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USS Keystone State (1853)
Encyclopedia
USS Keystone State was a wooden sidewheel steamer
that served in the Union Navy
during the American Civil War
.
Keystone State was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in 1853 by J. W. Lynn. She was chartered by the Navy on 19 April 1861 from the Ocean Steam Navigation Co. at Philadelphia, and purchased on 10 June 1861. She commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 July 1861, Commander
G. H. Scott in command.
CSS Sumter
, she shared in the capture of Hiawatha at Hampton Roads
on 10 May 1861. When her charter expired on 23 May, she returned to Philadelphia, where she was purchased, fitted out, and commissioned. She left the Delaware Capes on 21 July and cruised in the West Indies seeking Confederate blockade runner
s in Caribbean
ports. On the high seas, she captured Saloon on 10 October and towed her to Philadelphia via Key West
, Florida
.
and out to sea on 8 December, visited Bermuda
, and arrived Hampton Roads the day after Christmas
. She got underway on 9 January 1862, and joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Charleston
, South Carolina
on 13 January.
Ordered to the Florida coast, she engaged Confederate batteries at Amelia Island
on 18 January and captured schooner
Mars on 5 February.
Keystone State arrived at Port Royal, South Carolina
for replacement on 18 March, and got underway again on 29 March. She chased a blockade runner and fired at another on 3 April, but both escaped. On 10 April, she chased schooner Liverpool of Nassau
ashore where she was burned to the water's edge. Schooner Dixie fell prey to the vigilant blockader on 15 April, steamer Elizabeth then struck her colors on 29 May, and schooner Cora surrendered two days later. Keystone State took blockade runner Sarah off Charleston on 20 June and pursued an unidentified steamer all day and night of 24 June before giving up the chase. She took schooner Fanny attempting to slip into Charleston with a cargo of salt on 22 August.
However, this was dangerous work, and Keystone State well earned her long list of prizes. On 31 January 1863, she discovered a ship off Charleston, stood fast, and fired at her. The ship responded in kind, from time to time hitting the blockader. At 06:00, a shot ripped into Keystone States steam drum, scalding an officer and 19 men to death and wounding another 20. Later that morning, towed Keystone State to Port Royal for repairs. Ready for action again, she got underway on George Washington's Birthday (22 February) for blockading station off St. Simons Sound
, Georgia
, where she served until departing for Philadelphia on 2 June for repairs at the Navy Yard, where she decommissioned on 10 June.
in command, and stood out from Delaware Capes on 27 October. Three days later she joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Wilmington
, North Carolina
. While cruising off Wilmington, the veteran side wheeler captured the steamer Margaret and Jessie
on 5 November. On 29 May 1864, she picked up 235 bales of cotton which had been thrown overboard by a chase; and the next day she captured steamer Caledonia. She took steamer Suez off Beaufort, North Carolina
on 5 June and steamer Rouen at sea July 2. On 26 July, she chased a steamer which escaped after throwing her cargo of cotton overboard. Keystone State then picked up over 60 bales. On a similar occasion on 8 August, she salvaged 225 bales. On 24 August, she chased and captured steamer Lilian and, with , picked up 58 bales. On 5 September, with , she chased and fired at steamer Elsie. A shell exploded in the blockade runner's forward hold, starting a fire which Keystone State extinguished. Keystone State then escorted her prize to Beaufort, North Carolina.
, which protected the important Confederate port of Wilmington. Shortly after dawn on Christmas Eve
, Keystone State, steaming with the reserve squadron of the fleet in line of battle, got under way toward Fort Fisher. Her guns, firing over and between the ships in the first echelon, supported troops as they landed and fought to take the fort. However, late in the afternoon, the Union Army
commander, General
Benjamin Franklin Butler
, decided that the Confederate works could not be taken and ordered his troops to reembark. Keystone State withdrew to Beaufort.
David Dixon Porter
, the Union Navy commander, was not to be thwarted. He renewed the attack on Fort Fisher on 13 January 1865 with a force of 59 warships. He sent some 2,000 sailors and marines ashore to aid the 8,000 Army troops led by Major General
Alfred H. Terry. After three days of bitter fighting, the bravely defended Confederate fortress fell, closing the South's last supply line with Europe
. Keystone State reached the scene before dawn on 16 January and received the wounded.
, Maryland
on 20 March. Keystone State decommissioned on 25 March and was sold at auction at Washington, D.C.
on 15 September to M. O. Roberts. She was redocumented as SS San Francisco on 22 December, and operated in merchant service until 1879.
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
that served in the Union Navy
Union Navy
The 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...
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...
.
Keystone State was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1853 by J. W. Lynn. She was chartered by the Navy on 19 April 1861 from the Ocean Steam Navigation Co. at Philadelphia, and purchased on 10 June 1861. She commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 July 1861, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
G. H. Scott in command.
Caribbean, 1861
Chartered to search for Confederate raiderRaider (piracy)
A raider is a person who commits robbery at sea. With use of raid tactics, the raiders uses the naval strategy of attacking an opponent's commercial shipping rather than contending for command of the sea with its naval forces. The raiders destroy supplies of the enemy instead of engaging the...
CSS Sumter
CSS Sumter
CSS Sumter, a 473-ton bark-rigged screw steam cruiser, was built as the merchant steamship Habana at Philadelphia in 1859 for McConnell's New Orleans & Havana Line. Purchased by the Confederate Government at New Orleans in April 1861, she was converted to a cruiser and placed under the command of...
