Boy Genius of
the Confederacy
Brilliant young Pasquotankor built
iron-clad warship in Halifax corn¬
field.
By MANLY M ADE WELLMAN
This picture of Gilbert Elliott in uniform shows
heovy retouching of his bcord. Probably his
youthful face sprouted only fuxz at the time
he -os building the "Albemorlc."
One of ihc myriad ways in which
the War Between the Stales changed
life and history was by the building
of armored warships. The stand-off
duel of the "Monitor” and the "Merri-
mac" revolutionized naval warfare
and outmoded wooden fighting ships.
The very thought of ironclads, armed
with rams and rifled cannon, squat
and invulnerable, thrilled and some¬
times terrified the world of the 1 860's.
There was something in this revolu¬
tionary new method of sea fighting
that partook of science fiction — in¬
deed. Jules Verne wrote stories about
ironclad warships, and so did his imi¬
tators. Frequently such stories had. as
heroes, boy inventors, young in years
but supremely venerable in mechani¬
cal genius.
THE STATE, August 11, 1956
It is just barely possible that such
fictional young inventors, who have
delighted generations of readers from
Frank Reade's dime novel days,
through the Tom Swift and Rover
Boys series, down to modern tales of
space flight, were based on a very
actual and successful boy inventor
from North Carolina.
His name was Gilbert Elliott, which
is not too bad a choice for the name of
a wide-awake, sharp-minded, bold
youngster intent on making history in
a big way. And his chief success was
the Confederate ram "Albemarle,”
which threatened once to win the war
all by itself in North Carolina waters.
Gilbert Elliott was born in Eliza¬
beth City, in Pasquotank County, on
December 10, 1843. His family was
mechanically-minded, and had inter¬
ests in the Wilmington and Weldon
Railroad. He went to military school,
got high grades, and when the Con¬
federacy organized and went to war
he was but 17 years old — not too
young, however, to volunteer and to
have his services most flatteringly ac¬
cepted. Colonel W. F. Martin was or¬
ganizing the 17th North Carolina Regi¬
ment among the coastal communities,
and he at once asked young Gilbert
to be his regimental adjutant. A com¬
mission as first lieutenant came
through for him on July 19. and all
this seemed an auspicious beginning
for a military career.
Taken Prisoner
But there were only a few days of
radiant, flashing dreams. The new
regiment, sent to garrison the forts at
Hatlcras Inlet, was assailed in August
by overwhelming land and naval
forces under one of the Union's least
pleasant commanders. General Ben
Butler. The prisoners were sent igno-
miniously to the Yankee rear.
But the Confederates were taking
prisoners, too. and negotiated an ex¬
change. Back in North Carolina,
Colonel Martin reorganized his com¬
mand at Camp Mangum and led it
to a series of grim battles all the way
to Appomattox.
Experiments
First Lieutenant Gilbert Elliott,
however, did not slay with his regi-
Thc "Albcmorlc" under construction on the bonks of Ihc Roanoke Ri»er. This picture, published
in the "Century Magazine" in July, 1888, shows the informal but efficient shipyard. The two
figures in the right front moy hove been meant for Gilbert Elliott ond his right hand mon, Peter
Evans Smith.
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