- USS Norwich (1861)
USS "Norwich", a wooden, screw steamer built at
Norwich, CT ., in 1861, was purchased by theUnited States Navy atNew York City 26 September 1861 from J. M. Huntington & Co.; and commissioned at theNew York Navy Yard 28 December 1861,Lieutenant James M. Duncan in command."Norwich" got underway
2 January 1862 forPort Royal, SC where she joined theSouth Atlantic Blockading Squadron . She was stationed offSavannah, GA andblockade d that important port during the following two months.On
10 March 1863 , she and "Uncas" escortedtroop transport s upSt. Johns River and shelled Confederate positions defendingJacksonville, Florida , clearing the way forUnion Army landings. After destroying much of the city, Union forces evacuated the Jacksonville area late in the month. On19 August , a boat expedition from "Norwich" and "Hale" destroyed a Confederatesignal station near Jacksonville.Early in February 1864,
Major General Quincy A. Gillmore advisedRear Admiral John A. Dahlgren of his intention "... to throw a force intoFlorida on the west bank of St. Johns River." He requested the support of two or three naval gunboats for the operation. Dahlgren promptly detailed steamers "Ottawa" and "Norwich" to convoy the Army troops to Jacksonville and ordered screw steamer "Dai Ching" and side wheelers "Mahaska" and "Water Witch" up the St. Johns. The Admiral himself went to Florida to take a personal hand in directing his forces to "... keep open the communications by the river and give any assistance to the troops which operations may need." With the gunboats deployed according to Dahlgren's instructions, the soldiers, underBrigadier General Truman Seymour , landed at Jacksonville, moved inland, captured fieldpieces and took a large quantity of cotton. On the 7th, "Norwich" trappedblockade runner "St. Mary's" in Me Girt's Creek, above Jacksonville where she was scuttled and her cargo of cotton destroyed to prevent capture.A strong Confederate
counterattack commenced on20 February and compelled the Union troops to fall back on Jacksonville where the gunboats stood by to defend the city. Navalhowitzer s were put ashore in battery, manned byseamen .Commander George Balch , senior naval officer present, reported: "I had abundant reasons to believe that to the naval force must our troops be indebted for protection against a greatly superior force flushed with victory." Seymour expressed his appreciation for Balch's quick action "... at a moment when it appeared probable that the vigorous assistance of the force under your command would be necessary.""Norwich" continued to perform blockade duty along the coast and in the rivers of Florida and Georgia through the end of the Civil War. She decommissioned at
Philadelphia, PA 30 June 1865 and was sold at public auction there10 August 1865. Redocumented14 October 1865, as SS Norwich she remained in merchant service until lost at sea on17 February 1873 .See also
* See USS "Norwich" for other ships of this name.
References
External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/n6/norwich.htm history.navy.mil/DANFS: USS "Norwich"]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-n/norwich.htm history.navy.mil/USNSH: USS "Norwich"]
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