USS Annie
History | |
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Acquired | 11 March 1863 |
In service | c. 1 April 1863 |
Out of service | c. 30 December 1864 |
Stricken | 1865 |
Captured | 26 February 1863 |
Fate | Lost 1865 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 27 tons |
Length | 46 ft 2 in (14.07 m) |
Beam | 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) |
Draft | 5 ft (1.5 m) |
Depth of hold | 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m) |
Propulsion | Sail |
Armament | One smooth-bore 12-pounder |
USS Annie was a schooner captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.[1] She was used by the Union Navy as a ship's tender in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.[2] Her service during the Union naval blockade of Confederate waters peaked during the Second Chesapeake Affair (1863–64) as a "fresh reinforcement from the south"[3] in the search and capture of the U.S.S Chesapeake.[3]
Capture
On the evening of 26 February 1863, armed boats commanded by acting Master Robert B. Smith from the Union sidewheel steamer
Lineage
The report of this action does not mention that the prize had ever carried any other name. However, later records maintain that she had been called La Criala when captured and was renamed Anna at the beginning of her service in the Union Navy. A schooner called La Criolla had been captured by the Union sidewheeler
East Gulf blockade
Anna was condemned by the
By 1 April 1863, she had begun her active service and was stationed at
On the morning of the 13th, Annie—Acting Ensign James S. Williams in command—took her first prize, the schooner Mattie which was attempting to run into the Crystal River, Florida, with a diverse cargo. Williams placed a crew on board the prize and sent her to Key West in charge of Master's Mate Marcellus Jackson.
About half an hour before noon on 28 April, Annie sighted, chased, and fired upon Dream before that British schooner escaped into Spanish territorial waters off Cuba. This action prompted a protest by the English
Continued operations
Annie scored again while proceeding to Tampa Bay on 11 July when she took the whaleboat Alice and her crew of six—from Havana—behind Cotteral's Key. Williams had been informed of the presence of the boat by the keeper of the Northwest Channel lighthouse who feared that she might attack his outpost. Another prize came Annie's, way on the afternoon of 20 October when she captured the British schooner Martha Jane, outward-bound from Bayport, Florida, laden with cotton.
Ten days later, Annie joined the armed launch of the screw gunboat USS Sagamore—which she was then tending—in chasing Meteor and caught that British schooner which was attempting to slip into Bayport, with an assorted cargo from Havana. Annie and the launch again teamed up on 7 November when they took the British schooner Paul which—although cleared from Havana for Matamoras—was approaching the Florida coast with diverse merchandise.[6]
In the second half of February 1864, Annie left Sagamore and was attached to the screw gunboat Takoma; and, thereafter, she acted as a tender to several other Union blockaders. On the morning of 2 March 1864, Annie anchored at 9:00 a.m., some five miles from land. Two hours later, a lookout reported having sighted a small boat approaching. At noon, the boat reversed course and fled, prompting the Union warship to give chase. Thirty minutes' sailing brought her within sight of "a schooner inside the reefs"[This quote needs a citation] and toward which the boat was rowing.
At 1:10 p.m., Annie "anchored in 6 feet of water"[This quote needs a citation] and sent an armed boat to board the schooner. However, the fleeing boat reached that vessel before the Yankee sailors boarded her, set her afire, and then hurried on shoreward. At 2:00 p.m., Annie's men went on board the schooner and found her to a new vessel of about 80 tons carrying an assorted cargo which included a large amount of ammunition. The rapid spread of the flames forced them to leave the prize which exploded about three minutes after their departure.
Later that afternoon, a skiff flying a white flag came alongside Annie. Its sole passenger, a man who "identified himself as Allen A. Stephens"[This quote needs a citation] and reported that he was one of a group of 20 men "about to rise against the rebel government ... and requested arms for his company."[This quote needs a citation] After promising Allen to report the incident, they allowed him to return to land, but no further mention of this man appears in the official record.
Loss
During the remainder of 1864, Annie continued to serve in the blockade of Florida's
References
- ^ "Wanderer I (Sch)". NHHC. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ "USN Ships—USS Malvern (1863-1865)". ibiblio.org. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ a b McDonald, R.H (1974). "Second Chesapeake Affair: 1863-1864". The Dalhousie Review.
- ^ The Union Navy.
- ISBN 9781135865498.
- ^ ben.dibiase (6 November 2015). "USS Annie captures British schooner off Florida coast". Florida Historical Society. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.