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USS Union (1861)
Encyclopedia
USS Union (1861) was a heavy (1,114-ton) steamer with a powerful 12-inch rifled gun purchased by the Union Navy
during the American Civil War
.
She served the navy successfully as a gunship
during the blockade of ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America
, capturing numerous blockade runners. Towards war’s end, she was also assigned the role of dispatch boat
and, because of her large size, as a storeship, at the same time continuing to capture blockade runners.
-- was chartered by the Union Navy on 24 April 1861 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
; and was commissioned there on 16 May 1861, Comdr. John R. Goldsborough in command.
, and she steamed south to cruise off Charleston, South Carolina
, and Savannah, Georgia
, on 28 May. However, she soon headed back north and captured schooner
F. W. Johnson at sea off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
on 1 June. The following morning, she arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, with the prize.
After coaling, Union returned to the blockade off Savannah, Georgia
, and captured the brig Hallie Jackson there on the 10th. She arrived off Charleston, South Carolina
, on the morning of the 18th and, later that day, captured the blockade runner Amelia. Union sent Amelia north to Philadelphia in the charge of a prize master and delivered the prize's crew to Fort Monroe, Virginia, on the 23d.
and rigging in a collision with the Spanish ship Plus Ultra on 2 July. She was temporarily repaired at sea and sailed for Hampton Roads, Virginia, to refuel on 15 July. En route north, Union stopped at Georgetown, South Carolina
; Wilmington, North Carolina
; Ocracoke Inlet
, Hatteras Inlet
, and Hatteras Cove
in search of blockade running activity and reached her destination on 18 July.
Union was next deployed on blockade duty off Cape Hatteras
. On 28 July, she found the Northern merchant brig
B. T. Martin -- which had been captured by Confederate privateer
York -- hard aground north of the cape and destroyed the prize. She briefly put into Hampton Roads for coal on 5 August, then immediately returned to blockade duty off Hatteras, where she forced the Confederate privateer York aground on the 9th. Union returned to Hampton Roads on 14 August for emergency repairs and put into Baltimore, Maryland, the next day for alterations.
on the 16th. She left Baltimore, Maryland, the next day and arrived in the Potomac River
off Aquia Creek
, Virginia
, on 19 August. The vessel performed routine reconnaissance
and dispatch duties in the Potomac River and, despite heavy fire from shore, burned a large Confederate schooner in Dumfries Creek on 11 October. Union suffered no casualties during the action and received special commendation for her daring exploit from the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles
. The vessel remained in the Potomac until ordered north on 5 December. She was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 10 December.
for use as a supply and dispatch vessel
. She spent the remainder of the war operating between New York City
; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Port Royal, South Carolina
, and points scattered along the Florida
coast and the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.
Union also compiled an impressive list of captures during this time. These included the blockade-running British schooner Linnet, captured on 21 May 1863 west of Charlotte Harbor, Florida
, and the English steamer, Spaulding, taken off St. Andrew's Sound, Georgia, on 11 October. On 14 January 1864, Union seized steamer Mayflower and her cargo of cotton near Tampa Bay
, Florida
; and, on 26 April, she captured schooner O.K. south of the bay. The supply vessel's final prize was sloop Caroline, captured at Jupiter Inlet, Florida, on 10 June 1864.
. This disaster cost the lives of some 69 persons.
Category:Ships of 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 served the navy successfully as a 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:...
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...
, capturing numerous blockade runners. Towards war’s end, she was also assigned the role of 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...
and, because of her large size, as a storeship, at the same time continuing to capture blockade runners.
Commissioned in Philadelphia in 1861
Union -- a screw steamer built at Mystic, ConnecticutMystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
-- was chartered by the Union Navy on 24 April 1861 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 was commissioned there on 16 May 1861, Comdr. John R. Goldsborough in command.
Assigned to the Atlantic Blockade
The next day, Union was assigned to the Atlantic Blockading SquadronAtlantic Blockading Squadron
The Atlantic Blockading Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to enforce a blockade of the ports of the Confederate States...
