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USS Resolute (1860)
Encyclopedia
The first USS Resolute (1860) was a steamer
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...
acquired by 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...
.
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
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...
. She served 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:...
and, at times, as a ship's tender
Ship's tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
and, at war's end, was sold at auction.
Built in New Jersey in 1860
Resolute, a wooden, screw tug built in 1860 at Keyport, New JerseyKeyport, New Jersey
Keyport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,240. Keyport's nickname is the "Pearl of the Bayshore" or the "Gateway to the Bayshore"....
, was purchased by the Navy 7 May 1861 from A. Degroot of 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...
; and commissioned 12 May 1861, Acting Master William Budd in command.
Assigned to the Potomac Flotilla
Assigned to the Union Navy's Potomac FlotillaPotomac 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...
, Resolute went into action 29 May 1861 in company with , , and Navy landing parties against Confederate shore batteries at Aquia Creek
Aquia Creek
Aquia Creek is a tributary of the tidal segment of the Potomac River and is located in northern Virginia. The creek's headwaters lie in southeastern Fauquier County, and it empties into the Potomac at Brent Point in Stafford County, south of Washington, D.C....
, 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...
.
While returning from a voyage up the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
to make topographical observations with Capt. W. R. Palmer, USA, on board, Resolute captured and burned the schooner Somerset 8 June 1861 in Breton Bay.
While patrolling upriver 7 July, she encountered and successfully swept two Confederate moored mines, among the first of their kind used in the Civil War. The enterprising tug captured the coaster Ocean Wave 18 July 1861 after a long chase off the mouth of the Great Wicomico River
Wicomico River (Potomac River)
The Wicomico River is a tributary of the lower tidal portion of the Potomac River located in the U.S. state of Maryland south of Washington, DC. The river empties into the Potomac at Cobb Island and St. Margaret's Island. The Wicomico's watershed drains of Charles, St. Mary's, and southern Prince...
but lost three killed and one wounded 15 August when her boat unsuccessfully attempted to capture a Confederate boat at Lower Cedar Point, Virginia
Lower Cedar Point Light
The Lower Cedar Point Light was a historic lighthouse in the Potomac River near its eponymous point, south of the present U.S. Route 301 bridge. It has been replaced by a skeleton tower.-History:Lightships were stationed at this location beginning in 1825...
.
Activity in the Virginia waterways
Resolute destroyed four boats 31 August 1861 inshore at Ferry Landing, Virginia; captured the 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....
Jones 11 August 1862 and the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Capitola 8 November 1862; and during mid-July 1863, operated close inshore in company with and under fire of Confederate shore batteries at Mathias Point to protect unloading operations from the grounded Army transport George Peabody.
Resolute patrolled St. Inigoes Creek, St. Mary's River, St. George's Creek, and the mouth of 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...
, into 1864. From August to October 1864, she acted as ship's tender
Ship's tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
to the coast defense monitor anchored off Point Lookout, Maryland
Point Lookout, Maryland
Point Lookout is a Maryland state park at the southern tip of St. Mary's County, Maryland. It is a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River....
. Subsequently under major overhaul 12 October 1864 to 11 January 1865 at Washington Navy Yard
Washington 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...
, Resolute returned to the Potomac Flotilla to resume cruising duty. Steaming largely off Cockpit Point
Battle of Cockpit Point
The Battle of Cockpit Point, the Battle of Freestone Point, or the Battle of Shipping Point, took place on January 3, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the blockade of the Potomac River during the American Civil War....
, Liverpool Point, and between Sandy Point
Sandy Point State Park
Sandy Point State Park is a Maryland state park located at Sandy Point, at the western end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The park is at the site of a former ferry landing that served the Chesapeake Bay Ferry System...
and Indian Head
Indian Head, Maryland
Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of nitrocellulose and smokeless powder began at the Indian Head Powder Factory in 1900...
,
Post-war decommissioning and sale
Resolute returned to 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...
at war's end and was decommissioned 26 May 1865. Resolute was sold 24 June 1865 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....
, to T. J. Southard. Redocumented 8 July 1865, she remained in merchant service until abandoned in 1899.