John Yates Beall was a Confederate Naval Officer who raided Union Ships in the Chesapeake Bay and was hanged on February 24, 1865
On 10 November 1863 Captain Beall and his raiders set sail across the Chesapeake Bay with the hope of capturing a Federal naval
vessel that was said to be anchored off Chesconnessex Creek. On arriving they quickly captured a schooner. Beall stayed with the schooner and sent a party to hide with his ship the "Raven and Swan" on shore
til the following night. The landing party thought they found a snug hiding
place on a small island called Tobacco Island, which turned out to be terribly exposed. A fisherman had seen them and asked them what they were doing.
They explained they were on a hunting trip. The fisherman wished good hunting and
went on. Within a few hours two barges with guns cocked and aimed arrived to capture the raiders.
The next day, the prize schooner Beall had taken was surrounded and retaken by the Union.
The men were briefly held at Drummondtown [today's Accomac] and then sent to fort McHenry on the western shore.
Source:
Mills, Eric. Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War. Centreville Md: Tidewater Publications, 1996.
(See also "A Brief Introduction" on the main Civil War page.)
© Copyright 2005-2009 by Gail M. Walczyk