One hundred fifty years after the beginning of the Civil War, long buried stories about the conflict continue to surface. The latest news showcases the involvement of the great-grandson of Daniel Boone and the explorations of several sunken vessels in Virginia and Bermuda.
The Jackson County Historical Society in Independence, Missouri, recently received a collection of documents that include letters spanning more than 20 years that were written by Margaret Jane Watts Hays to her parents.
The woman, according to a local newspaper, was married to Daniel Boone’s great-grandson, Upton Hays, during 1852. They lived in Kansas City when Upton entered Confederate service and raised troops in the Westport area during 1861.
Upton Hays Killed In Action
Elected colonel of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry that December, Hays saw action at Independence on August 10, 1862. He was wounded in that fight. He also saw action in the Battle of Lone Jack on August 15-16. He was killed on September 30 while leading a charge near Newtonia, Missouri.
During the war, Margaret Hays tried to maintain the family farm despite marauding Jayhawkers (Kansas anti-slavery guerrillas) and Federal troops. Her home and the pioneer home of Boone Hays (Upton's father), to which she moved, were burned during the war. Southern sympathizers built a house for her after the war. She lived there until her 1872 departure to take her children to California to join her parents.
USS Cumberland, CSS Florida
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Navy completed a two-day research expedition to survey the condition of the USS Cumberland and CSS Florida at the bottom of the James River in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
The USS Cumberland was the first ship sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia, which rammed the Union ship on March 8, 1862 during the Battle of Hampton Roads. More than 121 men went down with her.
The CSS Florida was a Confederate commerce raider captured by the U.S. Navy in Brazil. It was towed back to the U.S. as a prize. During the tow, it collided with a Union troop ferry and sank on November 19, 1864.
Artifacts from both ships are on permanent display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk.
A Bermuda Shipwreck
A stash of five bottles of wine was found in a crate in the bow of the wrecked blockade runner Mary Celestia. Built in England and operated out of Bermuda, the ship sank in Bermuda during 1864.
Besides the wine, a recent dive to the wreck located shoes and a hairbrush.
Sources
- Jackson County Historical Society
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- The Mary-Celestia Project
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