- USS Quaker City (1854)
USS "Quaker City" (1854) was a heavy 1,428-ton side wheel
steamship leased by theUnion Navy at the start of theAmerican Civil War . She was subsequently purchased by the Navy, outfitted with a powerful 20-pounder long rifle, and assigned to help enforce theUnion blockade of the ports of theConfederate States of America .Constructed at Philadelphia in 1854
"Quaker City", a side wheel steamer built at
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , in1854 , was chartered by the Navy for thirty days25 April 1861 from Hargous & Co., re-chartered for 3 months25 May ; purchased12 August 1861 , and commissioned atNew York City 14 December 1861 , Comdr. James M. Frailey in command.Civil War service
Operating under lease
Placed in service only six days after President
Abraham Lincoln declared a blockade of the Confederate coast, "Quaker City" was one of the most active and effective blockaders in theUnion Navy . Stationed off the entrance toChesapeake Bay , she shared in the capture of ship "North Carolina"14 May , ofbark "Pioneer" inHampton Roads on the 25th, and of bark "Winifred" offCape Henry the same day.She captured "schooner" "Lynchburg", carrying coffee in the Chesapeake Bay
30 May and took bark "General Green" off Cape Henry4 June . Already a veteran, she shared in the capture of "Amy Warwick" in Hampton Roads on the 10th, took bark "Sally Magee" there on the 26th, and shared in taking schooner "Sally Mears" on1 July . Schooner "Fair Wind" became her prize29 August , and the side wheeler shared in the capture of steamer "Elsie"4 September . Three days later she sailed north for repairs and to receive a Navy crew and organization.Assigned to search for commerce raiders
Commissioned at
New York City 14 December , "Quaker City" was detached from theNorth Atlantic Blockading Squadron to cruise in search of CSS "Sumter" and turned her attention to hunting Confederate raiders. She captured "Model" in theGulf of Mexico 30 June 1862 and "Lilla" carrying drugs off Hole-in-Wall, Virginia,3 July 1862 . Four days later, she helped "Huntsville" take "Adela" off theBahamas , and on the 24th blockade runner "Orion" at Champeche Bank, south ofKey West, Florida . "Mercury" struck to the side wheeler offCharleston, South Carolina ,4 January 1863 , and "Quaker City" shared in the capture of "Princess Royal" on the 29th. Two days later she helped fight CSS "Chicora" and CSS "Palmetto State" when the Confederate rams attacked the Union squadron in the morning fog off Charleston.She suffered considerable damage from a shell which entered about seven feet above the water line and exploded in the engine room. This damage and the wear from her hard service took its toll forcing her north for overhaul. Departing Port Royal
8 March , she took schooner "Douro" offWilmington, North Carolina , the following day, heading for Nassau with a cargo ofcotton ,turpentine , andtobacco . Back in action she picked up 40 bales of cotton at sea26 June 1864 and shared in the capture of steamer "Elsie" off Charleston5 September . She participated in the abortive attack onFort Fisher ,North Carolina , onChristmas Eve .Gulf of Mexico operations
Cruising in the
Gulf of Mexico , she took schooner "R. H. Vermilyea"12 March 1865 , "Telemico" on the 16th and "George Burkhart" the next day. Steamer "Cora" surrendered to her near Brazos Santiago,Texas , on the 24th. She chased CSS "Webb" as the Confederate steamer attempted to run down theMississippi River and escape to sea24 April .Post-war decommissioning and subsequent career
After the war, "Quaker City" decommissioned at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard 18 May 1865 and was sold at auction there20 June 1865 . Redocumented11 August 1865 , "Quaker City" served American commerce under United States registry until sold abroad in1869 .During a trip to
Europe in1867 , she was the scene of some of the tales related byMark Twain in his book "The Innocents Abroad ". The steamer was sold and renamed "Columbia" in1869 , then, after joining the Haitian Navy in the same year, became "Mont Organisé". Sold again in February1871 , she was renamed "République", but was lost at sea offBermuda later in that month.References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War
*Confederate States Navy External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-q/quakr-cy.htm USS Quaker City (1861-1865)]
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