- USS Samuel Rotan (1861)
USS "Samuel Rotan" (1861) was a
schooner acquired by theUnion Navy during theAmerican Civil War .She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.
Purchased at Philadelphia in 1861
"Samuel Rotan", a wooden, center-board schooner purchased by the Navy at
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , on21 September 1861 , was fitted out as agunboat at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard ; and commissioned there on12 November 1861 , Acting Master John A. Rogers in command.Civil War service
Assigned to the Gulf Blockading Squadron
Assigned to the
Gulf Blockading Squadron , the schooner arrived offFort Pickens, Florida , on16 December 1861 . After areconnaissance voyage to theTexas coast, she performed blockade duty off theMississippi River passes; and, on23 January 1862 , captured Confederate privateer, "Calhoun", in East Bay, formed by the Southwest-Pass and Grand-Pass fingers of theMississippi delta . The prize had been attempting to slip into the Southwest Pass laden with over 25 tons ofgunpowder , rifles, chemicals, coffee, and other assorted cargo needed by the Confederacy. Since "Calhoun" was not deemed able to make the voyage north during the stormy winter months, her papers and cargo were transferred to "Samuel Rotan" which sailed fromShip Island, Mississippi , in mid-February and carried them north for adjudication in the PhiladelphiaPrize Court .Reassigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron
Meanwhile, on
20 January 1862 ,Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles , on splitting naval jurisdiction in theGulf of Mexico between Flag Officers McKean andDavid Farragut , had given "Samuel Rotan" to the former for service in theEast Gulf Blockading Squadron . The schooner joined her squadron atKey West, Florida , in April and, into the autumn, blockaded theFlorida coast, primarily off St. Andrews Bay. Badly in need of repairs, she sailed north in November for work in thePhiladelphia Navy Yard .North Atlantic Blockade duty
In January
1863 , "Samuel Rotan" joined theNorth Atlantic Blockading Squadron and was ordered to the York River for blockade duty. On the morning of24 April , she and "Western World" captured schooners, "Martha Ann" and "A. Carson", off Horn Harbor. On2 July , she took 35-ton schooner, "Champion", off the mouth of thePiankatank River .On the 27th, her picket boat seized a
canoe which had run the blockade from the Severn River,Virginia , laden with corn,chickens , and eggs. On10 October , her picket boat chased a yawl standing up the beach ofHorn Harbor, Virginia . Its occupants jumped overboard and fled to the beach. Then the Southerners fired upon the Union sailors who came up and took possession of the little prize and its cargo of salt. Soon thereafter, the schooner's need for repairs became serious, and she proceeded to theNorfolk Navy Yard for the work. Late in January1864 , she was back on blockade duty off the west coast ofChesapeake Bay , and she continued this duty into the autumn. Then she was transferred to the James River to help support GeneralU.S. Grant 's operations againstRichmond, Virginia . Early in December1864 , she was back off the York River and served in that area into the spring of1865 .End-of-war decommissioning and sale
In April, she sailed north for inactivation; and she was decommissioned at the
New York Navy Yard on10 June 1865 . The schooner was sold there on15 August 1865 to a Mr. Stannard.References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s4/samuel_rotan.htm USS Samuel Rotan]
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