USS Ellen (1853)

Last updated
USS Ellen (1859).jpg
USS Ellen in service as a gunboat, ca. 1861–62
History
US flag 36 stars.svg
NameUSS Ellen
Launched1 February 1853
Acquiredby purchase, 10 October 1861
Commissioned16 October 1861
Decommissioned30 October 1862
FateSold, 2 September 1865
General characteristics
Type Steam gunboat
Displacement341 long tons (346 t)
Length125 ft (38 m)
Beam28 ft (8.5 m)
Draft8 ft (2.4 m)
Propulsion Steam engine
Complement50 officers and enlisted
Armament
  • 2 × 32-pounder guns
  • 2 × 30-pounder rifles

The first USS Ellen was a side-wheel steam gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

Ellen was built at New York City in 1853 as a civilian ferryboat, and purchased by the Navy on 10 October 1861 at New York; outfitted by New York Navy Yard; and commissioned 16 October 1861, Acting Master William Budd in command.

Service history

Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Ellen stood out on 18 October 1861 for Port Royal, South Carolina, arriving 14 November. Ellen exchanged fire with the enemy at Tybee Island on 24 December and on the 31st sailed to take part in the successful joint Army-Navy expedition against Port Royal Ferry on the Coosa River. During 26–29 January 1862 she reconnoitered Wilmington River and Wassaw Sound, Georgia, and engaged five ships under Commodore Josiah Tattnall III, CSN, near Savannah, damaging two of the Confederates.

Early in 1862 Ellen participated in an extensive combined expedition to take control of the seacoast of Georgia; by the middle of March Union ships from Port Royal had occupied the entire Georgia coast plus Fernandina, St. Augustine, and the St. Johns River in Florida. Discovered up the St. Johns River on 18 March was the famous racing yacht America, captured while in Union service, and later sunk by the Confederates to conceal her from invading Union forces. A week of hard work by Ottawa, Darlington, and Ellen raised her. On 26 March Ellen towed her to Port Royal, arriving 22 April.

On 28 May 1862 Ellen was sent up Folly Inlet to search for a floating battery believed mounted on a hulk. She did not find the battery but was able to report that Stono River was in complete possession of the Union forces. She engaged a short battery at Newton's Cut, South Carolina, and on 3 June joined E. B. Hale to attack a Confederate battery between Folly River and Light House Inlet. On 16 June she took part in an Army-Navy reconnaissance in the direction of Secessionville, South Carolina, target for an unsuccessful attack by the Army the day before. The remainder of her active service was in the Folly and Stono Rivers.

Ellen was decommissioned 30 October 1862, and used as a carpenter shop by the fleet at Port Royal until the war's end. She was sold 2 September 1865.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Pawnee</i> (1859)

The first USS Pawnee was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Pawnee Indian tribe.

USS <i>Water Witch</i> (1851)

The third USS Water Witch was a wooden-hulled, sidewheel gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is best known as the ship fired on by Paraguay in 1855. In 1864 she was captured by the Confederate States Navy, and subsequently was taken into that Navy as CSS Water Witch.

USS <i>Marblehead</i> (1861)

USS Marblehead was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Monticello</i> (1859)

The first USS Monticello was a wooden screw-steamer in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the home of Thomas Jefferson. She was briefly named Star in May 1861.

USS <i>Cimarron</i> (1862)

The first USS Cimarron was a sidewheel double-ended steam gunboat of the United States Navy that served during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Ottawa</i> (1861)

USS Ottawa was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Her wooden hull was built by J. A. Westervelt, and her engines by the Novelty Iron Works of New York. She was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 7 October 1861, Lieutenant Thomas H. Stevens in command.

USS Potomska was a wooden screw steamer rigged as a three masted schooner purchased at New York City from H. Haldrege on 25 September 1861. She was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 20 December 1861.

USS <i>Unadilla</i> (1861)

USS Unadilla was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for service with the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was the lead ship in her class.

USS <i>Huron</i> (1861)

USS Huron was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War for blockage duty against the ports and rivers of the Confederate States of America.

USS Whitehall was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was assigned blockade duty; however, her condition was not always considered seaworthy, and she was plagued with condition problems.

USS Shawsheen was a steam operated tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Vixen (1861) was acquired by the Union Navy from the Coast Survey on 26 August 1861 for use as a reconnaissance vessel during the American Civil War; and was later commissioned on 31 July 1862.

USS <i>Pembina</i> (1861) Unadilla-class gunboat of the Union Navy during the American Civil War

USS Pembina was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

USS Western World (1856) was a ship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

USS Henry Andrew (1847) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

USS <i>Isaac Smith</i>

USS Isaac Smith was a screw steamer acquired by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederate States of America to prevent the Confederacy from trading with other countries. In 1863, she became the only warship in the American Civil War to be captured by enemy land forces. She then served in the Confederate States Navy as CSS Stono until she was wrecked.

USS Flambeau (1861) was a screw steamship purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat, operating in Confederate waterways.

USS Wamsutta (1853) was a steamer constructed for service with the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS Wyandotte, originally USS Western Port, was a steamer acquired by the Navy as a gunboat for the Paraguay expedition in 1858. When the crisis of the American Civil War occurred, she operated in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS Norfolk Packet was a large schooner purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was assigned to gunboat duty in the inland waterways of the Confederate States of America.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.