USS Maria J. Carlton (1861)

Last updated
History
US flag 34 stars.svgUnited States
Acquired: 15 October 1861
Commissioned: 29 January 1862
Fate: Sunk 19 April 1862
General characteristics
Displacement: 178 tons
Length: 98 ft (30 m)
Beam: 27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught: 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m)
Propulsion: sail
Speed: varied
Complement: not known
Armament:

USS Maria J. Carlton was a schooner acquired by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a mortar schooner after being outfitted with a mortar and howitzers which could fire a projectile up-and-over instead of directly straight ahead.

Contents

Acquisition

Maria J. Carlton was purchased by the U.S. Navy at Middletown, Connecticut, from a Mr. Warner of Haddam, Connecticut, on 15 October 1861. She was converted into mortar schooner at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, and commissioned on 29 January 1862 with Acting Master Charles E. Jack in command.

Service history

Assigned to the Mortar Flotilla, which under the command of Commander David Dixon Porter and organized by the U.S. Navy to neutralize Confederate forts guarding the sea approach to New Orleans, Louisiana, the schooner got underway for the mouth of the Mississippi River in mid-February 1862. Despite a heavy gale off Cape Hatteras. North Carolina, which carried away her mainmast, rigging, and sails, she crossed the bar at Pass a l’Outre on 18 March 1862 and anchored in the waters of the Mississippi River Delta.

After preparing for the assault, the mortar schooners moved upstream to carefully selected positions and opened fire on Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson, which stood between Flag Officer David Farragut’s invasion fleet and New Orleans, the Confederacy’s largest and wealthiest city. Maria J. Carlton operated with the 2nd Division of the Mortar Flotilla in the cannonade.

In the thick of action on 19 April 1862, [1] the second day of the bombardment, a Confederate shot struck Maria J. Carlton′s magazine deck and tore a large hole in her bottom, wounding two crewmen. The schooner quickly sank. On 25 April 1862, Union forces destroyed the remains of Maria J. Carlton. [1]

Related Research Articles

USS A. Houghton (1852) – a 326 ton bark – was purchased during the beginning of the American Civil War by the Union Navy.

USS <i>Hartford</i> (1858)

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>Miami</i> (1861)

The first USS Miami was a side-wheel steamer, double-ender gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Henry Janes was a mortar schooner acquired by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was used as a gunboat and assigned to the blockade of ports of the Confederate States of America.

Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip Naval battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War. The two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of the city were attacked by a Union Navy fleet. As long as the forts could keep the Federal forces from moving on the city, it was safe, but if they were negated, there were no fall-back positions to impede the Union advance.

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

USS Owasco was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Owasco Lake.

USS Horace Beals (1862) was a barkentine acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a cargo ship assigned to support the fleet blockading the ports of the Confederate States of America. However, at times, Horace Beals was assigned extra tasks, such as that of a hospital ship as well as an ammunition ship.

USS Sarah Bruen (1862) was a wooden schooner acquired by the United States Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War.

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

USS Racer (1861) was a schooner acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used for various purposes, but, especially for bombardment because of her large 13-inch mortar that could fire up and over tall riverbanks.

USS John Griffith (1861) was a mortar schooner acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used for various purposes, but, especially for bombardment because of her large 13-inch mortar and 12-pounder howitzers that could fire up and over tall defensive riverbanks.

USS Oliver H. Lee (1861) was a schooner 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 Orvetta (1861) was a schooner 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 Matthew Vassar (1861) was a schooner purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy primarily as a mortar gunboat, but also as a gunboat stationed off Confederate ports to prevent their trading with foreign countries.

USS Adolph Hugel (1860) was a schooner acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS George Mangham (1854) was a schooner acquired by 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 Arletta was a schooner acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat and, at times, an ammunition ship, 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.

USS Sidney C. Jones (1861) was a 254-ton schooner purchased by the Union Navy during the first year of the American Civil War.

USS Sophronia (1861) was a 217-ton motorized schooner purchased by the Union Navy during the first year of the American Civil War.

USS T. A. Ward (1861) was a 284-ton schooner was purchased by the Union Navy during the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

References

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

  1. 1 2 Gaines, W. Craig, Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks, Louisiana State University Press, 2008, ISBN   978-0-8071-3274-6, pp. 69-70.

See also

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.