Kelvin
Grove
ii was near this historic
old home that the rani,
Albemarle was built on
the Koanoke River by
North Carolina workmen.
-
«У
-
HARRY Z. TICKER
■ T was the rich bottomlands along
I the danger - infested Roanoke
I River that ofTered a means of
sustenance for the warring Con¬
federates during the Civil War.
While natives could steer almost
any kind of craft through the nar¬
row channels of water, sailors not
familiar with the local conditions
nearly always ran aground.
It was not far from the river
that William Ruffin Smith who
married Susan, daughter of Peter
Evans, of Chatham County, built
his plantation mansion. “Kelvin
Grove.” in 1838. The house was
noted for its hospitality to guests
and became a mecca for fun and
feasting. Five of his brave sons
served in the Confederate army.
Two of them, at different times,
were captains of the Scotland Neck
Mounted Riflemen, the first com¬
pany of cavalry organized in North
Carolina.
Attack on Plymouth
When the Federals eventually
reached Plymouth on Roanoke
River, and General Robert E. Lee
had been told that they had thrown
up land works of great strength
and had several large gunboats
stationed there, he dispatched
General R. F. Hoke to lead a di¬
vision against them. General Lee
knew that Plymouth guarded a
section whence unlimited amounts
of food and various other supplies
had been obtained, a section which
had been named the "Granary of
the Confederacy.”
General Hoke had been hearing
for days of a strange craft that was
being built at Edwards Ferry on
the Roanoke River, above Ply¬
mouth. The boat was under the
supervision of Peter E. Smith, of
"Kelvin Grove." and Gilbert Elliott,
of Elizabeth City, later of Brook¬
ma. The ram was not ready for
launching.
However, orders came to hasten
the boat to Plymouth. Since the
river was falling, and the perils
of low water were feared, the
forges were erected on deck and
the boat was launched. The work¬
men continued their labor as the
Albemarle floated down the Ro¬
anoke. They had to take soundings
ever so often, to ascertain whether
it were possible for them to pass
over the many obstructions which
the Confederacy had ordered
planted in the river. They stopped
a short time at Hamilton to put
the finishing touches on the boat.
Promptly Commander Cooke
dropped down the river in his
turtle-back boat. As the iron ves¬
sel passed under the fire of Fort
Warren, shots struck her sloping
decks. “These,” declared Midship¬
man James C. Hill, “sounded no
louder than pebbles against a bar¬
rel.”
In the rear of Fort Williams, the
stronghold of the town, the Albe¬
marle sighted two gunboats
fastened together. Straight into
the side of one of these she crashed
for nine feet. Into the other she
poured a deadly fire. The first ves¬
sel was sunk, and the commander
of the second and most of his crew
were killed, but the vessel suc¬
ceeded in getting loose from her
sinking companion - ship and
escaped.
Surrender of Yankees
The success of the historic Albe¬
marle left the way clear for Gen¬
eral Ransom's brigade to move up
the river side and unite with the
other brigades in storming the
Federal works. General Wassells
( Continued on page 30)
A Makeshift Job
General Hoke was quick to ob¬
serve that the little vessel was
framed of pine timbers so green
that the needles on the boughs
had never withered; but, notwith¬
standing all its patchwork, the odd
vessel was destined to be a terror
in battle. Commander Cooke prom¬
ised to have the boat ready for
service in about two weeks, and
General Hoke prepared for an at¬
tack on Plymouth at the expiration
of that time.
Although Plymouth was in the
possession of General Wessells
with about 3,000 Federal troops,
at the end of fifteen days General
Hoke's troops encircled the town.
But Peter E. Smith and Com¬
mander Cooke were left in a dilem¬
lyn, New York. The ram, for such it
was, was iron clad, the iron having
been rolled out by the Tredagar
Iron Works of Richmond, and her
armament was two Brook guns.
The workmen found that it re¬
quired twenty minutes to bore a
hole in the iron; so Peter E. Smith,
chief of construction of the ram.
went to work and invented and
made a twist drill that cut the iron
out in shavings in only four min¬
utes.
When General Hoke went to see
Commander James W. Cooke, who
had been selected to captain the
boat, he beheld a very odd scene.
An open cornfield on the bank of
the Roanoke River was serving for
a workshop. With no help other
than that furnished by such local
mechanics as could be obtained,
and with no tools save such as
could be had from country smithy
shops, he found Commander Cooke
and Peter E. Smith standing guard
over the queer, iron-clad boat.
THE STATE. AUGUST 9. 1947
