History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Ordered | as Alfred A. Wotkyns |
Launched | 1863 |
Acquired | 9 December 1863 |
Commissioned | circa 24 April 1864 |
Decommissioned | sank, 12 April 1865 |
In service | 7 November 1865 |
Out of service | 25 April 1866 |
Stricken | 1866 (est.) |
Fate | Sold, 8 December 1866 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Tugboat |
Displacement | 72 tons |
Length | 70 ft (21 m) |
Beam | 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m) |
Depth of hold | 7 ft (2.1 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
Complement | 15 |
Armament | one heavy smoothbore 12-pounder gun |
USS Althea was a screw steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The Union Navy used it as a tugboat, a torpedo boat, and a ship's tender in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.
Alfred A. Wotkyns was a screw tugboat that Lewis Hoagland built in 1863 at New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Union Navy purchased it at New York City on 9 December 1863, and renamed it Althea. Soon thereafter it was fitted out for naval service by Secor and Co., of Jersey City, New Jersey. Since the logs for its first period of service are missing—presumably lost when a torpedo (naval mine) sank it—there is no record of Althea's commissioning date. Still, on 24 April 1864 Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered the commandant of the New York Navy Yard to hurry the tug to Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut who then was trying to build up his West Gulf Blockading Squadron for an attack on Mobile, Alabama.
About this time, however, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant was preparing to launch a two-pronged campaign against Richmond, Virginia: driving south from the Rapidan River with the Army of the Potomac toward the Confederate capital and simultaneously ascending the James River, with a force under Major General Benjamin F. Butler, for an amphibious landing at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, to begin a push through Petersburg, Virginia.
The destructive foray of the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Albemarle from the Roanoke River into Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, on 17 April and her reappearance on 5 May—the day Grant's offensives began—increased Union anxiety over the possibility that the Confederate squadron at Richmond might descend the James, wrest control of that vital stream from the Union flotilla, and wreck Butler's transports and supply ships, stranding his troops in hostile territory where they would be at the mercy of Southern soldiers. To prevent such an eventuality, Welles sent several warships, formerly ordered to the Gulf of Mexico, to Hampton Roads, Virginia, to reinforce the James River Flotilla.
Althea was one of these ships. While the date of her departure from New York City is not known, the tug was said to be serving on the James in the dispatch dated 17 June 1864 which reported the locations of the ships of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She had been fitted out with a spar torpedo to be used in attacking any Confederate ironclad which might appear and she was prepared to act as a ram should an opportunity for such employment arise. The tug also served as a tender to Union ironclads in the James.
Late in July, the situation in that river seemed stable enough to permit the Union warships borrowed from Farragut to move on to the Gulf of Mexico. Repaired and prepared for sea by the Norfolk Navy Yard, Althea departed Hampton Roads in company with three other tugs on the 26th and reached Mobile Bay on 5 August, the day of Farragut's great victory there.
Too late to participate in the historic Battle of Mobile Bay, Althea busied herself in ensuing months supporting Farragut's combatant ships as they joined Army forces in operations against the city of Mobile, Alabama. On 12 April, the day Mobile finally surrendered, Althea struck a torpedo (naval mine) in the Blakeley River and sank while returning from a run up that stream in which she had dragged primitive sweep gear in an effort to clear the channels of explosive devices. Two members of her crew were killed in the accident, and three others—including the tug's commanding officer, Acting Ensign Frederick A. G. Bacon—were wounded.
Raised and repaired after the Confederate collapse, Althea was recommissioned at Mobile on 7 November 1865. She carried out towing chores and performed other varied services there, at Pensacola, Florida, and at Key West, Florida, until—towing the monitor USS Sangamon – she departed the latter port on 10 April 1866. After reaching the Philadelphia Navy Yard on the 18th, she was decommissioned on 25 April 1866 and sold at auction on 8 December 1866.
Redocumented Martin Kalbfleisch on 10 January 1868, she served as a merchant tug until 1896.
David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased as "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" in U.S. Navy tradition.
USS Brooklyn was a sloop-of-war authorized by the U.S. Congress and commissioned in 1859. Brooklyn was active in Caribbean operations until the start of the American Civil War at which time she became an active participant in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.
USS Hartford, a sloop-of-war steamer, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. Hartford served in several prominent campaigns in the American Civil War as the flagship of David G. Farragut, most notably the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864. She survived until 1956, when she sank awaiting restoration at Norfolk, Virginia.
The first USS Miami was a side-wheel steamer, double-ender gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Sciota was a Unadilla-class gunboat built on behalf of the United States Navy for service during the Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat, with both a 20-pounder rifle for horizontal firing, and two howitzers for shore bombardment, and assigned to the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.
USS Tecumseh was a Canonicus-class monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Although intended for forthcoming operations against Confederate fortifications guarding Mobile Bay with Rear Admiral David Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Tecumseh was temporarily assigned to the James River Flotilla in April 1864. The ship helped to plant obstacles in the river and engaged Confederate artillery batteries in June.
The first USS Seminole was a steam sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Winnebago was a double-turret Milwaukee-class river monitor, named for the Winnebago tribe of Siouan Indians, built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, during which she was lightly damaged, and the bombardments of Forts Gaines and Morgan as Union troops besieged the fortifications defending the bay. In early 1865, Winnebago again supported Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama. She was placed in reserve after the end of the war and sold in 1874.
USS Belle was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Bazely was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy in a tugboat/patrol boat role in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.
USS Rose was a screw steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Alpha was a side wheel paddle steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Harcourt was a small steamship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a tugboat and assigned to the blockade of ports of the Confederate States of America.
USS Pink was a steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She served the Union Navy's struggle against the Confederate States of America in various ways: as a tugboat, a gunboat, and as a small transport.
USS Tritonia was a 202-ton steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Poppy was a steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Saffron was a small (73-ton) steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War.
USS Violet was a 166-ton steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy for use during the American Civil War.
The Milwaukee-class monitors were a class of four riverine ironclad monitors built during the American Civil War. Several supported Union forces along the Mississippi River in mid-1864 before participating in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August. Chickasaw and Winnebago bombarded Confederate coastal fortifications during the battle and during subsequent operations as well as engaging the ironclad Tennessee II. The other two ships arrived at Mobile Bay after the battle and all four supported the land attacks on Mobile in March–April 1865. Milwaukee struck a torpedo during this time and sank. The surviving three ships were sold in 1874; Chickasaw was converted into a ferry and survived until 1944 when she was scuttled. Her wreck was discovered in 2004.