James D. Bulloch: Secret Agent and MasterMind of the Confederate Navy

369 Pages·2012·16.7 MB·English

by  Walter E. Wilson

James D. Bulloch
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James D. Bulloch
Secret Agent and Mastermind
of the Confederate Navy
WALTER E. WILSON and
GARY L. MCKAY
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Wilson, Walter E., 1949–
James D. Bulloch : secret agent and mastermind of the
Confederate navy / Walter E. Wilson and Gary L. McKay.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7864-6659-7
softcover : acid free paper
¡. Bulloch, James Dunwoody, 1823–1901. 2. United States—History—Civil War,
1861–1865—Biography. 3. Spies—Confederate States of America—Biography.
4. Confederate States of America. Navy—Officials and employees—Biography.
5. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Secret service. 6. United States—
History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Naval operations, Confederate. 7. Confederate
States of America—Foreign relations—Great Britain. 8. Great Britain—Foreign
relations—Confederate States of America. I. McKay, Gary L. II. Title.
E467.1.B85W55 20¡2 973.7'57092—dc23 [B] 20¡2000884
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2012Walter E. Wilson and Gary L. McKay. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover: James Dunwoody Bulloch (by Henry Skinner, Liverpool,
c. late 1860s); cover design by David K. Landis (Shake It Loose Graphics)
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
Contents
Preface 1
1. In Connection with Great and Irresistible Events 3
2. Esteemed and Worthy 7
3. A Man of Amiable Character 18
4. Against Strong Northerly Winds and Head Seas—Prelude to War 31
5. Brains and Dash—Liverpool, 1861 44
6. Anglo-R ebel Pirates and Confederate Navy Cruisers—1862 62
7. Of Incalculable Value—1862 94
8. Grim Aspect and Formidable Equipment—1863 111
9. Harassing Perplexity—1863 135
10. Act Upon Your Own Judgment—1864 155
11. I Know Not What Your Circumstances May Be—1865 187
12. Under a New Flag 210
13. Once More 225
14. A President’s Oracle 247
15. From Splendid Isolation 275
Appendix 1: Bulloch’s Family, Friends, and Foes 287
Appendix 2: Bulloch’s Fleet of Ships 295
Chapter Notes 301
Bibliography 339
Index 351
v
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Preface
Imagine one morning, every major network interrupts its programming with the news
that over 100 U.S. merchant ships have been captured and sunk in oceans around the world.
At the same time, mysterious underwater explosions are sinking U.S. Navy ships as they
attempt to enter or exit Norfolk Naval Base.
Imagine that the city of Washington, D.C., wakes the next day only to discover a fear-
some warship looming out of the Potomac River fog. Incredibly, the vessel begins to bom-
bard the city and proves to be impervious to all attacks. In a distinctly American accent,
the captain of the ship vows to completely destroy the city unless the government pays a
ransom—in gold. Imagine that the people turn to their president for answers and the nation
is staggered: he has been kidnapped and spirited out of the country! Finally, imagine that
one man was behind it all, and this man is the uncle of a future president of the United
States of America.
While this scenario sounds more like Hollywood than history, the Confederate Navy
planned or executed every one of the events just described during the American Civil War.
For each of these operations, there was only one man who could make them possible: Com-
mander James Dunwoody Bulloch. He was the Confederate Navy’s secret agent and head
of its covert shipbuilding and logistics program in Europe during the American Civil War.
Bulloch acquired the Confederacy’s most destructive commerce raiders, built “invulnera-
ble” o cean-g oing ironclads, sustained Confederate logistics, and financed covert operations.
He was President Theodore Roosevelt’s favorite uncle and hero. The story of Bulloch’s
development into one of America’s most admired maritime figures, his pivotal role as one
of its most dangerous enemies, and his transformation into America’s greatest forgotten
naval hero is the subject of this book.
Despite the importance of James D. Bulloch to American and world history, there has
never been a dedicated biography of his life and influence. This omission is largely due to
the popular focus on his ships, particularly the Alabama, Florida, Shenandoah, and Stonewall.
Other factors include Bulloch’s penchant for secrecy and the difficulty in researching a per-
son who spent equal parts of his life in the U.S. and Great Britain. This work was written
by Gary McKay, Ph.D., based in Europe, who has tactical U.S. Navy and Army intelligence
experience, and Captain Walter Wilson, U.S. Navy (retired), who is based in the U.S. and
is the former senior U.S. naval intelligence officer in Europe.
A work of this magnitude could not have been completed without the encouragement
