USS Pinola (1861)

Last updated
Reconnaissance of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, by Gun-boats from Flag-officer Farragut's Squadron NH 59066.jpg
The Pinola (directly above the Kennebec) at Fort Jackson
History
US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg US flag 34 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Pinola
BuilderJ. J. Abrahams (Baltimore, MD)
Launched3 Oct 1861
Commissioned29 January 1862
Decommissioned15 July 1865
FateSold 30 November 1865, converted to a sailing merchant bark
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 Pinola was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

Contents

Service history

The Pinola was launched on or about 3 October 1861, [1] commissioned on 29 January 1862 under the command of Lieutenant Peirce Crosby and soon left for the Gulf of Mexico, her station for more than three years of Civil War service.

In April 1862, Pinola played an active role in the campaign that led to the capture of New Orleans and was damaged while running past the fortifications below that city during the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. One of her sailors, Gunner's Mate John B. Frisbee, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. [2] In months that followed, she was employed on the lower Mississippi. On 28 June 1862, Pinola was one of the ships that successfully steamed past the batteries at Vicksburg, and passed them again headed down stream on 15 July.

During 1863-64, Pinola served on the blockade off Mobile Bay, Alabama. She was similarly engaged off the coast of Texas during the last months of the war. During her years in the Gulf, Pinola captured two blockade runners and destroyed a third. Decommissioned in July 1865, Pinola was sold the following November. She was subsequently converted to a sailing merchant bark.

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Brooklyn</i> (1858) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

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 <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 penetrating. 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>Santee</i> (1855) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Santee was a wooden-hulled, three-masted sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be so named and was one of its last sailing frigates in service. She was acquired by the Union Navy at the start of the American Civil War, outfitted with heavy guns and a crew of 480, and was assigned as a gunboat in the Union blockade of the Confederate States. She later became a training ship then a barracks ship for the U.S. Naval Academy.

USS <i>Rhode Island</i> (1860) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Rhode Island was a side-wheel steamer in the United States Navy, commissioned in 1861.

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

USS Carondelet (1861) was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the War Department by James B. Eads during the American Civil War. It was named for the town where it was built, Carondelet, Missouri.

USS <i>Hendrick Hudson</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Hendrick Hudson was a schooner-rigged screw steamer.

USS <i>Susquehanna</i> (1850) Sidewheel steam frigate

USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Susquehanna River, which rises in Lake Otsego in central New York and flows across Pennsylvania and the northeast corner of Maryland emptying into the Chesapeake Bay.

USS <i>Richmond</i> (1860) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Richmond was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Cayuga</i> (1861) Unadilla-class gunboat

The first USS Cayuga was a Unadilla-class gunboat in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Lackawanna</i> (1862) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

The first USS Lackawanna was a screw-propelled sloop-of-war in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was named after the Lackawanna River in Pennsylvania.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Erben</span>

Henry Erben was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served in the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War. His father, also named Henry Erben (1800–1884), was a prominent builder of pipe organs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union blockade</span> Union blockade of the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War

The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading.

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

The second USS Oneida was a Mohican-class screw sloop-of-war in the United States Navy. During the Civil War, she destroyed the CSS Governor Moore and served in blockade operations. She was attached to the Asiatic Squadron from 1867–1870. She sank in 1870 outside Yokohama, Japan after collision with the British steamer Bombay. A court of inquiry, headed by the local British consul, found the officers of Oneida were responsible for the collision, with Bombay's captain being blamed for not staying at the scene to render assistance – a decision that caused some controversy. A less exhaustive U.S. naval court of inquiry laid the blame entirely on the Bombay's actions. Japanese fishing boats saved 61 sailors but 125 men lost their lives. The American government made no attempt to raise the wreck and sold it to a Japanese wrecking company. The company recovered many bones from the wreck and interred them at their own expense. The Japanese erected a memorial tablet on the grounds of Ikegami Temple in Tokyo and held a Buddhist ceremony in the sailors' memory in May 1889.

USS Sam Houston was a small (66-ton) schooner captured by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War.

USS Itasca was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the U.S. 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>Wissahickon</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Wissahickon was a Unadilla-class gunboat that was built for service with the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Magnolia was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was planned to be used by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

William Halstead was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

John B. Frisbee was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

References

  1. "Local Matters", The Sun, p. 1, 1861-10-03.
  2. "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 4 December 2012.