USS Tacony (1863)

USS Tacony (1863)

USS "Tacony" (1863) was a double-ended, side-wheel steamboat acquired by the Union Navy during the third year of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a heavy gunboat with powerful guns and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.

Built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, "Tacony" – the first ship to be so-named by the U.S. Navy -- was launched on 7 May 1863; sponsored by Miss Ellie M. Wells, daughter of Lieutenant Commander Clark H. Wells, the captain of the yard at Philadelphia; and commissioned there on 12 February 1864, Lt. Comdr. William T. Truxtun in command.

Civil War operations

Assigned to the East Gulf blockade

The double-ender was assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and sailed south from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania soon thereafter, bound for Key West, Florida. She reached Newport News, Virginia, on the 15th and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs to her steering machinery. While the steamer was undergoing this yard work, a dispatch arrived reassigning her to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Reassigned to the North Atlantic blockade

She departed Hampton Roads before dawn on the morning of 27 February, bound for the North Carolina sounds to strengthen Union forces afloat in those dangerous waters against the attacks by the Confederate ironclad ram "Albemarle", then reportedly nearing completion up the Roanoke River. But for a brief run -- via Norfolk, Virginia -- to Washington, D.C. for repair, she served in the sounds until after the destruction of "Albemarle" on the night of 27 October and 28 October.

Supporting the attack on Fort Fisher

In December, "Tacony" left the sounds to join the force Rear Admiral David D. Porter was assembling to destroy the defenses of Wilmington, North Carolina; and she participated in the abortive attack against Fort Fisher on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She was part of the powerful fleet which Porter led back to Fort Fisher in mid-January 1865, and she supported the effort which finally compelled that valuable Confederate stronghold to surrender on the 15th. She also participated in the attack against Fort Anderson late in the month.

The ship continued blockade duty through the collapse of the Confederacy and then sailed north.

Post-war service and decommissioning

She was decommissioned at Boston, Massachusetts on 21 June 1865 for repairs. Recommissioned on 16 September 1865, the ship served -- but for another period out of commission undergoing repairs from 21 November 1866 to 12 February 1867 — until 7 October 1867 when she was decommissioned for the final time at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. "Tacony" remained in ordinary until 26 August 1868 when she was sold. No trace of her subsequent career has been found.

References

See also

* United States Navy
* American Civil War
* Confederate States Navy

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-t/tacony.htm USS Tacony]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • USS Tacony — is a name used more than once by the U.S. Navy:* USS Tacony (1863), an American Civil War gunboat.* USS Tacony (SP 5), a wooden screw steam yacht built in 1911. References …   Wikipedia

  • USS Aries (1863) — was a 820 ton iron screw steamer built at Sunderland, England, during 1861 1862, intended for employment as a blockade runner during the American Civil War. She was captured by Union Navy forces during the Union blockade of the Confederate States …   Wikipedia

  • USS Howquah (1863) — The USS Howquah was purchased by the Union Navy in Boston from G. W. Upton on 17 June 1863, for action against Confederate commerce raider CSS Tacony which was then preying upon Northern merchantmen during what Professor Richard S. West has… …   Wikipedia

  • Tacony — * Tacony, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an area of northeast Philadelphia * Tacony (SEPTA station), a railroad station in Tacony, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Tacony Palmyra Bridge, a bridge connecting Palmyra, New Jersey and Tacony, Philadelphia,… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Adela (1862) — 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 In the spring of… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Kittatinny (1861) — was a schooner 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. Commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard Kittatinny was a three …   Wikipedia

  • USS Iron Age (1862) — was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries. Iron Age was built at Kennebunk, Maine, in… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Western World (1856) — was a ship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries. Western World a screw steamer built in 1856 at… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Commodore Jones (1863) — was a ferryboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Ferryboats were of great value, since, because of their flat bottom and shallow draft, they could navigate streams and shallow waters that other ships could not.She was… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Dai Ching (1863) — was a steamship in the United States Navy. Dai Ching was constructed for the China trade in 1863; purchased by the Navy 21 April 1863; outfitted at New York Navy Yard; and commissioned 11 June 1863, Lieutenant Commander J. C. Chaplin in command.… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”