CS Personnel Who Became Union Navy Pilots.

CS Personnel Who Were Appointed Union Navy Pilots.

by Terry Foenander.

There were a number of Confederate personnel, who, after their capture, or, on desertion from Confederate service, were enlisted into the Union Navy. However, surprisingly, some of these personnel were actually appointed as pilots in the Union Navy. Obviously the commanders of some vessels, decided, upon their own initiative, to acquire the skills of these personnel, to guide the vessels within the waterways of the south. At least two of these personnel are shown to have been appointed within that grade in the Union Navy.

The names and details of five of these ex-Confederates have been located, as follows:

A.L. Drayton, a Southern planter, possibly a resident of Mobile, Alabama, later served as seaman on the CSS Florida, the Clarence and the Archer, aboard which he was captured, June 27, 1863. He was confined at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, and, a year later, offered up his services to Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Union Navy. Welles appointed Drayton a pilot in the United States Navy, on temporary service, July 23, 1864. Drayton was sent aboard the USS Ticonderoga, in pursuit of the CSS Florida, but, because of problems with the vessel's engines, the pursuit was unsuccessful. [ORN 1, 2, 337 & 1, 3, 93, 120, 122, 124, 125 & 199.]

Elias Lee had served as quartermaster aboard the CSS Chattahoochee, and had been aboard the vessel when the boiler exploded on that vessel, with much destruction, in May of 1863. He deserted from the town of Chattahoochee, Florida, where most of the sailors from that vessel had been accommodated, after the destruction of the vessel, went aboard the USS Port Royal, in the waters off Apalochicola, Florida, on June 20, 1863, and voluntarily took the oath of allegiance. Lieutenant Commander George U. Morris, of the USS Port Royal, indicates that Lee was recommended as "being one of the best pilots not only in the sound but also on the coast," and as such he was taken on board as pilot of the vessel, although there is no indication that he was appointed as such in the Union Navy. [ORN 1, 17, 475.]

John J. Orrell, had served in a North Carolina militia unit, as lieutenant. At some stage during the war he either deserted or was captured, and later served as pilot in the Union Navy. Acting Rear Admiral Samuel Lee mentions in a dispatch dated April 26, 1864, that he was taking both Orrell and Pucket (see next entry) as pilots into government service. [ORN 1, 9, 300 and 672-676.]

John H. Pucket, born in, and a resident of North Carolina, had originally been a landsman aboard the CSS Raleigh, but had been taken aboard the USS Niphon, in March, 1864, where he volunteered much information about the sounds in the Masonboro, North Carolina region. About a month later he, together with pilot Orrell (see previous entry), guided a Union expedition against saltworks at Masonboro. Pucket was appointed acting ensign and pilot in September, 1864, and served aboard the USS Monticello. He resigned his commission on March 8, 1865. [ORN 1, 9, 561 and 672-676; ORN 2, 1, 302; Callahan; Navy Register 1865.]

Charles Tooker was a resident of Beaufort County, North Carolina, who enlisted at age 44, on May 10, 1861, in company I, 3rd Regiment North Carolina State Troops. Mustered in as sergeant, but reduced to the ranks when he transferred to the Confederate States Navy on February 11, 1862. Some time after this he may have deserted, or been captured, but is shown to have been appointed acting master and pilot, October 1, 1864, into the Union Navy. He served aboard the USS Mattabesett, and the commander of the vessel, John C. Febiger, in a dispatch dated at Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, on May 6, 1864, states that "our pilot, Mr. Tooker, deserves mention for coolness and attention to his duties during our constant maneuverings." Tooker was honorably discharged from Naval service on September, 16, 1865. [ORN 1, 9, 748; NCT 3, 587; Callahan.]

It is more than likely that there may have been other deserters, or captives from the Confederate service who served in the same capacity.

Reference Sources:

Callahan - "List of Officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps from 1775 to 1900," edited by Edward W. Callahan; originally published by L. R. Hamersly & Company, New York; reprinted by Olde Soldier Books, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879; n.d.

Navy Register 1865 - "Register of the Commissioned, Warrant, and Volunteer Officers of the Navy of the United States including Officers of the Marine Corps and Others, to January 1, 1865," published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, 1865.

NCT - "North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster," currently in 14 volumes; various compilers; published by the State Division of Archives and History; Raleigh, North Carolina. Citation includes volume and page numbers.

ORN - "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion," in 31 volumes; originally published, 1903, by the Government Printing Office, Washington; reprinted 1987 by Historical Times, Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105. Citation includes series, volume and page numbers.

November, 2002 (updated, April, 2003).