Whichever side of the War Between The States a person supports, Cushing and his exploits command respect, and awe.  Now, thanks to Emmy Award winning producer Carl Kriegeskotte, and the History Channel, the remarkable story of Cushing and the Albemarle will reach a national audience of an estimated 20,000,000 viewers 140 years after the harrowing events took place.  In April of 2005 the History Channel is set to feature a 90-minute documentary on Cushing and the CSS Albemarle.  Although the Albemarle was the most successful of the 60 Confederate ironclads and arguably the most successful ironclad on either side during the Civil War, over time the incredible story of her success and Cushing’s torpedo have been all but forgotten.  This story is one of the most fascinating and gripping accounts of that long bloody conflict. 

This film came about almost by accident.   Kriegeskotte, a steamboat aficionado, while surfing the internet one day, found the full scale wooden replica of Cushing’s 30’ steam launch used to sink the Albemarle on the Washington County Historical Society’s Battle of Plymouth website.  His steamboat hobby coupled with the fact that he was already familiar with the story, (not to mention that his wife is a descendant of the Cushing family), inspired the successful producer to present the documentary idea to the History Channel.  In January of 2003, the History Channel gave Kriegskotte final approval to proceed.

Although the primary subject of the documentary is the fearless Lt. William B. Cushing, it also features the mighty but lesser known ironclad, the CSS Albemarle.  The famous battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac, or more correctly, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia, has cast a long shadow over time obscuring many other significant naval accomplishments by other Civil War ironclads.  The Monitor and Merrimac engagement was significant because it was the first time two ironclads met in battle and it marked the end of the era of wooden warships.  But the battle itself ended in a draw.  With this upcoming History Channel documentary, the CSS Albemarle will remerge from the annals of the Civil War naval history to rightly take her place of prominence.  

Filming began in the spring of 2003 at the 14^th Annual Battle of Plymouth Living History Weekend.  The documentary is a combination of computer generated imaging, (CGI), reenacted events, and interviews with some of the most notable naval historians on the subject of our time, including  National Civil War Naval Museum historian Robert Holcomb, and museum administrator, Bruce Smith.  The documentary is expected to also include commentary from Cushing historian, Chris Fonvielle and local Plymouth historians Tom Harrison, and Port O”Plymouth curator, Harry Thompson.

The filming began in earnest during the month of July with a reenactment in Vergennes, Vermont on Lake Champlain with Cushing bringing his steam launch south to the Albemarle Sound.  Cushing is played by Kriegeskotte’s son Christian, who is a Cushing descendant, and bears an uncanny resemblance to his ancestor.

The next sequence was filmed at Heritage Landing in Kinston, NC where a full scale replica of the Albemarle’s sister ship, the CSS Neuse is currently being constructed by a local group, (The Kinston Ironclad Shipwright Company Organization).  Here Kriegeskotte filmed the sequence of the “Albemarle “, under construction by 19 year-old Gilbert Elliot and Commander James Wallace Cooke.

Some extremely realistic filming also took place at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Port Columbus, GA inside the casemate of their display of a section of the Albemarle. They filmed the gun crew inside the casemate, loading and firing the Albemarle’s 6.4” Brooke Rifle.  In addition there was a sequence with Cushing so real it was eerie.   The setting was Cushing’s  meeting with his superior officers to describe his plan to destroy the Albemarle.  This was filmed inside the ward room of the Port Columbus Museum’s replica of the USS Hartford. 

The bulk action however was filmed where it actually took place, in Plymouth, North Carolina.  Kriegeskotte, was assisted by his capable and congenial assistant producer Wendy Jo Cohen, and their film crew.  Together they shot various sequences with Union Sailors performing reconnaissance on the Roanoke River, Cushing’s first voyage up the river, passing the Confederate picket on the second night, etc.

Coincidentally the filming location for the Confederate pickets on the partially sunken wreck of the USS Southfield and the accompanying schooner, took place at the same exact spot where the Southfield still lies on the bottom of the Roanoke 140 years after the Albemarle sent her to the bottom!

There were two weekends in August of filming in Plymouth all night long, often finishing near daylight the next morning!   Meals were catered and “breakfast” was served at 6:00 p.m.  Lunch was usually around 1:00 a.m.  Everyone cooperated and enjoyed the experience, whether they were professional film makers or volunteer reenactors.

The culmination of the filming was Cushing’s actual attack on the Albemarle.   Carpenter extraordinaire, Guy Macken, who built the 63’ floating replica of the CSS Albemarle in 2002, this time built an 80’ full-scale section of the Albemarle on the Plymouth waterfront, a mere 300 feet from where the real Albemarle was docked in 1864 when she was destroyed by Cushing with his spar-mounted torpedo!  The movie set included the bow and most of the casemate.   On Saturday night August 29^th, over 85 reenactors converged for a spectacular reenactment of that fateful night!  The Confederate Sailors and Infantry poured fire down on Cushing and his crew of volunteers aboard Kriegeskotte’s own steam powered launch.   The launch careened toward the looming hulk of the Albemarle in its attempt to ride over the protective log boom and position the torpedo.  Meanwhile the Albemarle’s Brooke Rifle prepared to fire on brave Union Sailors.  The result was some incredible footage!

On Sunday night Kriegeskotte filmed Cushing and several of his crew jumping into the Roanoke after detonating their torpedo, (…despite the 3’+ cottonmouth water moccasin swimming alongside the boat just moments before they jumped in!).

The last day of shooting in Plymouth was on Monday, August 30^th and included Cushing receiving help from a local black man and Cushing’s extraordinary escape.

Oddly enough, the filming in Plymouth began during Hurricane Charley and finished two weeks later during Tropical Storm Gaston!   At times, the whipping trees and howling wind made for some dramatic footage.   But in between the storms, the weather cooperated and minor obstacles were always overcome by the dedicated and hardworking film crew who stayed on schedule.

For many, this film is a “dream come true”.  Although, featured in over a dozen books, Elliot, Cooke, Flusser, Cushing and there larger than life experiences in northeastern North Carolina have been largely forgotten in an age where the accumulating of information in the world is doubling every few years.  The resulting 90-minute documentary, once edited and approved by the History Channel, should be outstanding!  No doubt it will do this incredible story justice and have a lasting effect in keeping this important page of history alive.  This film will not only serve as a testimony to the heroes on whom this story is based, but will capture the hearts and minds of it’s viewers!

Recommended Reading:

Ironclad of the Roanoke, by Robert G. Elliott, White Mane Publishing, 1994

Invasion and Conquest of North Carolina: The Anatomy of a Gunboat War, by John W. Hinds, Burd Street Press, 1998

Hunt for the Albemarle, by John w. Hinds, Burd Street Press, 2001

Lincoln’s Commando, by   Ralph Roske and Charles Van Doren, , Harper and Brothers, 1957

Cushing, Civil War Seal,   by Robert Schneller, Jr., Brassey’s Inc., 2004

Commander William Barker Cushing, E. M. H. Edwards, Tenntson Neely, 1898