- USS Massachusetts (1860)
USS "Massachusetts" (1860) was a large steamer acquired by the
U.S. Navy prior to theAmerican Civil War .She was used by the
Union Navy as agunship in the blockade of Confederate ports. At war's end, she was outfitted as acargo ship and served in that capacity until finally decommissioned."Massachusetts", an iron screw steamer built at
Boston, Massachusetts , in1860 , was purchased by the Union Navy3 May 1861 from the Boston & Southern Steamship Co., and commissioned24 May 1861 at Boston, Commander Melancton Smith in command.Civil War service
Assigned to the
Gulf Blockading Squadron , "Massachusetts" steamed south10 May 1861 to anchor offKey West, Florida , departing there8 June forPensacola, Florida .The next day she took her first prize, British ship "Perthshire", near Pensacola. She captured "Achilles"
17 June and 2 days later took "Naham Stetson" offPass a l’0utre, Louisiana , and on the 23d captured Mexicanschooner "Brilliant" and the Confederate blockade running schooners "Trois Freres", "Olive Branch", "Fanny", and "Basile" in theGulf of Mexico .While "Massachusetts" was absent, the South had fortified Ship Island, and the batteries fired on her when she returned from Pensacola. She engaged the Confederate guns until she ran out of ammunition.
On
13 July she seized schooner "Hiland" near Ship Island, and next day engaged steamers "Arrow" and "Oregon" offChandeleur Islands , forcing them to withdraw. "Massachusetts" captured blockade-running sloop "Charles Henry" near Ship Island7 August and gained information onFort Pike , which guarded the entrance toLake Pontchartrain for the South.After repairs in early September, "Massachusetts" fortified Chandeleur Island and set up a light there
13 September . A landing party from the ship took possession of Ship Island17 September , thereby providing the Union Navy with a valuable shelter during storms and the base from which AdmiralDavid Farragut would launch his attack onNew Orleans, Louisiana . Returning to Ship Island20 September , "Massachusetts" attacked, causing the South to burn the barracks and desert Ship Island passage. "Massachusetts" operated near strategically important Ship Island through the remainder of the year. She thwarted Confederate efforts to transport freight through the passage2 December , captured a small fishing boat12 December , and turned back "Oregon", "Pamlico", "Gray Cloud", and "Florida" atMississippi Sound 19 December .Early in
1862 "Massachusetts" steamed northward to decommission atNew York City 28 February . Pitted out as a transport and supply ship, she recommissioned16 April and operated along the Atlantic coast until decommissioning at New York City3 December ."Massachusetts" recommissioned
10 March 1863 and but for a brief period in ordinary late that summer served theSouth Atlantic Blockading Squadron through the end of the war. She capturedsloop "Parsis" inWassaw Sound 12 March and with "Commodore Perry" capturedblockade runner "Caledonia"30 May 1864 south ofCape Fear after a 2 hour chase. In August she aided steamers "Gettysburg" and "Keystone State" in the capture of Confederate steamer "Lilian".On
19 March 1865 "Massachusetts" struck a torpedo (mine), which failed to explode, inCharleston Harbor .Post-war decommissioning
She decommissioned
22 September 1865 atNew York City and was sold there at public auction1 October 1867 . Documented11 February 1868 as "Crescent City", she served American commerce until1872 .References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m6/massachusetts-ii.htm
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.