and unselfish cooperation of myriad personal and professional associates. The authors owe
1
2 Preface
a particular debt of gratitude to Gwen Koehler, the Bulloch Hall education coordinator.
She not only provided invaluable family history and original source material, she spent
many hours meticulously helping the authors review and refine the narrative. As a special
treat, the authors met Gwen and the Bulloch Hall staff in Roswell, Georgia, where we com-
posed and collaborated on portions of the text in the Bulloch family home. Equally impor-
tant was the inspiration provided by Bob Jones and Roy Rawlinson, the preeminent local
historians of the American Civil War in Liverpool. Roy also originated the informative
“When Liverpool Was Dixie” website.
The authors also thank Gilly Little for her professional editorial assistance. Sharon Wil-
son provided moral support and invaluable assistance with the final editing of the text.
James “Hal” Hardaway remained a constant source of encouragement. Andrew Choong
Han Lin (curator of Historic Photographs and Ship Plans, National Maritime Museum,
Greenwich, England) provided research assistance and helpful suggestions. Dr. Tom Sebrell
provided invaluable insight based on his i n-d epth study of Charles K. Prioleau. The authors
offer profound thanks to Richard Harris and appreciation to Robert Thorpe for permis-
sion to use information from his forthcoming book on W.C. Miller. Thanks are also due
to Mr. Michael Higgins, retired commercial maritime captain, the foremost expert on the
construction and operations of the CSS Shenandoah ( ex–S ea King).
The following persons and archives were generous with their time and advice in offer-
ing access to their priceless resources. Teresa Roane (library manager, Museum of the Con-
federacy, Richmond, Virginia), Douglas J. Mayo (associate librarian, John D. Rockefeller,
Jr., Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation), Amanda K. Hawk (special collections
assistant, Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton, New Jersey), and Robert B. Hitch-
ings (Sargeant Memorial Room, Norfolk Main Library). Finally, special thanks are in order
for Wallace Finley Dailey (curator, Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard College
Library), who patiently identified and retrieved invaluable materials during multiple visits
to Cambridge.
1
In Connection with
Great and Irresistible Events
In the latter days of October 1905, the Appalachian foothill town of Roswell, Geor-
gia, was colored by the brilliant red and gold falling leaves of autumn, while its streets were
festooned with flags and pennants of red, white and blue. Local ladies opined that it was
by far the most festive occasion in the sleepy town’s history since at least the early 1850s.
That occasion witnessed the lavish marriage of a daughter of one of Roswell’s founding fam-
ilies into a prominent New York family. Not even the scourge of Sherman’s “March Through
Georgia” was as monumental as this event. For the offspring of the union between Martha
“Mittie” Bulloch and Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., was coming to Roswell to visit his mother’s
home, Bulloch Hall. The president of the United States of America, Theodore “Teddy”
Roosevelt, was on tour through the cities and towns of the South to speak to the societies
and organizations that had been most affected by the American Civil War. Though the war
had been over for forty years, few areas of the American South had been as devastated as
Georgia.
How could the Republican Roosevelt possibly empathize with what the Southerners
had experienced? Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt lived in New York City during the Civil War,
where she raised Teddy and his brother and sisters in comfort and safety. To salve South-
ern wounds and soothe Northern sensibilities Roosevelt had to speak softly and deliver a
message of compassionate conciliation, for his every word would be reported and printed
in the national press. When Teddy Roosevelt stood before the people of Roswell, his words
had to ring true in the hearts and minds of all Americans—both North and South. Roo-
sevelt needed a miracle—and as had happened so many times in the past, a Bulloch came
to the rescue of a Roosevelt, even though this Bulloch had been dead for four years, was
considered to be a traitor to the United States, and was even connected with the assassina-
tion of President Abraham Lincoln. Yet, this Bulloch was Teddy’s hero who epitomized his
idea of a real man.
When Teddy Roosevelt rose to speak at Roswell Town Square, he did so with a stern,
knowing look on his face. He knew he had a real American naval hero on his shoulder when
he began to speak:
It has been my great fortune to have the right to claim that my blood is h alf-S outhern and h alf-
N orthern, and I would deny the right of any man here to feel a greater pride in deeds of every
Southern man than I feel. Of the children, the brothers and sisters of my mother who were
3