, and she steamed south to cruise off 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...
, and Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, on 28 May. However, she soon headed back north 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....
F. W. Johnson at sea off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake 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...
on 1 June. The following morning, she arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, with the prize.
After coaling, Union returned to the blockade off Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, and captured the brig Hallie Jackson there on the 10th. She arrived off 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...
, on the morning of the 18th and, later that day, captured the blockade runner Amelia. Union sent Amelia north to Philadelphia in the charge of a prize master and delivered the prize's crew to Fort Monroe, Virginia, on the 23d.
Collision with blockade runner
Union left Hampton Roads on 27 June to rejoin the blockade off Charleston. She sustained considerable damage to her superstructureSuperstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
and rigging in a collision with the Spanish ship Plus Ultra on 2 July. She was temporarily repaired at sea and sailed for Hampton Roads, Virginia, to refuel on 15 July. En route north, Union stopped at Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Low Country. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina,...
; Wilmington, North Carolina
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...
; Ocracoke Inlet
Ocracoke Inlet
Ocracoke Inlet is an estuary located in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, United States that separates Ocracoke Island and Portsmouth Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. It is the southern terminus of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is the northern terminus of the...
, Hatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet is a estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County.- History :...
, and Hatteras Cove
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
in search of blockade running activity and reached her destination on 18 July.
Union was next deployed on blockade duty off Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
. On 28 July, she found the Northern merchant brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
B. T. Martin -- which had been captured by Confederate 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...
York -- hard aground north of the cape and destroyed the prize. She briefly put into Hampton Roads for coal on 5 August, then immediately returned to blockade duty off Hatteras, where she forced the Confederate privateer York aground on the 9th. Union returned to Hampton Roads on 14 August for emergency repairs and put into Baltimore, Maryland, the next day for alterations.
Transferred to the Potomac flotilla
While undergoing repairs, Union was transferred to the 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...
on the 16th. She left Baltimore, Maryland, the next day and arrived in 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...
off 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...
, on 19 August. The vessel performed routine reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
and dispatch duties in the Potomac River and, despite heavy fire from shore, burned a large Confederate schooner in Dumfries Creek on 11 October. Union suffered no casualties during the action and received special commendation for her daring exploit from the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
. The vessel remained in the Potomac until ordered north on 5 December. She was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 10 December.
Recommissioned as a supply and dispatch vessel
Union was recommissioned on 20 January 1863 and detailed to 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...
for use as a supply and dispatch vessel
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...
. She spent the remainder of the war operating between 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...
; Hampton Roads, Virginia; 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 points scattered along the 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...
coast and the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.
Union also compiled an impressive list of captures during this time. These included the blockade-running British schooner Linnet, captured on 21 May 1863 west of Charlotte Harbor, Florida
Charlotte Harbor, Florida
Charlotte Harbor is a census-designated place in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,647 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, and the English steamer, Spaulding, taken off St. Andrew's Sound, Georgia, on 11 October. On 14 January 1864, Union seized steamer Mayflower and her cargo of cotton near 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...
, 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...
; and, on 26 April, she captured schooner O.K. south of the bay. The supply vessel's final prize was sloop Caroline, captured at Jupiter Inlet, Florida, on 10 June 1864.
Post-war sale and subsequent career
Union completed several dispatch and supply missions after the war ended and was decommissioned at New York City on 29 September 1865. She was sold at auction there to W. H. Starbuck on 25 October and was re-documented as Missouri on 8 December. The steamer remained in merchant service until she caught fire and sank in the Bahamas on 22 October 1872, some 25 miles northeast of AbacoAbaco Islands
The Abaco Islands lie in the northern Bahamas and comprise the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco, together with the smaller Wood Cay, Elbow Cay, Lubbers Quarters Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Great Guana Cay, Castaway Cay, Man-o-War Cay, Stranger's Cay, Umbrella Cay, Walker's Cay, Little Grand...
. This disaster cost the lives of some 69 persons.
External links
Category:Ships of the Union Navy