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Photo # NH 66595:  Captain Josiah Tattnall, CSN

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- PEOPLE -- UNITED STATES --

Captain Josiah Tattnall, Confederate States Navy, (1795-1871)

Josiah Tattnall was born near Savannah, Georgia, on 9 November 1795. He became a Midshipman in the Navy in January 1812, saw action during the War of 1812 and in the Barbary campaign that followed. During the last part of the decade, Lieutenant Tattnall served in the Pacific Squadron. In the 1820s and 30s, his activities included participation in campaigns against piracy in the West Indies, coast survey duty and command of the schooner Grampus. After promotion to Commander in 1838, he was in charge of several Navy facilities, served at sea in the Mediterranean and off Africa, and was wounded in combat during the Mexican War. As a Captain during the 1850s, he commanded the large frigate Independence, the Sacketts Harbor Naval Station on Lake Erie, and U.S. Navy forces in the Far East. While in the latter post, on 25 June 1859 he intervened in a battle between the Chinese and the British, aiding the latter. He justified his unneutral actions with the comment "blood is thicker than water".

In February 1861, as southern states were leaving from the Union, Captain Tattnall resigned his commission to become an officer in the Georgia Navy and, soon after, in the Confederate States Navy. During 1861, he commanded the naval defenses of Georgia and South Carolina, participating in the battle of Port Royal, S.C., on 7 November. He was placed in charge of the naval defenses of Virginia in March 1862, and took over command of the pioneer ironclad Virginia after her battles with Federal warships on 8 and 9 March 1862. After two months of naval stalemate in the Hampton Roads area, the Confederate evacuation of Norfolk forced Tattnall to destroy the Virginia, an act supported by a subsequent court-martial. For the rest of the Civil War, Tattnall commanded naval forces in Georgia and the Savannah naval station. He lived in Canada for four years after the war, then returned to Georgia to serve as inspector of the port of Savannah. Josiah Tattnall died on 14 June 1871.

This page features all our pictures of Captain Josiah Tattnall, CSN.


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 43939

Captain Josiah Tattnall, USN


Portrait showing him in pre-Civil War uniform. Following a long and distinguished U.S. Navy career, including command of the East India squadron in 1858-60, he served as a senior officer in the Confederate Navy.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 156KB; 590 x 765 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 66595

Captain Josiah Tattnall, CSN


Engraved portrait, published during the 19th Century.
He commanded CSS Virginia following her battle with USS Monitor, and later was in charge of the Naval defenses of Georgia.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 84KB; 545 x 765 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 43940

Captain Josiah Tattnall, CSN


Artwork reproduced as a halftone in Fiveash, "Virginia-Monitor Engagement", Norfolk, Va., 1907.
He commanded CSS Virginia following her battle with USS Monitor, and later was in charge of the Naval defenses of Georgia.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 103KB; 595 x 765 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 44520-KN (Color)

Confederate Navy Leaders

Painting by Creative Arts Studio, prepared for use in an official film on Naval history, circa the early 1960s.
It depicts an imaginary meeting of some of the Confederacy's naval leaders, including (seated, left to right): Captain Franklin Buchanan, Captain Josiah Tattnall, and Commander Matthew F. Maury.
Shown standing (from left to right) are Captain George N. Hollins, Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes, and Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory.

Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 350 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 66324-KN (Color)

"Bombardment of the Forts at the Entrance to the Peiho River, 25th June 1859"
"About half-an-hour after the commencement, as seen from the junks, in which were two battalions of Marines. Commencement of action 2:30 P.M."

Colored lithograph by T.G. Dutton after a drawing by Major W.G.R. Masters, Royal Marines Light Artillery, published by Day & Son, Gate St., Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, July 18, 1861.
The print identifies the steamer in center as "the U.S.A. chartered steamship 'Toey-Wan' (Captain Josiah Tattnall) which rendered conspicuous service to the English and French gunboats".

Courtesy of the Beverly Robinson Collection, U.S. Naval Academy Museum.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 67KB; 740 x 540 pixels

 


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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Page made 16 June 2001