USS Thomas Freeborn (left) in the engagement at Mathias Point, 27 June 1861 | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Thomas Freeborn |
Builder | Lawrence & Foulks (Williamsburg, NY) |
Launched | 17 November 1860 |
In service | April 1861 |
Out of service | 17 June 1865 |
Homeport | Washington, D.C. |
Fate | Sold, 20 July 1865 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 269 tons |
Length | 143 ft 4 in (43.69 m) |
Beam | 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) |
Draught | not known |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | not known |
Complement | not known |
Armament | two 32-pounder guns |
USS Thomas Freeborn was a steam tug acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy as a gunboat to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.
Thomas Freeborn was a sidewheel steamer built in 1860 at Brooklyn, New York. She was launched on November 17, 1860 and was named after Captain Thomas Freeborn, who lost his life in the discharge of his duty on board the ship John Minturn on December 15, 1846. [1]
Thomas Freeborn was one of three steam tugs chartered by the Navy in April 1861 for use in the unsuccessful Fort Sumter relief expedition. She was detained at New York City, however, and did not sail with the other two ships, USS Yankee and Uncle Ben.
On 7 May, she was purchased by the Union Navy and, under the command of Comdr. James H. Ward, joined the newly formed "Flying Flotilla" as his flagship. She departed New York City on 16 May for duty in the Chesapeake Bay and at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
In Hampton Roads, USS Monticello and Thomas Freeborn engaged Confederate batteries at Sewell's Point, Virginia, on 19 May. The next day, Thomas Freeborn carried Senators Benjamin F. Wade, Zachariah Chandler, and Robert Morrill to Washington, returning to Hampton Roads on 22 May.
She again sailed for the Washington Navy Yard on 23 May and took part in the Union occupation of Alexandria, Virginia, on the 24th. Thomas Freeborn deployed on permanent blockade and patrol duty in the Potomac River on 27 May.
There, USS Anacostia, USS Resolute, and Thomas Freeborn fired on and silenced Confederate batteries at Aquia Creek, Virginia, on the last day of May. On 24 June, Thomas Freeborn and USS Pawnee shelled Confederate installations at Mathias Point, Virginia, after having received sporadic shore fire from the batteries earlier. Casualties included Commander James H. Ward who was shot and killed while attempting to land on the point during the evening of 27 June. Thomas Freeborn returned to the Washington Navy Yard for repairs on 12 July.
Thomas Freeborn soon rejoined the flotilla, capturing sloop A. B. Leon off White House Point, Virginia, on 26 July 1861. On 4 August, she captured schooner Pocahantas and sloop Mary Grey in Pohick Creek, Virginia, and, on 10 November, received fire from Confederate batteries on Maryland Point, Virginia, but sustained no damage.
Thomas Freeborn captured schooner Mail and her cargo of salt in Coan River, Virginia, on 1 August 1862, and seized and burned schooner Arctic in Maryland's Great Wicomico River on 15 September. She captured sloop Thomas Reilly on 1 October at the mouth of Quantico Creek, Virginia.
A landing party from Thomas Freeborn cut telegraph lines stretching from Occoquan and Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Richmond, Virginia, on 4 October 1862. On 21 February 1863, USS Dragon and Thomas Freeborn engaged a Confederate battery near Fort Lowry, Virginia; each vessel received minor damage. Thomas Freeborn helped Yankee, USS Fuchsia, and USS Tulip destroy a Confederate encampment under construction at Carter's Creek, Virginia, on 29 April.
The vessel spent the remainder of 1863 and all of 1864 on patrol and reconnaissance duty along the Potomac River.
Thomas Freeborn was repaired at the Washington Navy Yard in early January 1865. Returning to duty, she captured blockade runner William Smith on 3 March in the Piankatank River, Virginia. On 17 April, she was ordered by the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, to patrol the Chesapeake Bay from Point Lookout, Maryland, to the mouth of the Patuxent River, Maryland, in search of the assassins of President Abraham Lincoln.
Finding nothing, she was ordered to proceed to Cherrystone, Virginia, on 1 May 1865 and warned of the expected arrival of Confederate ram CSS Stonewall from Europe. The steamer returned to the Washington Navy Yard later in the month.
Thomas Freeborn was decommissioned at the Washington Navy Yard on 17 June 1865 and was sold at auction there on 20 July to Anthony Raybold. She was redocumented as Philip on 14 September 1865 and finally disposed of in 1887.
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.
CSS Teaser had been the aging Georgetown, D.C. tugboat York River until the beginning of the American Civil War, when she was taken into the Confederate States Navy and took part in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads. Later, she was captured by the United States Navy and became the first USS Teaser.
The first USS Seminole was a steam sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Satellite was a large, steam-powered large tugboat, acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War and equipped with two powerful 8-inch guns. She was assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.
USS Yankee was a steam-powered side-wheel tugboat acquired by the Union Navy just prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War.
USS Jacob Bell was a sidewheel steamer acquired by the Union Navy for use during the American Civil War. She was one of the oldest vessels so acquired. Her duties included river patrols, guard duty, and other duties as assigned.
USS Valley City was a 190-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy for service in the American Civil War.
USS Anacostia was a steamer, constructed as a tugboat, that was first chartered by the United States Navy for service during the Paraguay crisis of the 1850s and then commissioned as a U.S. Navy ship. She later served prominently in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Young America was a Confederate steamer captured by the Union Navy’s blockade vessels, and subsequently placed in-service in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS John L. Lockwood was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was needed by the Navy to be part of the fleet of ships to prevent blockade runners from entering ports in the Confederacy.
USS Zouave was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was needed by the Navy to be part of the fleet of ships to prevent blockade runners from entering ports in the Confederacy.
The first USS Resolute was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS General Putnam – also known as the USS William G. Putnam – was acquired by the Union Navy during the first year of the American Civil War and outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America. She also served as a tugboat and as a ship's tender when so required.
USS Shawsheen was a steam operated tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Morse was a ferryboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
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 Mount Washington was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways.
USS Rescue was a small (111-ton) steamer commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
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.
The third USS Virginia was a 581-ton blockade-running steamer captured by the United States Navy and put to use during the American Civil War. Virginia served the U.S. Navy primarily as a mortar gunboat. Her ordnance included six 24-pounder howitzers and a 12-pounder rifled gun.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found [www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/thomas-freeborn.html here].