USS Tallahatchie

History
United States
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	in 1863 at Cincinnati, Ohio
Acquired	23 January 1864; at Cincinnati, Ohio ;
Commissioned	circa 9 March 1864; at New Orleans, Louisiana ;
Decommissioned	21 July 1865 at Mobile, Alabama
Stricken	1865 (est.)
Fate	Sold, 12 August 1865
General characteristics
Displacement	171 tons
Length	not known
Beam	not known
Draught	not known
Propulsion	steam engine ; side wheel-propelled;
Speed	not known
Complement	51
Armament	two 32-pounder guns; four 24-pounder howitzers ;
Armour	tinclad

Last updated April 27, 2023

USS Tallahatchie was a 171-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War for service against the Confederate States of America.

Built in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1863

Cricket No. 4—a wooden-hulled sidewheel steamer built in 1863 at Cincinnati, Ohio—was purchased there by the Union Navy from Stephen Morse et al. on 23 January 1864. Renamed Tallahatchie on 26 January and designated "tinclad gunboat no. 46," the sidewheeler was held at Cincinnati for a fortnight by ice in the Ohio River before she could be moved downstream to Cairo, Illinois, to be fitted out and lightly armored.

Civil War operations

Assigned to the Mississippi River

Acquired by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter in response to a request from Commodore Henry H. Bell for light draft gunboats to strengthen United States naval forces in the Gulf of Mexico, Tallahatchie headed down the Mississippi River on 9 March 1864. The ship's bottom was covered with sheet copper at New Orleans, Louisiana, to protect it during salt water operations. When finally ready for action, the ship was commissioned at New Orleans, Acting Master J. W. Saunders in command.

Meanwhile, Porter's Mississippi Squadron had ascended the Red River to support a Union Army thrust toward Texas. However, the forces had met reverses and were retiring. This left the Union gunboats without land support and in danger of being caught upstream by the falling water level in the river. Now Porter needed help, and Tallahatchie ascended the Mississippi and entered the Red River which she patrolled from Fort De Russy to the mouth of the Black River to protect the Mississippi Squadron's waterborne communications.

Assigned to the West Gulf blockade

In the meantime, the crews of Porter's warships and Union Army engineers dammed the river to allow the ships to ride downstream over the rapids. When the Union gunboats reached safety, Tallahatchie returned to New Orleans for duty with the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. She served with this force for the duration of hostilities, operating off the passes of the Mississippi and in Mississippi Sound and Lake Pontchartrain.

On 15 September 1864, while Tallahatchie was operating on the lake, her commanding officer, Acting Master J. W. Lennekin, received information warning him that smugglers would attempt to bring out contraband cotton under cover of darkness. Accordingly, he stationed a picket boat off the mouth of the Blind River.

Apprehending smugglers

That evening, when the smugglers came out, Tallahatchie's pickets challenged them and ordered them to surrender. Facing imminent capture, the southerners threw overboard a ledger book which contained the details of their illicit activities. Much to the smugglers' chagrin, the book was recovered.

Two days later at the mouth of the Amite River, Tallahatchie captured more contraband cotton as well as small quantities of medicines, powder, flour, and other supplies on the banks of Bayou Schinblon. Besides taking the contraband, her landing party went ashore and learned that Confederate agents had previously purchased ammunition and supplies in the vicinity.

Post-war decommissioning

After the coming of peace in the spring of 1865, Tallahatchie was decommissioned at Mobile Bay, Alabama, on 21 July 1865. Sold at auction to S. W. Roberts on 12 August, the sidewheeler was redocumented as Coosa on 25 August. She was subsequently destroyed by fire at Licking River, Kentucky, on 7 July 1869.

Related Research Articles

The first USS Arizona was an iron-hulled, side-wheel merchant steamship. Seized by the Confederate States of America in 1862 during the American Civil War, she was captured later the same year by the United States Navy.

USS Katahdin was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Sciota was a Unadilla-class gunboat built on behalf of the United States Navy for service during the Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat, with both a 20-pounder rifle for horizontal firing, and two howitzers for shore bombardment, and assigned to the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.

The first USS Lafayette was a side wheel steamer, converted to an ironclad ram, in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Wilderness was a wooden-hulled, side-wheel steamship in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. After the war, she served as a revenue cutter. In 1873, she was renamed John A. Dix for former Secretary of the Treasury John Adams Dix.

Laurent Millaudon was a wooden side-wheel river steamboat launched at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1856 operating in the New Orleans, Louisiana, area, and captained by W. S. Whann. At the beginning of the American Civil War she was taken into service by the Confederate Navy as CSS General Sterling Price. On 6 June 1862, she was sunk at the Battle of Memphis. She was raised and repaired by the Union army, and on 16 June 1862 was moved into Union service as USS General Price and served until the end of the 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 Antelope was a stern-wheel steamer acquired by the Union Navy for service during the American Civil War. Originally Lavinia Logan—a charter vessel built in 1861 at Parkersburg, Virginia — she was purchased in 1864 to support operations of the Union Army along the streams of the Mississippi River.

USS Meteor was a gunboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She carried heavy artillery and became part of the sea blockade of waterways of the breakaway Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Rattler</i> Steamboat of the Union Navy during the American Civil War

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

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

USS Antona was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a dispatch boat and gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of the Confederate States of America.

USS New Era was a steamer 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. New Era was also a name initially carried by a timbercladUSS Essex.

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 Avenger was a large steamer with powerful guns 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. Because of her large size, she was also used, at times, as a cargo ship.

USS Tritonia was a 202-ton steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

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

USS Rodolph was a steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She served the Union Navy during its struggle against the Confederate States of America, both as a tugboat and a minesweeper, as well as a gunboat when the occasion demanded. Just as the war was ending, Rodolph struck a mine and sank, with four of her crew killed and a number of others wounded.

USS Stockdale was a steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Siren was the 214-ton wooden-hulled, stern-wheel steamer White Rose launched in 1862 that the Union Navy purchased in 1864. The Navy outfitted Siren with two 24-pounder howitzers for use in bombardment and assigned her to operations on the Mississippi River where Union forces were attempting to maintain control of the river in order to split the Confederate States of America in two. The Navy sold her in 1865 and new owners returned her name to White Rose. They abandoned her in 1867.

USS T. A. Ward 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.

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.