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.
Service history
Zouave—a screw steamer built in 1861 at Albany, New York—was purchased by the Navy on 20 December 1861 at New York City and soon thereafter was delivered to the Navy at Hampton Roads, Virginia, for duty in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. On 1 February 1862, she was placed in commission, Acting Master Henry Reaney in command—and assigned the tasks of patrolling the mouth of the James River at night and serving as a tender for frigates USSCongress and USSCumberland during daylight hours.
Shortly after noon on 8 March, the tug was moored to a wharf at Newport News, Virginia, when the quartermaster spotted some black smoke near the mouth of the Elizabeth River. Zouave got underway and headed across Hampton Roads to investigate. Soon observers on the tug could make out "what to all appearances looked like the roof of a very big barn belching forth smoke as from a chimney on fire." After a Confederate flag came in view, the men on Zouave concluded that the strong looking craft was the long expected Southern ironclad CSS Virginia—the rebuilt Merrimack—finally emerging to challenge the Union blockaders. Zouave then opened up with her 30-pounder Parrott rifle and fired about a half-dozen rounds before she was recalled by a signal hoisted on board Cumberland. By this time, the Union warships in Hampton Roads and batteries at Newport News had also opened fire on the Southern ironclad. When Virginia reached a position abreast of Congress, she fired a broadside into that Union frigate and headed straight for Cumberland.
At this point, Zouave was in between the fire of Virginia, that of her escorts Patrick Henry and Jamestown, and the "friendly" Union guns based ashore at Newport News and Fort Monroe. She kept firing at the Southern ships until she was signaled by Congress to come alongside. The tug quickly obeyed and began the difficult process of taking the blazing frigate in tow. As Zouave was attempting to pull Congress into shoal water where she might be safe from further attacks, Virginia pulled astern of the retreating Union ships and subjected them to broadside after broadside. When Congress grounded, she hoisted a white flag to indicate her surrender.
Zouave cut her towlines; backed up; and, upon pulling free, resumed her firing. Lookouts on the tug thus spotted a signal on Minnesota—which had also grounded but was still in the fight—asking for assistance. While the tug was heading for that plucky Union blockader, she was hit "by a shot which carried away our rudder-post and one of the blades of her propeller wheel." Unable to steer and moving straight toward Virginia, Zouave backed up and used her hawser "over our port quarter" to keep moving toward USSMinnesota. During the passage, USSWhitehall arrived on the scene and assisted Zouave to her destination. The battle-damaged tug lay alongside Minnesota throughout the night, ready to assist the Union ships insofar as she was able. The next day, Zouave was upstaged by the newly arrived USSMonitor during that novel ironclad's epic battle with Virginia. On 11 March, she proceeded, in tow, to the Baltimore Navy Yard for repairs.
Zouave returned to Hampton Roads on 3 May 1862. She spent the next six months deployed in Hampton Roads and surrounding waters on guard duty as an armed tug. She also carried out picket and dispatch assignments. On 26 October 1862, Zouave received instructions to hail USSDelaware, then cruising between the Piankatank and York Rivers, Virginia, and ordering her to report to Hampton Roads to prepare for duty in the North Carolina sounds. On 29 October 1862 at Rip Raps, Virginia, after Delaware failed to acknowledge Zouave's recognition signal, Zouave mistakenly fired on Delaware, taking the steamer for a Confederate blockade runner. Returning to Hampton Roads, Zouave and USSYoung America towed monitor USSPassaic to the Washington Navy Yard for repairs on 30 November 1862. On 18 January 1863, Zouave captured the small schooner J. C. MoCabe and six prisoners in the James River; and, on the night of 11 and 12 April 1863, she participated in a reconnaissance of Jamestown Island in the James. She served as part of the Union force capturing the formidable Confederate position at Hill's Point on the Nansemond River, Virginia, on 20 April 1863. This relieved Union army positions near Suffolk, Virginia, of Southern pressure.
Zouave steamed to Baltimore, Maryland, for repairs in May 1863. Zouave deteriorated steadily during the remaining two years of the war. On 29 February 1864, she was detailed to Atlanta, Georgia,[dubious–discuss] to guard against possible attacks by Confederate torpedo boats. In April 1864, Zouave sailed to Baltimore for repairs. She soon returned to Hampton Roads, only to be ordered to the Norfolk Navy Yard for more repairs on 4 August 1864. Zouave remained in the yard through early December 1864, then was deployed in the James River until the war's end. After a final round of repairs at Norfolk, the tug proceeded to the New York Navy Yard on 1 June 1865. Zouave was decommissioned at New York on 14 June 1865 and was sold at public auction there to M. O. Roberts on 12 July 1865.
Related Research Articles
CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship built by the Confederate States Navy during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the razéed original lower hull and engines of the scuttled steam frigate USS Merrimack. Virginia was one of the participants in the Battle of Hampton Roads, opposing the Union's USS Monitor in March 1862. The battle is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between ironclads.
The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War.
USS Minnesota was a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy. Launched in 1855 and commissioned eighteen months later, the ship served in east Asia for two years before being decommissioned. She was recommissioned at the outbreak of the American Civil War and returned to service as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
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 Congress—the fourth United States Navy ship to carry that name—was a sailing frigate, like her predecessor, USS Congress(1799).
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.
The first USS Sassacus, a wooden, double-ended, side-wheel steamer, was launched on 23 December 1862 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, sponsored by Miss Wilhelmina G. Lambert. Sassacus was commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 5 October 1863, Lieutenant Commander Francis A. Roe in command.
William Augustin Webb was an American sailor and Mexican–American War veteran who resigned his United States Navy commission after more than 20 years of service to join the Confederate States Navy in the American Civil War. Webb was decorated for his service as Captain of the CSS Teaser, part of the James River Squadron, during the Battle of Hampton Roads (1862).
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.
The first USS Seminole was a steam sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
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 Dragon was a small 118-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the start of 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 Shawsheen was a steam operated tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
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.
The first USS Uncas was a 192-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Amanda was a bark acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Althea was a screw steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The Union Navy used her as a tugboat, a torpedo boat, and as a ship's tender in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.
USS Poppy was a steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Violet was a 166-ton steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy for use during the American Civil War.
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.
United States
