USS Union (1861)

Last updated
History
US flag 34 stars.svgUnited States
Acquired
Commissioned
  • 16 May 1861
  • at Philadelphia
Decommissioned
  • 10 December 1861
  • at Philadelphia
Recommissioned20 January 1863
Decommissioned
Fate
  • Sold, 25 October 1865
  • Burned and sank in merchant service 22 October 1872
General characteristics
Displacement1,114 tons
Length220 feet (67 m)
Beam34 feet (10.4 m)
Draught16 (4.9 m)
Propulsion
Speed13.5 knots
Complementnot known
Armamentone 12-pounder rifled gun

The third USS Union was a heavy (1,114-ton) steamer with a powerful 12-inch rifled gun purchased by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

Contents

Union served the U.S. Navy successfully during the blockade of ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America, capturing numerous blockade runners. Towards war's end, she was also assigned the role of dispatch boat and, because of her large size, of storeship, at the same time continuing to capture blockade runners.

Commissioned in Philadelphia in 1861

Union, a screw steamer built at Mystic, Connecticut, was chartered by the U.S. Navy on 24 April 1861 at Philadelphia, and was commissioned there on 16 May 1861 with Commander John R. Goldsborough in command.

Civil War service

Assigned to the Atlantic Blockade

Union with the Blockading Squadron at anchor in Hampton Roads, off Fortress Monroe, New York Illustrated News of 1861 The Blockading Squadron at anchor in Hampton Roads, off Fortress Monroe - New York Illustrated News 1861.jpg
Union with the Blockading Squadron at anchor in Hampton Roads, off Fortress Monroe, New York Illustrated News of 1861

The next day, Union was assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and she steamed south to cruise off Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, on 28 May 1861. However, she soon headed back north and captured the schooner F. W. Johnson at sea off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 1 June 1861. The following morning, she arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, with the prize.

After coaling, Union returned to the blockade off Savannah and captured the brig Hallie Jackson there on 10 June 1861. She arrived off Charleston on the morning of 18 June 1861 and, later that day, captured the Confederate blockade runner Amelia. Union sent Amelia north to Philadelphia in the charge of a prize master and delivered the Amelia's crew to Fort Monroe, Virginia, on 23 June 1861.

Collision with blockade runner

Union left Hampton Roads on 27 June 1861 to rejoin the blockade off Charleston. She sustained considerable damage to her superstructure and rigging in a collision with the Spanish ship Plus Ultra on 2 July 1861. She was temporarily repaired at sea and sailed for Hampton Roads to refuel on 15 July. En route north, Union stopped at Georgetown, South Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Ocracoke Inlet; Hatteras Inlet; and Hatteras Cove in search of blockade runners and reached her destination on 18 July 1861.

Union was next deployed on blockade duty off Cape Hatteras. On 28 July 1861, she found the Union merchant brig B. T. Martin—which had been captured by Confederate privateer York—hard aground north of the cape and destroyed her. Union briefly put into Hampton Roads for coal on 5 August 1861, then immediately returned to blockade duty off Cape Hatteras, where she forced York aground on 9 August 1861. Union returned to Hampton Roads on 14 August 1861 for emergency repairs and put into Baltimore, Maryland, the next day for alterations.

Transferred to the Potomac flotilla

While undergoing repairs, Union was transferred to the Potomac Flotilla on 16 August 1861. She left Baltimore the next day and arrived in the Potomac River off Aquia Creek, Virginia, on 19 August 1861. She performed routine reconnaissance and dispatch duties on the Potomac River and, despite heavy fire from shore, burned a large Confederate schooner in Dumfries Creek on 11 October 1861. Union suffered no casualties during the action and received special commendation for her daring exploit from the United States Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles. The vessel remained on the Potomac until ordered north on 5 December 1861. She was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 10 December 1861.

Recommissioned as a supply and dispatch vessel

Union was recommissioned on 20 January 1863 and detailed to the Gulf of Mexico for use as a storeship and dispatch vessel. She spent the remainder of the war operating between New York City; Hampton Roads; Port Royal, South Carolina; and points scattered along the Florida coast and the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.

Union also compiled an impressive list of captures during this time. These included the blockade-running British schooner Linnet, captured on 21 May 1863 west of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, and the British steamer Spaulding, taken off St. Andrew Sound, Georgia, on 11 October 1863. On 14 January 1864, Union seized the steamer Mayflower and her cargo of cotton near Tampa Bay, Florida, and, on 26 April 1864, she captured the schooner O.K. south of the bay. Union's final prize was the sloop Caroline, captured at Jupiter Inlet, Florida, on 10 June 1864.

Post-war sale and subsequent career

Union completed several dispatch and supply missions after the American Civil War ended and was decommissioned at New York City on 29 September 1865. She was sold at auction there to W. H. Starbuck on 25 October 1865 and was re-documented as S.S. Missouri on 8 December 1865. As Missouri, she remained in merchant service until she caught fire and sank in the Bahamas on 22 October 1872, some 25 nautical miles (29 statute miles; 46 km) northeast of Abaco, costing the lives of some 69 persons. Two of those on the voyage killed were, Richard Cecil Cleveland and Lewis Frederick Cleveland, brothers of future US President Grover Cleveland. [1] She was on a voyage from New York City to Nassau, Bahamas. There were twelve survivors. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Pawnee</i> (1859)

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.

USS <i>Keystone State</i> (1853)

USSKeystone State was a wooden sidewheel steamer that served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

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>Stars and Stripes</i> (1861)

USS Stars and Stripes (1861) 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>Monticello</i> (1859)

The first USS Monticello was a wooden screw-steamer in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the home of Thomas Jefferson. She was briefly named Star in May 1861.

USS <i>Seminole</i> (1859)

The first USS Seminole was a steam sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Louisiana</i> (1861)

The second USS Louisiana was a propeller-driven iron-hull steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Albatross (1858) was a screw steamer rigged as a three-masted schooner acquired by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat with heavy guns and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Unadilla</i> (1861)

USS Unadilla was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for service with the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was the lead ship in her class.

USS <i>Quaker City</i> (1854)

USS Quaker City (1854) was a heavy, 1,428 long tons (1,451 t) sidewheel steamship leased by the Union Navy at the start of the American Civil War. She was subsequently purchased by the navy, outfitted with a powerful 20-pounder long rifle, and assigned to help enforce the Union blockade of the ports of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Valley City</i> (1859)

USS Valley City (1859) was a 190-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy for service in the American Civil War.

USS Whitehall was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was assigned blockade duty; however, her condition was not always considered seaworthy, and she was plagued with condition problems.

USS John L. Lockwood (1854) 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 Underwriter (1852) was a 341-ton sidewheel steamer that was purchased for military use by 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 <i>Hetzel</i> (1861)

USS Hetzel (1861) was a steamer 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.

CSS <i>Fanny</i>

CSS Fanny was a small propeller-driven steam tug used by the Confederate States Navy to defend the sounds of northeastern North Carolina in the American Civil War. Originally armed as a gunboat and operated by the Union, she was captured in October 1861 by the Confederate Navy, and later lost at the Battle of Elizabeth City in February 1862. Due to being used as an observation balloon platform, Fanny is sometimes credited with being the first self-propelled aircraft carrier.

USS Fernandina (1861) was a bark purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a patrol vessel, operating in Confederate waterways.

USS George Mangham (1854) was a schooner 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.

USS T. A. Ward (1861) 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

  1. Darlene's Family Genealogy, Lewis Fredrick Cleveland "
  2. "Latest Shipping Intelligence". Daily News. No. 8273. London. 1 November 1872.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.