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Confederate Navy Archive of Letters and Documents of Joel S. Kennard Pertaining to the Protection of Savannah.. ...
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Description
Confederate Navy Archive of Letters and Documents of Joel S. Kennard Pertaining to the Protection of Savannah.An archive of letters and documents of Joel S. Kennard (1819-1901), an officer in the Confederate Navy, concerning the protection of Savannah, Georgia, during Union General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. The archive consists of 14 letters and 1 telegram, dating from November 18 to December 14, 1864.
As Sherman advanced south, the Confederacy struggled to mount an effective defense against his forces. With insufficient troops to oppose Sherman's 60,000-man army, Confederate forces under General William J. Hardee relied on delaying tactics, skirmishes, and fortifications to hold key cities. The correspondence between Kennard and other officers described below, as well the remaining six letters in this lot, detail the growing desperation among Confederate officers as the situation on the front became increasingly dire.
Includes:
Secretarial Copy of a Letter from Confederate Major General Lafayette McLaws. One page, Headquarters in Savannah, November 18, 1864. A letter addressed to William W. Hunter, Commander of the CSA's Savannah Squadron (of which this copy is forwarded to Kennard) requesting Hunter order one of his vessels to take position below Thunderbolt Battery, which protected Savannah from invasion; Sag, at the mouth of the Herb River; and to picket below, at the mouth of the Skidaway River, or in its vicinity.
Joel S. Kennard Autograph Letter Signed. One page, written aboard the CSS Macon at the mouth of the Herb River, November 20, 1864. Kennard relays to Hunter that, in compliance with McLaws' order, his gunboat is stationed at the mouth of the Herb River, but requests that Hunter inform the general of the "Impossibility, with my...limited Number of Officers, of sending out nightly, as desired by him, a guard boat, and, at the same time, keep up a [illegible] vigilance on board any vessel."
William W. Hunter Autograph Letter Signed. One page, November 27, 1864. Letter ordering Kennard "with all dispatch proceed with the 'Macon' under your command up the Savannah River to the vicinity of the Railway bridge of the Charleston Railway. Defend that bridge if necessary.... Co-operate with the Army, exercising your best judgement in that service for the interest of the cause."
William W. Hunter Autograph Letter Signed. One page, Savannah, November 29, 1864. A letter to Kennard, noting receipt of Kennard's report to Lieutenant General William J. Hardee and approving its contents. He then states that Hardee "requests me to direct you to Patrol the Savannah River as far as you can."
Joel S. Kennard Autograph Letter Signed. One page, Bridge of the Charleston and Savannah River, November 29, 1864. Reporting his position to Hunter, Kennard writes, "I have the honor to inform you that in obedience to your instructions, I have taken position at this bridge, and am fully prepared to defend it on either hand. It was Gen. Hardee's desire that I should cruise between the ferries above."
William J. Hardee Telegram. One page, Savannah, 1864. A telegram (The Southern Telegraph Companies), sent to Brigadier General James Chestnut, Jr. in Grahamville, South Carolina, requesting that Chestnut send orders to Kennard that "when he is satisfied that the enemy does not intend to cross the Savannah River but is moving on Savannah he will drop down & protect the bridge."
Joel S. Kennard Autograph Letter Signed. Two pages, written aboard the CSS Macon at Sister's Ferry, South Carolina, December 7, 1864. Kennard writes to Lieutenant Charles Jones Colcock, informing the latter of enemy activity on the Ferry, "that is, bodies of the enemy have been passing , and delivering vollies of musketry at the troops on the opposite side. The Courier that I sent to our forces on the rail-road yesterday, returned last night with the news ... that Sherman's Army was still in the neighborhood of Millen."
Thomas Benton Roy Autograph Letter Signed. One page, Savannah, December 10, 1864. A letter to Kennard, at the Railroad Bridge, Savannah River, relating orders from Lieutenant General Hardee to "protect the Rail Road bridge at the Savannah River at all hazards, first destroying one or more spans."
Joel S. Kennard Autograph Letter Signed. One page, aboard the CSS Macon at the Savannah and Charleston Railroad Bridge, December 11, 1864. Writing to Hardee, Kennard tells him to "Have no fear of the enemy taking this bridge. I can defend it against...Sherman's army. Yesterday and again this Morning, I have driven back parties attempting to reach it." Kennard's optimism here was misplaced. Despite the Confederacy's efforts, Union troops continued to move steadily through the region, disrupting supply lines and weakening Southern resistance. On December 19, Hardee prepared to evacuate Savannah, recognizing that Confederate forces were too outnumbered and outmaneuvered to prevent the city's fall. Sherman captured Savannah on December 21, 1864.
Joel S. Kennard was born in Alabama and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy before he resigned on April 23, 1861. He was appointed First Lieutenant in the Confederate Navy on April 27, 1861, and served as the commanding officer of several Confederate ships in the Savannah Squadron from 1862 to 1864. Before commanding the Macon, Kennard served as commander of the Isondiga, a wooden gunboat that accompanied the ironclad CSS Atlanta on several of her missions. The Isondiga was present to support the Atlanta during her disastrous defeat at Wassaw Sound in May 1863. Kennard was transferred to commanding officer of the Macon in June of 1864, where he remained until the end of the war.
Condition: Eleven of the documents have brown paper mounting remnants along the left side; November 27 letter has faded writing in gunpowder ink but is legible. Overall condition of the documents is good.
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2025 June 9 Arms & Armor, Civil War & Militaria Signature® Auction #6320 (go to Auction Home page)
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