- USS Tritonia (1863)
USS "Tritonia" (1863) was a 202-ton steamer commissioned by the
Union Navy during theAmerican Civil War .She served the Union Navy’s struggle against the
Confederate States of America in a variety of ways: as atugboat , a patrolgunboat , adispatch boat , asalvage ship , a minesweeper, and as a small (202 ton) transport.Steamer constructed in Connecticut in 1863
"Tritonia" -- a side-wheel steamer built as "Sarah S. B. Gary" in
1863 at EastHaddam, Connecticut -- was purchased by the Navy atHartford, Connecticut , on1 December 1863 ; and commissioned at theNew York Navy Yard on23 April 1864 , Lt. Roswell H. Lamson in command.Civil War operations
Clearing mines and debris in Virginia’s James River
With "Stepping Stones" and "Delaware", "Tritonia" served in a special torpedo and picket division established in the James River,
Virginia , on12 May 1864 . The division patrolled the river to keep it clear of Confederate vessels, torpedoes (mines), and fire rafts.Assigned to the West Gulf blockade
On
26 July , "Tritonia" left the division for duty with theWest Gulf Blockading Squadron . She arrived inMississippi Sound on5 August , the day of AdmiralDavid Farragut 's victory inMobile Bay , and spent the remainder of the month operating as a dispatch vessel betweenNew Orleans, Louisiana , and that historic body of water.Destroying valuable salt works
On 8 and
9 September , boat crews from "Tritonia", "Rodolph", "Stockdale", and Army transport "Planter" destroyed several large Confederate salt works at Salt House Point in Bon Secours Bay,Alabama .As they returned to Mobile Bay on
11 September , the vessels were fired upon but suffered no casualties.Continued blockade duty along the Gulf
"Tritonia" resumed blockade duty, towing the captured
schooner "Medora" toNew Orleans, Louisiana , on15 December for adjudication. She then operated in Mobile Bay until the end of the war and later atPensacola, Florida , and New Orleans, Louisiana.Post-war services with U.S. Army troops
On
29 January 1866 , "Tritonia" carried a company ofU.S. Army troops up theTombigbee River and recaptured the steamer "Belfast" which had been seized byguerrillas and taken up that stream. The joint expedition also recovered the steamer's cargo of cotton and captured five guerrillas as well.Decommissioning, sale and subsequent maritime career
"Tritonia" was sold at public auction at
New York City on5 October 1866 ; redocumented as "Belle Brown" on19 November ; and lost at sea in1880 .References
See also
*
American Civil War
*Union Navy
*Confederate States Navy External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t8/tritonia.htm USS Tritonia]
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