,” Harper’s Weekly, February 10, 1912, pp.11-12.

17 T. Catesby Jones,  p.17.

18 Quarstein, pp. 157-158.

19 Eggleston,  pp. 175-176.

20 John Taylor Wood, “The First Fight of the Ironclads; March 9, 1862,” In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol.I, edited by Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel, New York: Century Co., p. 702.

21 Quarstein, pp. 165-167.

22. Ramsay, p. 12.

23 Catesby ap Roger Jones, p. 72.

24 John F. Higgins, “Brilliant Career of the Merrimac,” Confederate Veteran (August 1900), 357.

25 U.S. War Department.The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies,(hereafter referred to ORN) ser. 1, vol.7, p. 799.

26 Quarstein, p. 223.

27 Lynn Willoughby, “Enchantment and Ennui: The Experiences of the Crew of the CSS Chattahoochee, The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 70 (Fall 1986), pp. 409-432.

28 U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, ser. I, vol.XV, p. 959. 

29 ORN, vol. 1, vol. 20, p. 94.

30 Office of Naval Records and Library, United States Navy Department, Register of Officers of the Confederate Navy, Mattituck, NY: J.M. Carroll & Company, 1983, 

31 William N. Still, Jr., “Selma and the Confederate Navy,” Alabama Review 15 (January 1962), pp. 19-37.32 “The Killing of Capt. Catesby Jones in Selma, Ala,” The Baltimore Sun, June 27, 2877, p. 1 and “Catesby ap R. Jones,” The Selma Times, June 21, 1877, p. 3.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Scroll to Top