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USS Rescue (1861)
Encyclopedia
USS Rescue (1861) was a small (111-ton) steamer commissioned by the Union Navy
during the American Civil War
.
She served the navy during the blockade of ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America
as an gunship
and dispatch boat
. After the war’s end, Rescue continued to serve the Navy, but this time as a tugboat
and as a fireboat
.
, was purchased for the Navy on 21 August 1861; fitted out at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
; and ordered to join the Potomac Flotilla
.
. By the 18th, she had shifted to the Mathias Point-Popes Creek area where she seized the schooner
Harford and her cargo of wheat and tobacco.
On 11 October, the gunboat, with Resolute
and Union
, captured and burned the schooner Martha Washington which had been awaiting Confederate troops in Quantico (Dumfries) Creek
. Ten days later, she returned to Mathias Point to engage enemy batteries there.
A week of courier duty followed; and, on the 28th, she was detached from the Potomac Flotilla and ordered to the Rappahannock River
for duty in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
for repairs, after which she got underway for Port Royal, South Carolina
, and duty in Samuel Francis Du Pont
's squadron, then blockading Charleston, South Carolina
.
Rescue arrived at Port Royal early in November. Through the summer of 1863, she performed tug and patrol duties in the anchorage area and in September shifted to Charleston. In October she returned to Port Royal to continue tug and patrol duties there until June 1864 when she was ordered to Baltimore, Maryland, for repairs.
On 2 September, she departed Baltimore and shortly thereafter resumed duty with the Potomac Flotilla. Stationed in the St. Mary's
area, Rescue remained in the Potomac Flotilla through the end of the Civil War.
, where for the next 24 years she served as a district craft, first as a tug, then as a fireboat
. Declared unserviceable in 1889, she was condemned and sold on 25 March 1891.
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...
.
She served the navy during the blockade of ports and waterways 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...
as an gunship
Gunship
The term "gunship" is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light craft armed with heavy guns.-In Navy:In the Navy, the term originally appeared in the mid-19th century as a less-common synonym for gunboat.-In military aviation:...
and dispatch boat
Dispatch boat
Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore...
. After the war’s end, Rescue continued to serve the Navy, but this time as a tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
and as a fireboat
Fireboat
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft and with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment....
.
Fitted out in Philadelphia in 1861
Rescue, built for the builders account in 1861 by Harlan and Hollingsworth, Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, was purchased for the Navy on 21 August 1861; fitted out at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, 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,...
; and ordered to join the Potomac Flotilla
Potomac Flotilla
The Potomac Flotilla, or the Potomac Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to disrupt Confederate communications and shipping in the...
.
Potomac River patrol
Under the command of Lt. H. S. Newcomb, Rescue joined the flotilla prior to mid-September and took up station near Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. By the 18th, she had shifted to the Mathias Point-Popes Creek area where she seized the 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....
Harford and her cargo of wheat and tobacco.
On 11 October, the gunboat, with Resolute
USS Resolute (1860)
The first USS Resolute was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.She was purchased by the Union Navy to be part of the fleet of ships stationed in coastal waterways to prevent blockade runners from entering or departing ports of the Confederacy...
and Union
USS Union (1861)
USS Union was a heavy steamer with a powerful 12-inch rifled gun purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War....
, captured and burned the schooner Martha Washington which had been awaiting Confederate troops in Quantico (Dumfries) Creek
Quantico Creek
Quantico Creek is a tidal tributary of the Potomac River in eastern Prince William County, Virginia. Quantico Creek rises southeast of Independent Hill, flows through Prince William Forest Park and Dumfries and empties into the Potomac at Possum Point....
. Ten days later, she returned to Mathias Point to engage enemy batteries there.
A week of courier duty followed; and, on the 28th, she was detached from the Potomac Flotilla and ordered to the Rappahannock River
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...
for duty in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
Assigned to the North Atlantic blockade
On 6 November she captured and burned the schooner Ada at Corrotman Creek and, on the 8th, seized the ammunition storage ship Urbana. At midmonth she was ordered to Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she assumed tug and patrol duties which took her into 1862. In October 1862 she moved up to 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....
for repairs, after which she got underway for 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...
, and duty in Samuel Francis Du Pont
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
's squadron, then blockading 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...
.
Rescue arrived at Port Royal early in November. Through the summer of 1863, she performed tug and patrol duties in the anchorage area and in September shifted to Charleston. In October she returned to Port Royal to continue tug and patrol duties there until June 1864 when she was ordered to Baltimore, Maryland, for repairs.
On 2 September, she departed Baltimore and shortly thereafter resumed duty with the Potomac Flotilla. Stationed in the St. Mary's
St. Mary's City, Maryland
St. Mary's City, in St. Mary's County, Maryland, is a small unincorporated community near the southernmost end of the state on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is located on the eastern shore of the St. Mary's River, a tributary of the Potomac. St. Mary's City is the fourth oldest...
area, Rescue remained in the Potomac Flotilla through the end of the Civil War.
Post-Civil War service
She then proceeded to 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....
, where for the next 24 years she served as a district craft, first as a tug, then as a fireboat
Fireboat
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft and with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment....
. Declared unserviceable in 1889, she was condemned and sold on 25 March 1891.