- USS Reindeer (1863)
USS "Reindeer" (1863) was a steamer purchased by the
Union Navy during theAmerican Civil War .She was used by the Union Navy as a
gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways. Post-war she was converted into a dispatch vessel and served that function until finally decommissioned.Built in Cincinnati in 1863
"Reindeer", a wooden, stern-wheel "gunboat (No. 35)" built at
Cincinnati, Ohio , in the spring of1863 as "Rachel Miller", was purchased by the Navy there on13 June 1863 and placed in service early in July1863 .Civil War service
Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron
Reindeer joined the
Mississippi Squadron just asUnion Army and Navy efforts to open the entireMississippi River system to Federal shipping finally reached fruition with the capture of the South's river strongholds at Vicksburg, Mississippi, andPort Hudson, Louisiana .Opening of the Confederate waterways to Union Navy control
This achievement of Northern arms opened a new phase of the Civil War in the West. Control of the vast inland waterways, which meandered through the Confederacy, gave Union commanders strategic lines of supply and communication for campaigns which would pierce into the South's heartland to deprive the Confederacy of its centers of strength. To counter this strategy, Southern generals attempted to deprive the North of the use of these vital rivers. Lacking a powerful naval arm to challenge Federal forces afloat, the South resorted to
guerrilla raids and cavalry forays against Union bases along the riverbanks and on supply ships which plied the rivers bringing Mr. Lincoln's soldiers food, clothing, ammunition, and the other necessities of war.Supporting the effort to suppress Morgan’s Raiders
It was "Reindeer's" job to protect Northern shipping from Southern raiders. After Confederate Brig. Gen.
John H. Morgan crossed theOhio River and invaded the North with some 6,000 troops early in July, "Reindeer" joined a group of Union gunboats which patrolled the river for 10 days to prevent his crossing back to the southern bank and escaping. Aided by Union troops under Major GeneralAmbrose Burnside , they chased Morgan for almost 500 miles before they caught up with him atBuffington Island on the 19th and captured about half of the invading force.Reindeer finally officially commissioned
The crisis passed, "Reindeer" returned to Cincinnati for a belated commissioning ceremony on
25 July 1863 . She operated along the Ohio fromLouisville, Kentucky , toMadison, Indiana , watchful against guerrilla batteries as she patrolled the river and escorted transports and supply ships.Reassigned to Cumberland River operations
On
15 November , the gunboat was transferred to theCumberland River for similar duty. In the months that followed, she frequently engaged Confederate batteries which fired upon her from temporary positions along the riverbanks as she reconnoitered the upper Cumberland and supported Army operations inTennessee which would ultimately culminate in GeneralWilliam Tecumseh Sherman 's death thrust through Georgia to the sea. On11 April 1864 , "Reindeer" became a dispatch vessel for the Navy base atMound City, Illinois , and served in that capacity until she decommissioned on7 August 1865 .Post-war disposal and subsequent civilian career
She was sold at public auction on
17 August 1865 to J. A. Williamson, et al., and was redocumented as "Mariner" on5 October 1865 . The ship operated as a merchantman until she was stranded and destroyed atDecatur, Alabama , on9 May 1867 .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r4/reindeer-i.htm USS Reindeer]
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