, she shared in the capture of Hiawatha at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
on 10 May 1861. When her charter expired on 23 May, she returned to Philadelphia, where she was purchased, fitted out, and commissioned. She left the Delaware Capes on 21 July and cruised in the West Indies seeking Confederate blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
s in Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
ports. On the high seas, she captured Saloon on 10 October and towed her to Philadelphia via Key West
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 1861-1863
At Philadelphia, Cdr. William Edgar Leroy took command of the ship on 12 November. The sidewheeler stood down the Delaware RiverDelaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
and out to sea on 8 December, visited Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, and arrived Hampton Roads the day after Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. She got underway on 9 January 1862, and joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Charleston
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...
, South Carolina
South 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...
on 13 January.
Ordered to the Florida coast, she engaged Confederate batteries at Amelia Island
Amelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
on 18 January and captured schooner
Schooner
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....
Mars on 5 February.
Keystone State arrived at Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
for replacement on 18 March, and got underway again on 29 March. She chased a blockade runner and fired at another on 3 April, but both escaped. On 10 April, she chased schooner Liverpool of Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
ashore where she was burned to the water's edge. Schooner Dixie fell prey to the vigilant blockader on 15 April, steamer Elizabeth then struck her colors on 29 May, and schooner Cora surrendered two days later. Keystone State took blockade runner Sarah off Charleston on 20 June and pursued an unidentified steamer all day and night of 24 June before giving up the chase. She took schooner Fanny attempting to slip into Charleston with a cargo of salt on 22 August.
However, this was dangerous work, and Keystone State well earned her long list of prizes. On 31 January 1863, she discovered a ship off Charleston, stood fast, and fired at her. The ship responded in kind, from time to time hitting the blockader. At 06:00, a shot ripped into Keystone States steam drum, scalding an officer and 19 men to death and wounding another 20. Later that morning, towed Keystone State to Port Royal for repairs. Ready for action again, she got underway on George Washington's Birthday (22 February) for blockading station off St. Simons Sound
St. Simons Sound
St. Simons Sound is a sound in Georgia that lies between Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island. It is part of the waterway from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Brunswick River to the port at Brunswick, Georgia. The St. Simons lighthouse stands on the north side of the sound....
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, where she served until departing for Philadelphia on 2 June for repairs at the Navy Yard, where she decommissioned on 10 June.
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 1863-1865
Keystone State recommissioned on 3 October, Cdr. Edward DonaldsonEdward Donaldson
Edward Donaldson naval officer, was a rear admiral in the United States Navy.-Biography:...
in command, and stood out from Delaware Capes on 27 October. Three days later she joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, 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...
. While cruising off Wilmington, the veteran side wheeler captured the steamer Margaret and Jessie
USS Gettysburg (1858)
The first USS Gettysburg was a steamer in the Union Navy.The ship was built in Glasgow, Scotland in 1858, named Douglas, and operated for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company between Liverpool, United Kingdom and Douglas on the Isle of Man until November 1862...
on 5 November. On 29 May 1864, she picked up 235 bales of cotton which had been thrown overboard by a chase; and the next day she captured steamer Caledonia. She took steamer Suez off Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1709, it is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.The population was 4,189 at the 2008 census and it is the county seat of Carteret County...
on 5 June and steamer Rouen at sea July 2. On 26 July, she chased a steamer which escaped after throwing her cargo of cotton overboard. Keystone State then picked up over 60 bales. On a similar occasion on 8 August, she salvaged 225 bales. On 24 August, she chased and captured steamer Lilian and, with , picked up 58 bales. On 5 September, with , she chased and fired at steamer Elsie. A shell exploded in the blockade runner's forward hold, starting a fire which Keystone State extinguished. Keystone State then escorted her prize to Beaufort, North Carolina.
First Battle of Fort Fisher, December 1864
During the fall of 1864, the sidewheeler continued blockade duty off the North Carolina coast; and, as winter set in, she prepared to attack Fort FisherFort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....
, which protected the important Confederate port of Wilmington. Shortly after dawn on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, Keystone State, steaming with the reserve squadron of the fleet in line of battle, got under way toward Fort Fisher. Her guns, firing over and between the ships in the first echelon, supported troops as they landed and fought to take the fort. However, late in the afternoon, the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
commander, General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
Benjamin Franklin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
, decided that the Confederate works could not be taken and ordered his troops to reembark. Keystone State withdrew to Beaufort.
Second Battle of Fort Fisher, January 1865
Rear AdmiralRear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...
, the Union Navy commander, was not to be thwarted. He renewed the attack on Fort Fisher on 13 January 1865 with a force of 59 warships. He sent some 2,000 sailors and marines ashore to aid the 8,000 Army troops led by Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Alfred H. Terry. After three days of bitter fighting, the bravely defended Confederate fortress fell, closing the South's last supply line with Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Keystone State reached the scene before dawn on 16 January and received the wounded.
End of the War, 1865
After the capture of Wilmington, the sidewheeler continued to operate along the Carolina coast supporting clean-up operations which snuffed out Southern resistance. She got underway on 13 March towing monitor to Hampton Roads, and arrived at BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
on 20 March. Keystone State decommissioned on 25 March and was sold at auction at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on 15 September to M. O. Roberts. She was redocumented as SS San Francisco on 22 December, and operated in merchant service until 1879.