USS Marblehead (1861)

Last updated
USS Marblehead.jpg
USS Marblehead
History
US flag 37 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Marblehead
Builder George W. Jackman Jr., Newburyport, Massachusetts
Launched16 October 1861
Commissioned8 March 1862
Decommissioned4 September 1868
FateSold, 30 September 1868
General characteristics
Class and type Unadilla-class gunboat
Displacement691 tons
Tons burthen507
Length158 ft (48 m) (waterline)
Beam28 ft (8.5 m)
Draft9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) (max.)
Depth of hold12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsion2 × 200 IHP 30-in bore by 18 in stroke horizontal back-acting engines; single screw
Sail planTwo-masted schooner
Speed10 kn (11.5 mph)
Complement114
Armament

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

Contents

Marblehead was launched by George W. Jackman Jr., Newburyport, Massachusetts, 16 October 1861; and commissioned on 8 March 1862; Lieutenant Commander Somerville Nicholson in command.

Service history

First assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Marblehead took part in operations along the York and Pamunkey Rivers in Virginia. On 1 May 1862, she participated in the shelling of Confederate positions at Yorktown, supporting General George McClellan's drive up the Peninsula toward Richmond.

In an unusual engagement, the Marblehead was docked in Pamunkey River, Confederate cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart ordered a detachment of southerners to attack the docked ship, but were discovered by Union sailors and marines, who opened fire - Confederate horse artillery, under Major John Pelham unlimbered his guns and fired on Marblehead - as the ship got under way and the bluecoats called back onto the ship, Pelham's guns raced the ship, firing at it as long as the horse can keep up with it.

The Marblehead escaped, and was reassigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and commenced patrols off the Confederate east coast in search of Confederate vessels. With monitor Passaic in early February 1863, she reconnoitered the Wilmington River, located in Georgia, in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the ironclad ram CSS Atlanta (ex-Fingal). Later in the month, on the 23rd, she took possession of the prize Glide and her cargo of cotton which had been captured by the United States Coast Survey schooners Caswell and Arago at the entrance of Tybee Creek, in Georgia, while en route to Nassau.

During her patrols of the coastal rivers, Marblehead periodically engaged in operations on the Stono River, South Carolina, in support of the Union defenders of James Island. On 16 July 1863, during an assault by Confederate forces on that position, the gunboat came under fire from Southern batteries at Grimball's Landing. Forced further down river, she continued to provide fire support and prevented Confederate reinforcements from reaching the main body of their attack force. She then joined in the bombardment of forts in Charleston, South Carolina harbor before heading north for repairs.

Action at Legareville. The rebel battery attacking the Marblehead silenced and captured, December 25, 1863 The war in South Carolina. Action at Legareville. The rebel battery attacking the Marblehead silenced and captured - FL 1864.jpg
Action at Legareville. The rebel battery attacking the Marblehead silenced and captured, December 25, 1863

Back on the Stono River with Pawnee by November, she provided cover for Army troops as they sank piles as obstructions in the river above Legareville, South Carolina, on the 24th. The following month, on Christmas Day, Confederate batteries fired on the two gunboats in an effort to dislodge the assistance provided by Marblehead and Pawnee. Despite taking 20 hits, Marblehead was still able to take two of the enemy's 8-inch seacoast howitzers before heading back up north for repairs and reassignment. Four of her sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during this engagement: Contraband Robert Blake, Boatswain's Mate William Farley, Quartermaster James Miller, and Landsman Charles Moore. [1] [2]

On 2 June 1864, she was ordered to serve as a practice ship for Naval Academy midshipmen at Newport, Rhode Island. A month later this service was interrupted as she resumed coastal patrol duties for five months. She then returned to Newport to serve as a practice ship. After completion of this duty, Marblehead arrived at the Washington Navy Yard where she decommissioned 19 September 1866. Recommissioned the following month and assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, she operated in the Caribbean for the next two years.

On 18 August 1868, she returned to the New York Navy Yard, decommissioned 4 September, and was sold on 30 September.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Galena</i> (1862) American military ship

USS Galena was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and supported Union forces during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. She was damaged during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff because her armor was too thin to prevent Confederate shots from the guns of Fort Darling from penetrating her hull. Widely regarded as a failure, Galena was reconstructed without most of her armor in 1863 and transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in 1864. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan in August. She was briefly transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in September before she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for repairs in November.

USS <i>Advance</i> (1862) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Advance, the second United States Navy ship to be so named, was later known as USS Frolic, and was originally the blockade runner Advance captured by the Union Navy during the latter part of the American Civil War. She was purchased by the Union Navy and outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America. She also served as dispatch ship and supply vessel when military action eventually slowed.

USS <i>Pawnee</i> (1859) Gunboat of the United States Navy

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>Hartford</i> (1858) Gunboat of the United States Navy

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.

USS <i>Canonicus</i> (1863) 1863 Canonicus-class monitor

USS Canonicus was a single-turret monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War, the lead ship of her class. The ship spent most of her first year in service stationed up the James River, where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, from December 1864 to January 1865.

USS <i>Tacony</i> (1863) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Tacony was a double-ended, side-wheel steamboat acquired by the Union Navy during the third year of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a heavy gunboat with powerful guns and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Seneca</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Seneca was a Unadilla-class gunboat built on behalf of the United States Navy for service during the American Civil War. Seneca was outfitted with guns for horizontal fire as well as with two howitzers for bombardment of shore targets. With her crew of 84, she was assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Commodore Perry</i> United States Navy gunboat from 1861 to 1865

USS Commodore Perry was a 512-long-ton (520-tonne) steamer acquired by the Union Navy in 1861, the first year of the American Civil War. She was named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819), a naval officer who had commanded American forces on Lake Erie in the War of 1812. In January–February 1862, Commodore Perry was part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, taking part in the attack, in cooperation with the Union Army, which resulted in the surrender of Roanoke Island by the Confederate States of America. She participated in several other campaigns through 1862, including the capture of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and army–navy expeditions against Franklin, Virginia, and Hertford, North Carolina. From 1863 until the end of the war, she was engaged in patrols, both inland and in Virginia coastal waters.

USS <i>Kansas</i> (1863) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Kansas was a gunboat constructed for the Union Navy during the middle of the American Civil War. She was outfitted with heavy guns and assigned to the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America. She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be named Kansas and was the first of a class of 836-ton screw steam gunboats. At war's end, she continued serving her country by performing survey work and defending American interests in Cuba until sold in 1883.

USS <i>Cimarron</i> (1862) Gunboat of the United States Navy

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>Unadilla</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

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) Gunboat of the United States Navy

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 Vixen was acquired by the Union Navy from the United States 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 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 <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 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 Henry Brinker was a small steamship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a gunboat and assigned to the blockade of ports of the Confederate States of America.

USS Shokokon was a large (709-ton) steamer with powerful 30-pounder rifled guns, purchased by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis M. Bunce</span> U.S. Navy rear admiral

Francis M. Bunce was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself as a junior officer during the American Civil War (1861–1865). He was in command of the North Atlantic Squadron from 1895 to 1897, and while serving as its commander-in-chief played an important role in developing the squadron's – and more broadly the U.S. Navy's – capability to operate its ships in cohesive tactical naval formations, preparing it for its performance in the Spanish–American War in 1898.

References

  1. "Medal of Honor Recipients - A–L". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  2. "Medal of Honor Recipients - M–Z". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2013.