USS Peterhoff

Last updated

The Iron Steam Yacht Peterhoff, 416 Tons Built for H.I.M. the Emperor of Russia, by C J Mare and Co of Blackwall RMG PY8691.tiff
The Russian yacht Peterhoff, later the Peterhoff blockade runner, and USS Peterhoff.
History
Naval Ensign of Russia.svg Russia
NamePeterhoff
Namesake Peterhof Palace
OwnerImperial Russian Government
Operator Imperial Russian Navy
Builder C.J. Mare & Co., Blackwall, London
Launched1850
FateSold to United Kingdom
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NamePeterhoff
FateSold to United States
History
US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg US flag 34 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Peterhoff
Acquiredby Union Navy forces, 25 February 1863
CommissionedFebruary 1864
Stricken1864 (est.)
FateRammed and sunk, 6 March 1864
General characteristics
Tons burthen412 tons
Length210 ft (64 m)
Beam28 ft (8.5 m)
Depth of hold15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion140 hp (100 kW) steam engine, screw-propelled
USS Peterhoff
Nearest city Fort Fisher, North Carolina
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1863
NRHP reference No. 75001283 [1]
Added to NRHP6 August 1975

USS Peterhoff was a British ship captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Condemned as a blockade runner, she served the Union Navy's struggle against the Confederate States of America as a gunboat.

Contents

Ship history

Construction

The Peterhoff was a 416-ton iron-hulled yacht originally built for the Tsar of Russia by C. J. Mare & Co. of Blackwall, London, with 140 hp steam engines by J & G. Rennie. [2] Launched in 1850, [3]

Early history

During her delivery voyage to Saint Petersburg, Peterhoff was driven ashore on Saaremaa on 1 November 1850. [4] She was abandoned by the crew and her insurers made a payment of £15,000 to the Imperial Russian Government. She was later refloated and sank to preserve her from damage from the waves. Peterhoff was refloated in the spring of 1851 and taken in to Riga, where temporary repairs were made. Departing in early July, she reached London on 17 July. [5] The ship was acquired by British interests and fitted out as a cargo ship. [6]

Seizure

Peterhoff sailed from Falmouth, Cornwall on 27 January 1863. On 20 February 1863, she was boarded and searched by the USS Alabama off the island of Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies. Alabama found her papers in order and released her. Peterhoff then entered the harbour at St. Thomas where two U.S. Navy ships commanded by Acting Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes were at anchor. Wilkes, already notorious for his part in the "Trent Affair", ordered that the Peterhoff be boarded by the USS Vanderbilt just after she had left harbour on 25 February. [6]

Peterhoff had papers that stated that she was bound for Matamoros in Mexico, but then a sailor aboard let slip that she was really bound for Brownsville, Texas, just across the Rio Grande. This comment was taken as sufficient justification for Vanderbilt to seize the ship as a blockade runner, and she was sent to Key West. Both the Danish and British governments vigorously protested the seizure, but the ship was eventually condemned by the New York prize court and bought by the Union Navy. [6] She was commissioned in February 1864 with Acting-Volunteer Lieutenant Thomas Pickering in command, [7] and assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. [6]

Sinking

The ship departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 28 February to blockade Wilmington, North Carolina. [7] However, early on the morning of 6 March 1864, the Peterhoff was rammed by the gunboat Monticello who mistook her for a blockade runner. Although Peterhoff sank within half an hour, all of her crew were saved. On the night of 7 March 1864, men from Mount Vernon and Niphon boarded the wreck at low tide and destroyed as much as they could, cutting down the masts and spiking all the guns that they could reach. [6]

Post-war

After the Civil War, the Supreme Court overturned the prize court's decision, and the owners of the Peterhoff received compensation for their loss. [6]

The wreck of Peterhoff was rediscovered by divers in 1963 [8] in 30 ft (9.1 m) of water off Kure Beach, North Carolina. [9] Three 32-pounder smoothbore cannon were later salvaged. [8] In 1974, a 30-pounder Parrott rifle was raised, and is now on display at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Other guns from the ship are on display at Fort Fisher State Historic Site and the Carteret County Museum of History at Morehead City, North Carolina. [6] The wreck site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Housatonic</i> (1861) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Housatonic was a screw sloop-of-war of the United States Navy, gaining its namesake from the Housatonic River of New England.

USS <i>St. Lawrence</i> Frigate of the United States Navy, launched 1848

USS St. Lawrence was a frigate in the United States Navy that saw service during the mid-19th century, including the American Civil War. She was based on the same plans as USS Brandywine.

USS <i>Water Witch</i> (1851) US Navy gunboat

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>Stars and Stripes</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Stars and Stripes was a 407-ton steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy and put to use by the Union during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Nipsic</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Nipsic was a gunboat in the Union Navy. The ship was laid down on 24 December 1862 by Portsmouth Navy Yard; launched on 15 June 1863; sponsored by Miss Rebecca Scott; and commissioned on 2 September 1863, Lieutenant Commander George Bacon in command.

USS Dai Ching was a steam gunboat in commissioned into service in the United States Navy in 1863. She served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War until her loss in 1865.

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

The first USS Pequot was a wooden screw gunboat of the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was launched on 4 June 1863 by the Boston Navy Yard; and commissioned there on 15 January 1864, Lt. Comdr. Stephen P. Quackenbush in command. The ship was named for the Pequot Indian tribe resident in Southern Connecticut, members of the Algonquian language grouping.

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

USS Banshee was a large steamship "blockade runner" that was captured by the Union Navy and converted to Navy use during the American Civil War.

USS Aster was a steam operated tugboat 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>Calhoun</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Calhoun was a captured Confederate steamer and blockade runner acquired by the Union Navy from the prize court during the American Civil War.

USS Tristram Shandy was a 444-ton steamer and blockade runner captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Wando</i> (1864) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Wando was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. In commission from 1864 to 1865, she was used by the United States Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS State of Georgia was a large steamer with powerful guns acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. State of Georgia, with her crew of 113 sailors and officers, was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in its blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS Victoria was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Gertrude</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Gertrude was the British blockade-running steamship Gertrude captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed in service by the Navy as a gunboat and assigned to patrol the southern coast of the United States for ships attempting to run the Union blockade of Southern ports. She was later the American merchant ship Gussie Telfair until wrecked in 1880.

USS Thunder was a blockade running steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Violet</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Violet was a 166-ton steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy for use during the American Civil War.

Commodore Jonathan Young was an officer in the United States Navy. He participated in anti-piracy actions and the African Slave Trade Patrol, fought in the Mexican War, Puget Sound War, and American Civil War, and served briefly as commander of the Asiatic Squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cummings Howell</span>

John Cummings Howell was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and late in his career was commander-in-chief of the North Atlantic Squadron and then of the European Squadron.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
  2. "George Rennie". craig-telescope.co.uk. 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  3. "Ships 1849-1851". Illustrated London News Archive. 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  4. "Ship News". The Times. No. 20645. London. 13 November 1850. col E, p. 8.
  5. "Arrival of the Imperial Russian Yacht Peterhoff, in London". The Standard. No. 8403. London. 17 July 1851.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Norris, David (2012). "USS Peterhoff and UNC-W's Civil War Cannon". Cape Fear Civil War Round Table. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  7. 1 2 "USS Peterhoff". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Cape Fear Civil War Shipwreck Register" (PDF). North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  9. "NPS Archeology Program: Abandoned Shipwreck Act Guidelines". nps.gov. 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2012.