USS Young Rover (1861)
Encyclopedia
USS Young Rover (1861) was a bark
with auxiliary steam motor acquired 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.
; and commissioned there on 10 September 1861, Acting Master I. B. Studley in command.
received orders to report for duty with the Atlantic Blockading Squadron
. She arrived in Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the 17th and was soon dispatched to blockade duty off the Carolinas
.
On 1 November, she brought help and stood by during the rescue of a United States Marine Corps
battalion and the ship's company of the chartered steamer Governor which soon thereafter sank in a heavy gale off the southern Atlantic coast. Later that month, she returned to Hampton Roads and blockaded the mouth of the York River
. The warship operated out of Hampton Roads into the spring of 1862 serving as a unit of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron which was laboring to seal off the Confederate coast.
Flotilla to guard against the traffic in supplies to the South between Maryland
and Virginia
.
That assignment lasted less than a month. On 14 May 1862, she received orders to join the East Gulf Blockading Squadron at Key West, Florida
. She served briefly off the South Pass at the mouth of the Apalachicola River
in far northwestern Florida
and then settled down to a summer's worth of duty blockading St. Marks, Florida
, on Apalachee Bay
where the gulf coast of Florida begins its southward turn, and the Florida panhandle
becomes a peninsula
.
, for repairs. At the conclusion of the yard work, she resumed duty along the Atlantic Ocean
coast from the base at Hampton Roads and remained so employed during the winter of 1862 and 1863.
-- Fortress Monroe, Hampton Roads, and at the mouths of the James
and York Rivers—occupied her until the fall of 1864. On 20 November she received orders to proceed to the Delaware breakwater, there to protect American shipping entering and leaving the Delaware. She departed Hampton Roads on 1 December and arrived at the mouth of the Delaware River
several days later.
on 22 June 1865.
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
with auxiliary steam motor 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 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 in 1861 at the Boston Navy Yard
Young Rover, a bark with auxiliary steam propulsion, was purchased by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts, on 27 July 1861; converted to naval service at the Boston Navy YardBoston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
; and commissioned there on 10 September 1861, Acting Master I. B. Studley in command.
Assigned to the Atlantic Blockade
On 6 September, the warshipWarship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
received orders to report for duty with the Atlantic Blockading Squadron
Atlantic 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...
. She arrived in Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the 17th and was soon dispatched to blockade duty off the Carolinas
The Carolinas
The Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida...
.
On 1 November, she brought help and stood by during the rescue of a United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
battalion and the ship's company of the chartered steamer Governor which soon thereafter sank in a heavy gale off the southern Atlantic coast. Later that month, she returned to Hampton Roads and blockaded the mouth of the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
. The warship operated out of Hampton Roads into the spring of 1862 serving as a unit of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron which was laboring to seal off the Confederate coast.
Reassigned to the Potomac River Flotilla
On 17 April 1862, Young Rover was reassigned to the Potomac RiverPotomac 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...
Flotilla to guard against the traffic in supplies to the South between 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...
and 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...
.
That assignment lasted less than a month. On 14 May 1862, she received orders to join the East Gulf Blockading Squadron at 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...
. She served briefly off the South Pass at the mouth of the Apalachicola River
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...
in far northwestern 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 then settled down to a summer's worth of duty blockading 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:...
, on Apalachee Bay
Apalachee Bay
Apalachee Bay is a bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico occupying an indentation of the Florida coast to the west of where the Florida peninsula joins the United States mainland. It is bordered by Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla and Franklin counties. The Aucilla, Econfina, St. Marks and Ochlocknee...
where the gulf coast of Florida begins its southward turn, and the Florida panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
becomes a peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
.
Young Rover proceeds to Philadelphia for repairs
She returned to Key West early in October and, on the 11th, received orders to proceed to Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
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...
, for repairs. At the conclusion of the yard work, she resumed duty along the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast from the base at Hampton Roads and remained so employed during the winter of 1862 and 1863.
Continued operations along the Atlantic coast
After repairs at Baltimore, Maryland, in April and May of she returned to Hampton Roads where she began duty as guardship as a consequence of her deteriorating sailing and her almost nonexistent steaming abilities. That assignment, conducted at various locations in the southern Chesapeake BayChesapeake 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...
-- Fortress Monroe, Hampton Roads, and at the mouths of the James
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
and York Rivers—occupied her until the fall of 1864. On 20 November she received orders to proceed to the Delaware breakwater, there to protect American shipping entering and leaving the Delaware. She departed Hampton Roads on 1 December and arrived at the mouth of the Delaware River
Delaware 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...
several days later.
Final operations of the war
For the remainder of the war, she served on the Delaware River under the cognizance of the Commandant, Philadelphia Navy Yard.Post-war decommissioning and sale
Following the collapse of the Confederacy, Young Rover was sold at auction at the Boston Navy YardBoston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
on 22 June 1865.