USS Colonel Kinsman (1862)

USS "Colonel Kinsman" (1862) was a gunboat captured by the Union Army during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Army with Navy officers as a gunboat until transferred to the Union Navy, when she continued her work as a gunboat until she hit a snag and sank.

ervice with the Union

Capture

"Colonel Kinsman", a sidewheel steamer, was captured by the Union Army at New Orleans, Louisiana, and fitted out as a gunboat at the direction of Major General Benjamin F. Butler for service in the rivers and bayous of Louisiana. At Butler's request, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut assigned naval officers to command the Army gunboats; Acting Volunteer Lieutenant George Wiggins was given command of "Colonel Kinsman" in October 1862.

Duel with ironclad "CSS J.A. Cotton"

On 3 November 1862 in Bayou Teche, Louisiana, "Colonel Kinsman" joined a vigorous action against Confederate troops and the ironclad gunboat "CSS J. A. Cotton". Moving close inshore, "Colonel Kinsman" dispersed an artillery battery, all the while firing at the gunboat. "Colonel Kinsman" was hit more than 50 times in this heated engagement, suffering 2 killed and 4 wounded.

Official transfer to Union Navy

The gunboat was officially transferred to the Navy on 1 January 1863, Lieutenant Wiggins remaining in command. "Colonel Kinsman" was damaged in Bayou Teche on 14 January 1863 when with other Union ships, she again fought Confederate shore batteries and "CSS J. A. Cotton". This time the Confederate gunboat was damaged so severely that she had to be destroyed.

inking

"Colonel Kinsman's" career ended on 23 February 1863 while on a reconnaissance of Berwick Bay when she struck a hidden snag and ripped open her bottom. Despite being beached, she filled and slid off the steep bank into deep water where she sank near Brashear City, Louisiana. Five of her crew were lost.

References

See also

* United States Navy
* American Civil War

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c11/colonel_kinsman.htm Colonel Kinsman]