USRC Ashuelot
Encyclopedia
USRC Ashuelot was a screw
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
steam
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
revenue cutter built for the United States Revenue Marine during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Ashuelot was homeported in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and later in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
during her brief career with the Revenue Marine. In 1866, she played an important role in the prevention of an armed raid
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
on Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by the Fenian Brotherhood
Fenian Brotherhood
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians"...
.
Sold into merchant service in 1867 due to dissatisfaction with her machinery, Ashuelot later voyaged to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, operating under the names Takao and Kaiten No. 2. She was destroyed in Japan in 1869.
Construction and design
Ashuelot was one of six Pawtuxet-class screw schoonerSchooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
s ordered by the Treasury Department in 1863 for the United States Revenue Marine. She was built in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
by John Englis, from whose yard she was launched on 8 July 1863. Englis was later awarded a bronze medal by the American Institute
American Institute
The American Institute of the City of New York was an organization to promote, by means of exhibitions and fairs, the interests of agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and arts in New York State and the United States.-History:...
for a model of the vessel, "a trophy valued because of the great competition then existing in that department of American ship-building".
Ashuelot was 130 feet (39.6 m) long, with a beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 26 in 6 in (8.08 m) and both hold depth and draft of around 11 feet (3.4 m). Like the other ships of her class, her contract called for a hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, locust
Black locust
Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known as the Black Locust, is a tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, but has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is...
and white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
, strengthened with diagonal iron bracing. Her two-cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
oscillating engine, built by New York's Novelty Iron Works, drove a single 8-foot (2.4 m) diameter screw propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
. Ashuelots speed is unrecorded but was probably similar to the 12 knots achieved by her sister ship USRC Kankakee
USRC Kankakee
USRC Kankakee was a screw steam revenue cutter built for the United States Revenue Marine during the American Civil War.Kankakee spent most of her brief career with the Revenue Marine operating in and around Charleston, South Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
. She was topsail schooner-rigged for auxiliary sail power.
Ashuelots armament consisted of a single 30-pounder Parrott rifle pivot gun
Pivot gun
A pivot gun was a type of cannon mounted on a fixed central emplacement which permitted it to be moved through a wide horizontal arc. They were a common weapon aboard ships and in land fortifications for several centuries but became obsolete after the invention of gun turrets...
, and five 24-pounder howitzers, one mounted in a pivot aft. She was crewed by a complement of seven officers and 34 enlisted men.
Service history
The exact date on which Ashuelot entered service is not known, but The New York Times reports the vessel departing New York on a cruise on 28 November 1864. On 21 December 1864 she was ordered to her first homeport of Eastport, MaineEastport, Maine
Eastport is a small city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2000 census. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainland by causeway...
.
In April 1866, Ashuelot played a role in the thwarting of an armed raid
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
on Campobello Island, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, by a group of about 700 members of the Fenian Brotherhood
Fenian Brotherhood
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians"...
who had gathered in Maine for the purpose. The raiders were "sorely discouraged" after Ashuelot intercepted the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Prey, which was loaded with ammunition and a large quantity of weapons "of the finest and deadliest description" intended for use in the raid.
In September 1866, Ashuelot underwent repairs at Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. On the 7th, she was transferred to her new homeport of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, reportedly arriving there on the 27th, as a replacement for her sister ship Kewanee
USRC Kewanee
USRC Kewanee was a screw steam revenue cutter built for the United States Revenue Marine during the American Civil War.Commissioned in August 1864, Kewanee served out the last eight months of the war on convoy and patrol duty along the East Coast of the United States...
. On 15 November, Ashuelot towed the lightship
Lightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
for Frying Pan Shoals
Frying Pan Shoals
The Frying Pan Shoals are a long, shifting area of shoals off the coast of Cape Fear in North Carolina, United States. The shoals have been a hazard to ships in the area since the beginning of European exploration of the area; the area is littered with shipwrecks. The southern edge of the shoals...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, back to its station after the latter vessel had undergone repairs at Charleston.
Not long after, the Revenue Marine decided to divest itself of a number of the Pawtuxet-class cutters as their engines were deemed "too complicated". Departing Charleston on 27 April 1867, Ashuelot was decommissioned at New York on 30 April and laid up at Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
on 7 May. On 20 June, she was sold to J. C. Fuller of New York for the sum of $28,300.
Ashuelot was subsequently sent to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where she was renamed Takao and later, reportedly, Kaiten No. 2. She was destroyed in Japan in 1869.