- Star of the West
The "Star of the West" was a
civilian ship hired by the United States government to transport military supplies and reinforcements to the garrison ofFort Sumter before theAmerican Civil War . The ship was a substitute for the "USS Brooklyn", an armedscrew sloop which continued to escort the "Star of the West" on its journey.cite web |url=http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Star_of_the_West |title=Star of the West |accessdate=2007-09-09]Background
The first shots of the Civil War occurred
January 9 ,1861 when the "Star of the West" was fired upon by cadets, from The Citadel, who were stationed at theMorris Island battery as the ship enteredCharleston Harbor .cite web |url=http://www.charlestonmag.com/feature3.html |title=Washed in History |accessdate=2008-07-22] cite web |url=http://www.civilwar.org/preservation/morrisisland/History/brief%20history.htm |title= Morris Island Coalition |accessdate=2008-07-22] This prevented the "Star of the West" from resupplyingMajor Robert Anderson 's garrison at Fort Sumter. The "Star of the West" was given a warning shot across the bow and turned about to leave the harbor mouth. She was then fired on fromFort Moultrie and hit twice. The mission was abandoned and the "Star of the West" headed for her home port of New York Harbor.Hired out of
New York as a troop transport for $1,000 a day, under its master, Elisha Howes, the "Star of the West" sailed forTexas to pick up seven companies of United States troops assembled at Indianola. OnApril 18 ,1861 , while anchored off Pass Caballo bar leading intoMatagorda Bay , the ship was captured by ColonelEarl Van Dorn and members of two Galveston militia units, the Wigfall Guards and the Island City Rifles. Two days later the ship was taken to New Orleans, where Louisiana's Governor Moore changed its name to the "C.S.S. St. Philip". The old name persisted, however, and the "Star of the West" served as a naval station andhospital ship until AdmiralDavid Farragut captured New Orleans. Then the "Star of the West" carried millions in gold, silver, and paper currency to Vicksburg and continued to Yazoo City,Mississippi . When federal Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith tried to lead two ironclads and five smaller vessels through the Yazoo Pass into theTallahatchie River to attack Vicksburg from the rear, Confederate defenders hurriedly constructed Fort Pemberton, and Major GeneralWilliam W. Loring had the "Star of the West" sunk broadside in the Tallahatchie near Greenwood to block the passage of the Union flotilla. In a skirmish onApril 12 ,1863 , the Union forces suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw. The owners of the "Star of the West" collected $175,000 in damages from the United States government for their loss.Popular culture
The incident looms large in a novel by
John Updike , "Memories of the Ford Administration " (1992). Although Updike's protagonist is trying (in the early 1990s) to write about the mid-1970s, he spent those years seeking to write a book about President Buchanan, and his mind keeps reverting to the 19th century and, among other incidents, the mission of this sloop to Sumter.ee also
*George Edward "Tuck" Haynesworth
*William Stewart Simkins References
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External links
* [http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Star_of_the_West Star of the West]
* [http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/major-anderson-ft-sumter_Dir/civil-war-star-west-battle.htm#THE_FIRING_ON_THE__STAR_OF__THE_WEST. Account by Captain M'Gowan of the shots fired on the Star of the West inHarper's Weekly . ] Note the date given as10 January .
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