USS Tahoma was a built by order of the United States 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...

 for service 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...

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Tahoma was used by the Union Navy 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 support of the Union Navy blockade of 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...

 waterways.

Commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard

Tahoma -- a wooden-hulled, 4th rate screw gunboat constructed during 1861 at Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington, 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...

, by W. and A. Thatcher -- was launched on 2 October 1861; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 20 December 1861, Lt. Comdr. John C. Howell in command.

Assigned to the East Gulf Blockade

Assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, Tahoma remained with this force for her entire career through the Civil War. On 26 April 1862, while patrolling east of Sea Horse 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...

, the screw gunboat chased a 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....

 until the quarry ran aground where she was destroyed. Two months later, Tahoma raided St. Marks, Florida

St. Marks, Florida

St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 272 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 299 .-Geography:...

, burned a barracks and destroyed a battery of cannon before heading out to sea, unscathed.

Blockade runner Uncle Mose carelessly approaches Tahoma

While patrolling off the Yucatan Peninsula

Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...

 on 7 July, Tahoma captured the blockade-running schooner Uncle Mose, which had sailed unawares up to where the gunboat had anchored. Comdr. Howell later reported that the Confederate captain was astonished "at finding a man-of-war where we were anchored." The prize was laden with 115 bales of badly needed cotton.

Sending ashore a landing party on Sea Horse Key

After patrol duty in the late summer and early fall, Tahoma helped to destroy three important Confederate salt works. On the morning of 6 October, Tahoma, and Somerset

USS Somerset (1862)

USS Somerset was a wooden-hulled, side-wheel ferryboat built at Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1862, which was purchased by the Navy at Washington, D. C., on 4 March 1862 and was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 3 April 1862, Lt...

 lay to off Sea Horse Key and sent ashore a landing party of 111 men in eight boats. A pre-landing bombardment of shell, shrapnel, and canister

Canister shot

Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. It was similar to the naval grapeshot, but fired smaller and more numerous balls, which did not have to punch through the wooden hull of a ship...

 fired from the howitzers mounted in two of the boats scattered some 20 to 30 armed Confederate guerrillas.

The sailors quickly landed and deployed to cover the boats. Working parties destroyed 28 boilers and burned all buildings in the vicinity. As Howell subsequently reported:

"the expedition was entirely successful ... no confusion was exhibited on landing ... no useless expenditure of ammunition, and no one hurt."

Capturing seven blockade runners

While operating along the Florida coast during the first six months of 1863, Tahoma captured seven blockade runners: the cotton-laden 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....

 Silas Henry at Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...

 on 8 January; British schooner Margaret off St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

, on 1 February; the yacht

Yacht

A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...

 Stonewall off Pea Creek on 22 February; schooner Crazy Jane, carrying a cargo of cotton and turpentine

Turpentine

Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...

, near Gadsden's Point on 5 May; cotton-carrying schooner Statesman in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...

 on 6 June; the British blockade-running schooner Harrietton off Anclote Key

Anclote Key

Anclote Key is an island off the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located at 28°11'16"N, 82°50'44"W near Tarpon Springs. Its name originates from the Spanish term for "anchor." The island is accessible only by boat and is split between Anclote Key Preserve State Park and Anclote National...

s on 18 June; and Mary Jane, destroyed on the same day at Clearwater, Florida

Clearwater, Florida

Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...

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Also during this period, Tahoma engaged a Confederate shore battery at Gadsden's Point on 2 April.

Attacking and destroying vital Confederate salt works

Tahoma and Adela

USS Adela (1862)

USS Adela was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.-Planning, in England, to run the Union Blockade:...

 landed an expeditionary force at Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, on 17 October 1863 and burned the steamer Scottish Chief as well as the sloop Kate Dale. Operating out of Key West, Florida

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...

, from January 1864, Tahoma launched two daring raids against Confederate salt works in February of that year.

On the morning of 17 February, a landing force went ashore in two detachments and marched seven miles inland to destroy salt works at St. Marks, Florida

St. Marks, Florida

St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 272 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 299 .-Geography:...

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Ten days later, another force went ashore to destroy an even more distant station near Goose Creek. On the latter occasion, the landing party eluded Confederate cavalry and brought off a dozen prisoners, including a captain from an infantry company. Before their destruction, these two salt works had produced some 2,500 bushels of salt -- important not only for preserving food but also for making gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

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Recommissioned for post-war operations

In the summer, the gunboat steamed north for repairs and was placed out of commission at the New York Navy Yard on 23 July 1864.

After the completion of her overhaul, the ship was recommissioned on 13 April 1865 and operated off the U.S. East Coast until decommissioned at Boston, Massachusetts, on 27 July of the same year. The ship again served on active duty, this time with the Gulf Squadron, from the fall of 1866 into the summer of 1867.

Post-war decommissioning and sale

Tahoma was decommissioned for the last time on 27 August 1867. The ship was later sold on 7 October that same year at 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...

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