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Lot 69
Fascinating Report of the Capture of Confederate Militiamen by a Union Navy Captain in Georgia
Description:

Fascinating Report of the Capture of Confederate Militiamen by a Union Navy Captain in Georgia

JOHN A. DAHLGREN, Printed Order, signed in type aboard his flagship the USS Philadelphia, Port Royal Harbor, South Carolina, August 15, 1864. 1 p., 5ʺ x 8ʺ. Some scattered toning and adhesive residue; very good.

In this order, Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, congratulates Greek-American Captain George M. Colvocoresses. With a tongue-in-cheek tone, Dahlgren thanks Colvocoresses and his men for the clever capture of Confederate militiamen assembling in McIntosh County, Georgia, south of Savannah.

On August 2, 1864, Captain Colvocoressis led a group of 115 officers and sailors from the U.S.S. Saratoga in several boats, reaching the Georgia mainland at night. The group marched through the night and morning to the church that served as a courthouse for McIntosh County, which they surrounded. At 11 a.m., a detachment burned the bridge to prevent a nearby Confederate cavalry regiment from attacking, and the main group surrounded the meeting and arrested all but three who escaped. They returned to the ship with their 26 prisoners and 22 horses and buggies, arriving in the afternoon of August 4. They destroyed two bridges and burned a large encampment, “without losing a single life or meeting with any unpleasant accident.” Colvocoresses enclosed a list of all of the prisoners with his report to Rear Admiral Dahlgren, listing each man’s age, physical description, profession, and Confederate service.

Dahlgren ordered Colvocoresses to transfer the passengers to the USS South Carolina for transfer to Port Royal to await an exchange for officers of Dahlgren’s squadron that the Confederates held as prisoners in Charleston. When Dahlgren offered the exchange, Confederate General Sam Jones refused, insisting that the prisoners from McIntosh County were civilian hostages, not prisoners of war. Union authorities disagreed, and after several months, sent most of the prisoners north “for convenient custody,” except for two or three who were ill.

Excerpts:
Order No. 63, August 15, 1864
“Captain Colvocoressis, commanding U.S. Sloop of War Saratoga, has recently effected the capture of a County Meeting in McIntosh County, in an exceedingly creditable manner to himself and his party.
“The Rebel Colonel Gaulden, commanding the Coast Guard, ordered a meeting of the Reserve Militia of McIntosh County on the 3d August, at the County Court House.
“Captain Colvocoressis having been favored with a sight of the notice in a Savannah paper, and feeling considerable interest in the object of the meeting, concluded the he would attend it also.”

“Captain Colvocoressis then read to the meeting from the newspaper, the order of Col. Gaulden for their assembling, and regretting that the Colonel had failed to attend, he invited the meeting to accompany him, which they did, and arrived safely on board the Saratoga, where they meet daily under the U.S. Flag.
“Colonel Gaulden has since published a statement in which he professes himself to be much humiliated by the occurrence; for which there is no occasion, as his friends are in better company than they were before.
“He also pays his compliments to Capt. Colvocoressis and says that ‘when he calls again to see him, he (Col. G.) shall be at home and try to give him a more respectful reception.’
“I think I can answer for Capt. Colvocoressis, that he duly appreciates the Colonel’s politeness and will endeavor to reciprocate.”

“The whole affair does great credit to Capt. Colvocoressis, his officers and men…and I take this opportunity of expressing my thanks to him, to them, and to the men.”

John A. Dahlgren (1809-1870) was born in Philadelphia to the Swedish consul in the city and joined the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1826. After working on the coastal survey from 1834, he was promoted to ordnance officer in 1847 and stationed at the Washington Navy Yard. He founded the U.S. Navy’s ordnance department and made major advances in gunnery. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Dahlgren to captain and made him chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. Promoted to Rear Admiral in February 1863, Dahlgren took command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, where he worked with General Quincy A. Gillmore on the siege of Charleston and with General William T. Sherman on the capture of Savannah in December 1864. After the war, he commanded the South Pacific Squadron from 1867 to 1869, before returning to the Washington Navy Yard.

George Musalas Colvocoresses (1816-1872) was born on the island of Chios in the Greek archipelago. In 1822, Turks kidnapped him, his mother, and his two sisters, but his father was able to pay ransom for them. His father sent him to Baltimore in 1824, where he became the adopted son of Captain Alden Partridge in Norwich, Vermont. Colvocoresses graduated from the Military Academy there in 1831 and entered the US Navy as a midshipman in 1832. From 1838 to 1842, he served in the United States Exploring Expedition that explored much of the Pacific Ocean, and he wrote a book about his experiences that he published in 1852. He was promoted to commander in 1861 and commanded the USS Supply, which in January 1862 captured the Confederate schooner Stephen Hart. He led several shore raids from his sloop USS Saratoga in 1864. He retired in 1867, and was robbed and murdered in Connecticut on June 3, 1872, while on his way to New York; the crime was never solved.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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