Jacksonville Hero Sinks Two Ships; Yacht “America” (1851 – 1945)

HISTORIC SHIP AT BOTTOM OF DUNN’S CREEK – - EVIDENCE DISCOVERED IN GETAWAY BOAT

FEDERAL OFFICIALS PATROLING THE ST. JOHNS RIVER NOTICED TWO MEN FLEEING THE SCENE OF A SINKING SHIP ON DUNN’S CREEK. THEIR BOAT WAS PERSUED UNTIL THE SUSPECTS ABANDONED IT AND SWAM TO SHORE. THEY WERE LAST SEEN RUNNING TOWARD JACKSONVILLE. INSIDE THE GETAWAY BOAT THEY FOUND A NOTE NAMING THE PERPETRATOR. THE TWO ARE STILL AT LARGE.

Exactly one year after he joined the Confederate Army, April 1862, 18-year-old Charles Cornelius Hemming was assigned (or volunteered for) the dangerous task of sinking two Confederate blockade running ships. Union forces were moving toward Jacksonville up the St. Johns River and Confederate forces would rather scuttle the ships than allow the Union to add them to its fleet. Hemming’s signed official orders spelled out the specific mission:

Hemming, you are to acquire a small boat by any means possible and paddle to the Steamer “St. Marys” and the Yacht “America.” Sink them immediately. They must not be captured by enemy forces. Both ships are located on Dunn’s Creek. God Speed. Signed, Commanding Officer J.J. Dickison.

Hemming’s only request of his superiors was that if he were caught or killed, that his parents would not be told of his mission.

The men acquired a small boat (row boat or canoe) and paddled first to the steamer “St. Marys.” After boring 2” auger holes in its bottom, the boat sank. No official or unofficial document records the number of holes drilled in the “St. Marys” hull. Next they paddled to the “America.” According to a witness documented in a Federal report, they bored three 2 inch auger holes forward and two 2 inch auger holes aft. The America sunk quickly in shallow water near the shore.

Union naval officers placed flags in the water marking its location and followed the terrorists.

During his illustrious Confederate career, Jacksonville’s Charles Hemming (the so-called terrorist) was; responsible for sinking the “St. Marys” and “America”, wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga, captured at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, a Union prisoner for one year in Federal Prison, aided in escaping prison dressed as a Union soldier, a spy entering Union camps, captured and escaped three times, and was a courier of secret documents to the Confederate front line. At the end of the Civil War he was promoted to Sergeant Major of the 1st Florida Consolidated Regiment for his “Meritorious Conduct as a Soldier.” He had recently celebrated his 21st birthday.

Sergeant Major Charles Cornelius Hemming is best known for his 1898 donation of the Confederate War Memorial placed in St. James Park, located at downtown Jacksonville. The park was renamed in his honor one year later to “Hemming Plaza.”

For more information about Hemming, click here.

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YACHT “AMERICA” (1851 – 1945)

WINNER OF THE FIRST AMERICA’S CUP TROPHY IN HISTORY – AND, ITS NAMESAKE

In 1851, five members of the New York Yacht Club formed a syndicate to construct a sailboat unlike any in the world.  They planned to take it to England to demonstrate the United States ship building capabilities and to race it against the finest sailing ships in the Queen’s fleet.  These races, if won, would pay huge dividends.  The design the men selected was one preferred by harbor pilots.  In order to get work, the pilots had designed sleek, fast sailboats to get to the inbound paying clients first.

Known as a “Gaff Schooner” design, the men christened it the “America.”  Its length overall was 101 feet while at the water line it measured 90 feet.  It was captained by one of the most experienced pilot captains in the area, Richard Brown. The 8 man crew was just as well versed at sailing.  Three other men joined the crew as spectators; George Steers, Steers’ brother and his nephew.

On June 21st, after dry-docking for painting, the America set sail for England.  It arrived on July 11, 1851, and was the talk of the town.  It turned out that news of its construction preceded its arrival and experienced boaters were well aware of its speed.  Only one sailboat “the Lavrock” entertained its request for a race.  British papers reported that it held its own against the America but America’s captain refuted the report and claimed to have beaten it handily.

The Royal Yacht Squadron’s annual yacht race, which included any British sailboat, presented the winner the Queens Cup known as the “One Hundred Guinea Cup.”  Queen Victoria made it an annual event to watch the race and present the winners’ trophy.  The Queen modified the rules of the race to allow the “America” to participate.  In fact, in order to let it race, she opened the race to the entire world.

At 10:00 a.m., August 22, 1851, seven schooners and eight trawlers left the starting line on the 53-mile race.  Even with a fouled anchor and a broken jib boom, the America made winning look easy.  It was written that the Queen upon seeing the America enter the harbor asked, “Who was second?” at which point someone shouted, “There is no second, Your Majesty.”  America beat the closest competitor by eight minutes even with errors putting it 20 minutes behind.

From this moment on, the “One Hundred Guinea Cup” was renamed the “America’s Cup.”

Less than 10 days later, a British Baron, Jean de Blaquiere, 2nd Baron de Blaquiere, impressed with America’s performance purchased it for an “enormous sum of money.”  He raced it over the next five years but without the original Captain and crew, it sailed like most other vessels.

Disappointed, the Baron sold it in 1856 to Henry Upton, who renamed it Camilla.  After only two years, Upton sold it to Henry Sotheby Pitcher.  Pitcher, a shipbuilder, refitted the Camilla and sold it to Henry Edward Decie in 1861.

The Confederate States of America had requested Decie purchase the ship and paid him to Captain it throughout North Florida in order to run Union blockades established in the St. Johns River.  It was docked in the Jacksonville vicinity.

When Union troops were seen approaching Jacksonville, orders were drawn up and handed to one of the bravest new volunteers who had recently joined Confederate service, Charles Cornelius Hemming.  Hemming was ordered to acquire a row boat or canoe and make his way first to the steamer St. Mary and then to the America and scuttle them both.  He accomplished his mission. After it sunk, only a small portion of its masts were visible.

Union forces spent the next ten days attempting to raise the America from the bottom of Dunn’s Creek.  After many failed attempts, a sympathetic local man explained how it was sunk with five 2” holes.  Aided by this information, pumps were used to eliminate most of the water inside and the holes were repaired.  The commanding officer proudly towed the raised “America” into Jacksonville for safe keeping and awaited orders for its use.

The America was equiped with three bronze cannons and used as a swift attack vessel.  After the war the America was sailed to Annapolis, Maryland, where it joined a small training fleet at the 20-year-old United States Naval Academy (founded 1845).  It originally was to be used by the midshipmen to learn the fine art of sailing.  Over the years, Academy officials used the America for pleasure boating.  By the 1900’s, it began to deteriorate.  With each passing year, the famous ship lost its luster and ended up in disrepair.  By 1940, it was placed in a shed on the Academy campus.  In 1945, a strong snow storm dumped several inches of heavy snow on the roof of the shed collapsing it and crushing the America beyond repair.  This ended the nearly 100 year run of the first winner of the America’s cup.

The America’s Cup trophy is the oldest active International sporting trophy. This race was held 45 years before modern Olympics. Jacksonville, Florida, and Charles C. Hemming will forever be connected to the history of one of the most famous sailing vessels in the world.