"Sail Ho!": A Civil War Surgeon and the Texas Blockade

Abstract

"Sail Ho!":A Civil War Surgeon and the Texas Blockade Walter E. Wilson* Click for larger view View full resolution Assistant Surgeon Heber Smith, New Orleans, 1862. Courtesy Sharyl Heber. [End Page 436] On June 14, 1863, the U.S. Navy gunboat Itasca was on blockade duty off the Texas coast. That morning, the ship's doctor sat down to write a letter home. His name was Heber Smith, a twenty-three-year-old assistant surgeon. Until its recent discovery by the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, Texas, Heber's letter had been in private hands since the day it was written. Civil War letters related to the Texas blockade are rare and exciting finds, particularly one with several days of richly detailed content. Heber Smith's letter launches the reader on a roller-coaster ride of wartime emotions ranging from despair, frustration, and exhaustion to exhilaration and hope. He also describes the excitement of chasing and capturing blockade runners. The perceptive doctor addresses many of the broader themes of the American Civil War as seen from the sometimes bloody deck plates of a U.S. Navy warship. Heber's letter offers fresh insight into the personal impact of ineffective military strategies, corruption, death, and infectious diseases that remain relevant in more modern times.1 This article provides the full transcription of Heber Smith's letter, preceded by a brief description of the situation facing the writer and his ship. The letter, written in multiple sittings over five days of a blockading expedition off the South Texas coast, is presented in five parts with an analysis [End Page 437] of the day's events and their relevance to the Civil War in the western Gulf of Mexico. Finally, a conclusion summarizes the colorful careers of the USS Itasca and Dr. Heber Smith. Click for larger view View full resolution Christina Akin Smith. Courtesy Sharyl Heber. Heber addressed the letter to his father, the Reverend Orsamus H. Smith, mother Lucy, and sister Lucia, who all lived in his hometown of Patterson, New York. Other prominent family members mentioned in the letter include his brother and fellow military surgeon Orsamus Jr., his sister Annie, and his wife, the former Christina Akin. Although only an assistant surgeon at the time, Heber Smith became a prominent medical pioneer in his own right. It was his experience in the navy that led him to a distinguished career with the institution that gave rise to the Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).2 At just over five feet, six inches tall and slender, Heber Smith's appearance was unremarkable except for a slightly uneven jawline. It was a distinction he received in June 1861 as a twenty-one-year-old bachelor shortly after joining the navy and reporting to the USS Monticello. In his first month aboard ship, Acting Assistant Surgeon Smith accompanied a small landing party to an island in Virginia's Rappahannock River. After wading ashore, the sailors from the Monticello were set upon by the local Confederate militia. They all beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the boat, but not before Smith and a master's mate were seriously wounded. One of the lead musket balls entered Heber's left cheek, took out a piece of his tongue and several teeth, and exited through the right cheek.3 [End Page 438] Click for larger view View full resolution Unadilla-class gunboat, USS Itasca. US Naval History and Heritage Command NH 52240. Heber was initially sent to Fort Monroe, Virginia, and then to Bellevue Hospital in New York City to recover. He fared better than the master's mate, who died from his wounds. Despite the damage to his now uneven jaw, Christina agreed to marry him. They exchanged vows in New York City on November 6, 1861. Four days later, the navy reappointed Heber as assistant surgeon, and assigned him as the only doctor among the 114 sailors onboard the USS Itasca. This newly constructed gunboat was expected to deploy to the warzone immediately, and it did. Like many military families, Heber and Christina had multiple occasions to wonder whether...