by Edward Ellis, Special Correspondent
In the November 2021 issue, we recounted the sinking of a Confederate blockade runner named the S.S. Pevensey and explained how it became the namesake of the famous Iron Steamer Pier at Emerald Isle. In that article, we stated that no image was known to exist of the USS New Berne, the Union ship that ran the Pevensey aground on Bogue Island.
We were soon contacted by Civil War relic collector Tray Wetherington of Ernul who had acquired a picture of the ship some years ago from a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania antiques dealer. Wetherington quickly provided the image and its provenance.
The original albumen paper photograph mounted on heavy cream-colored stock was naturally faded, spotted, and discolored. Computer enhancement rendered the image shown at right above. Although the writer doesn’t identify himself, a hand-written note on the reverse of the photo reads: “U.S.S. Newbern on which I was captain’s clerk from April 1865 to Nov. 1866.”
The USS New Berne was a 195-foot screw steamer built in New York City in 1862 and named for the capture of New Bern, N.C. by federal troops in March of that year. It was purchased as a supply ship by the U.S. Navy in 1863 from Wakeman, Dimon & Co. but soon departed New York to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in trying to deny provisions to the Confederate States of America.
The ship’s routine duties were enlivened on June 9, 1864, when the smuggling vessel Pevensey was encountered off Beaufort. New Berne blasted away at the blockade runner striking its deck at least once with cannon fire before the crew abandoned ship near the beach.
The USS New Berne image is now one of the hundreds of Civil War-era items in Wetherington’s collection. Most are from the Craven County area. He said his dream is to one day display his memorabilia for visitors in downtown New Bern.
Eddie Ellis is the author of New Bern History 101 and other works about Craven County’s rich heritage. He can be reached at flexspace2@aol.com.