- USS Varuna (1861)
USS "Varuna" (1861) was a heavy (1,300 ton) steam-powered ship acquired by the
Union Navy during the early days of theAmerican Civil War . She was outfitted with powerful 8-inch guns and assigned, as a gunboat, to theUnion blockade of the waterways of theConfederate States of America .Built in Connecticut
"Varuna", the first
U.S. Navy ship to bear the name, was originally intended for merchant service betweenNew York City andNew Orleans, Louisiana . She was laid down in late January or early February1861 at theMallory Yard ,Mystic, Connecticut ; launched there in the following September; and purchased by the Navy at New York City on31 December of that same year.Civil War service
Joining the Union blockade
On
10 February 1862 , she was ordered to remain in New York until "Monitor" was ready for action so that she might escort the newironclad from New York toHampton Roads ,Virginia , to protect the wooden-hulled Union blockaders there from the Southern armored ram, CSS "Virginia".However, these orders were revoked later that same day; and "Varuna" was assigned to the newly established
West Gulf Blockading Squadron . En route south late in February, "Varuna" put intoPort Royal, South Carolina , for repairs, where the ship'scommanding officer , Commander Charles S. Boggs, assumed temporary command of the harbor on24 February during Flag OfficerSamuel F. Du Pont 's absence. The gunboat finally joined Rear AdmiralDavid G. Farragut 's West Gulf Blockading Squadon on6 March .Mississippi River operations
On
24 April 1862 , "Varuna" was with the squadron during Farragut's daring nighttime dash past Confederate works guarding theMississippi below New Orleans -- Fort Jackson andFort St. Philip .Varuna sunk in action
At the height of the melee, "Varuna" was rammed twice by the steamer CSS "Governor Moore" and struck twice again immediately thereafter by the cottonclad ram CSS "Stonewall Jackson". After striking "Varuna", Lt.
Beverly Kennon , CSN in command of one of the Confederate warships, "Governor Moore" -- found himself unable to depress his guns far enough to fire upon the Union vessel; and so he shot through the bow of his own ship and used the resulting hole as a gun port. Although fatally damaged, "Varuna" backed off from the Confederate vessels and continued to subject them to a withering fire until rising water silenced her guns."Varuna" honored with a poem
Rear Admiral Farragut's stunning victory and subsequent capture of New Orleans, itself, electrified the North. "Varuna's" part in the Union triumph was soon commemorated in
George H. Bowker 's poem, "The Varuna", which appeared in thePhiladelphia Press on12 May .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War
*Confederate States Navy
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