As the Civil War progressed began along its bloody path to war, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union on January 10, 1861. Based on this, the acting commander of Ft. Pickens, Lt. Adam J. Slemmer chose to abandon Ft. Barrancas and Ft. McRee so that they could consolidate their forces in the more isolated and easier defended Ft. Pickens. Before departing, he ordered 20,000 pounds of gunpowder from McRee destroyed and the Barrancas guns spiked. It didn't take long for the Confederates to move into the vacant forts and begin fortification procedures. Before long, their attention turned to blocking the mouth of Pensacola Bay to prevent Union ships from entering. The east end of the entrance was too shallow for large ships, forcing them to steer to the western shore, which were fortified by Ft. McRee.
Plans to sink four ships in the navigable waters through the entrance were discussed with commanding officer General Braxton Bragg. His reply was that it would be impossible to accomplish such a task without being detected by Ft. Pickens and blown out of the water with grape and cannister. One of the rising stars of the Confederacy, Captain William Farley Storrow Lovell (1829-1900) emphatically told the general that "General, I think I can do it!" Finally, Bragg told him, "Go ahead."
Lovell proceeded with his mission and stated that the distance between the forts was about three quarters of a mile. The plan was to use two steam vessels with Captain Lovell on the first one together with 1st Lieutenant Joseph "Joe" Wheeler (later a Confederate General). As the mission set out, Captain Lyman Godfrey Aldrich (1839-1901) was placed in command of the Natchez, Mississippi (Quitman Artillery) who was in command of their guard. Captain Henry Alexander Chambers (1841-1925) was invited to attend the mission as well.
With all aboard and in the darkness of night he towed the vessels out behind the two steamers. As they passed Ft. Pickens there were nearly one hundred guns on the battery on Santa Rosa Island. They were so close that they could distinctly hear the Union sentinel singing out, "Two o'clock, and all's well. The four vessels were chained together and sunk in the passage way, exactly like he promised his commanding officer. Not one shot was fired at them nor were they ever discovered. They returned safely to the Pensacola Navy Yard with the Union forces none the wiser!
So, whatever happened to this innovative young man from Mississippi. He was the son of Surgeon General Joseph Lovell (1788-1836) and Margaret Eliza Mansfield and the brother of Major General Mansfield Lovell. He was a graduate of Annapolis in 1853 and served in the US Navy until 1858 upon his marriage on June 29 to Antonia Quitman (1835-1916), the daughter of Brigadier General John Anthony Quitman, a Mexican War veteran and Eliza Turner. They would move to Adams County, Mississippi to become cotton planters. He joined the Confederacy in April 1861 as a artillery Captain with the Quitman Light Artillery that was mustered in on May 5, 1861. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel and was the assistant inspector general. Following the war, he returned to planting cotton before becoming the Post Master of Palmyra in Warren County, Mississippi from 1879-1899. He would pass away on January 26, 1900.
CV Magazine 1899 Page 31 **
Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi
Captain Lyman Godfrey Aldrich (1839-1901) born Massachusetts and buried Natchez, Mississippi, Natchez Cemetery. Son of Lyman Dan Aldrich (1802-1879) and Sarah Ann Davenport (1812-1842). Married Bettie Ann Buckner (1833-1905)
Captain Lyman Godfrey Aldrich
Bettie Ann Buckner (Wilson) 1833-1905
Henry A. (Henry Alexander) Chambers was a native of North Carolina who became a lawyer, historian, legislator, member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and United States Post Office agent in Tennessee.
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