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USS Crusader (1858)
Encyclopedia
USS Crusader (1858) was a screw steamer of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
that served prior to, and 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...
.
Crusader was heavily armed and was used in a "gunboat diplomacy
Gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....
" role when the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
needed to place political pressure on the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n country of Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. After completing that mission, she returned to the United States to participate as a gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
in the blockade of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
Construction and commercial start
Originally named Chowan the ship was launched in 1857 in Murfreesboro, North CarolinaMurfreesboro, North Carolina
Murfreesboro is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,045 at the 2000 census. Murfreesboro is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region.-Geography:Murfreesboro is located at ....
. Four months later, its draftsman and builder, John K. Kirkham filed papers at the Hertford County
Hertford County, North Carolina
-Townships:The county is divided into six townships:Ahoskie, Como, Harrellsville, Murfreesboro, St. Johns and Winton.-Towns:*Ahoskie*Cofield*Como*Harrellsville*Murfreesboro*Winton-Demographics:...
Court for a lien for payment of $4,996 owed to him by the North Carolina and New York Steamship Company. She was seized by Sheriff John A. Vann. In February 1858, a jury awarded $2,287.36 to Kirkham and the court ordered that the ship be sold at auction on 4 May.
Chowan was purchased by John W. Southall and Capt. Thomas W. Badger and renamed Southern Star. In early 1858 she was towed to Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
where she was fitted with engines. She then steamed to Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
in September 1858 under her own power for final outfitting for hauling freight between the West Indies and ports along the east coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
The Paraguay expedition and purchase by the Navy
The US Navy approached its owners and chartered the vessel in October 1858 to be part of a 19 ship squadron military-diplomatic expedition to ParaguayParaguay expedition
The Paraguay Expedition was a United States Naval mission sent to Asunción, Paraguay in 1858 to demand indemnity and apology from the Paraguayan Government for the 1 February 1855 firing on the US Navy vessel...
to settle grievances growing out of an unprovoked attack on Water Witch
USS Water Witch (1851)
The third USS Water Witch was a wooden-hulled, sidewheel gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is best known as the ship fired on by Paraguay in 1855...
by Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
an forces in 1855.
Commissioned 27 October 1858, Commander A. M. Pennock in command, Southern Star sailed 2 November for Asunción
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
, Paraguay, arriving 25 January 1859.
Her mission accomplished, she departed from Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, 22 March to return to Norfolk's Gosport Navy Yard. Satisfied with her performance, she was purchased by the Navy for $49,000 and renamed Crusader. She was outfitted as a gunboat at Gosport with four 12-pound cannons and numerous lighter arms.
On 11 June 1859, Lieutenant John N. Maffitt was assigned as her first commanding officer as Crusader.
She left the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
for naval service in August 1859.
Suppressing the slave trade
Crusader cleared Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
7 October 1859 for duty with the Home Squadron
Home Squadron
The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the slave trade, make coastal surveys, and train ships to relieve others on distant stations...
in the suppression of the slave trade in West Indian waters until 7 February 1861, returning to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
16 February.
She made national headlines when on 23 May 1860 she intercepted a slave ship carrying 450 Africans, the first of the for slave traders and one pirate ship she apprehended.
Civil War operations
Following another tour of duty in the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
from 16 March to 28 August 1861, during which she captured two vessels to prevent their sale for use as Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s, she was placed out of commission 17 September 1861 for repairs.
Assigned to the South Atlantic blockade
Crusader sailed 18 January 1862 to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She cruised off the South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
coast until 10 August. With E. B. Hale
USS E. B. Hale (1861)
The USS E. B. Hale was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used as a gunboat by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
she conducted a successful expedition up the South Edisto River on 28 April to capture a Confederate battery, the officers and men of both ships earning a commendation from the Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
for their courageous conduct. On a similar raid Crusader and Planter drove off a band of Confederates from Simmons' Bluff and destroyed their camp on 21 June.
Assigned to the North Atlantic blockade
After repairs at New York, Crusader put to sea 22 September 1862 to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She was diverted to duty in the Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
and inland waters of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and served in this area until the end of the war. She captured five vessels with valuable cargoes and destroyed four others.
Post-war decommissioning
Crusader was decommissioned at Washington Navy YardWashington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
13 June 1865 and sold there 20 July 1865.
See also
- American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe 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...
- Union NavyUnion NavyThe Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
- Confederate States NavyConfederate States NavyThe Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...