USS Rhode Island (1860)
The only known photo of the USS Rhode Island, taken in 1866.
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Rhode Island |
Laid down | 1860, as John P. King |
Launched | 6 September 1860[1] |
Acquired | by purchase, 27 June 1861 |
Commissioned | 29 July 1861 |
Decommissioned | 21 April 1864 |
Renamed |
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Commissioned | 3 October 1864 |
Decommissioned | 1867 |
Renamed | Charleston, 8 November 1867 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Type | Steamer |
Displacement | 1,517 long tons (1,541 t) |
Length | 236 ft 2 in (71.98 m) |
Beam | 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m) |
Draft | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
Propulsion | Steam engine |
Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 257 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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The first USS Rhode Island was a side-wheel steamer in the United States Navy, commissioned in 1861.
Rhode Island was built in New York City, in 1860 by
Service history
Supply ship
During the
Loss of USS Monitor
Returning to the north, Rhode Island's next duties were towing the low-freeboard monitors USS Monitor, USS Passaic, USS Montauk, and USS Weehawken south from Hampton Roads to Beaufort, North Carolina, or Port Royal, South Carolina. On 29 December 1862 Rhode Island departed Hampton Roads with the famous Monitor in tow and Passaic in company. As the ships rounded Cape Hatteras on the evening of 30 December, they encountered a heavy storm. Monitor's pumps were unable to control flooding caused by underwater leaks so that the order to abandon ship had to be given. Before Monitor's crew could be completely transferred to Rhode Island, the ironclad sank, taking four officers and 12 enlisted men with her. Rhode Island endeavored to remain as near as possible to the position in which Monitor sank so as to fix the location, some 20 miles (32 km) south-southwest of Cape Hatteras and to await daylight to search for a missing small boat. Seven Rhode Island crewman were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the sinking: Ordinary Seaman Luke M. Griswold, Seaman Lewis A. Horton, Landsman John Jones, Captain of the Afterguard Hugh Logan, Seaman George Moore, Coxswain Charles H. Smith, and Coxswain Maurice Wagg.[2][3]
Enforcing the blockade
On 29 January 1863 Rhode Island was ordered to the West Indies to join in the search for the Confederate steamers Oreto and Alabama. Unable to help locate the Confederate warships, she did succeed in driving the blockade runner Margaret and Jessie ashore at Stirrup Cay on 30 May. Continuing her cruising on the Atlantic coast, Rhode Island achieved a fourth victory on 16 August when she captured the British blockade runner Cronstadt north of Man of War Bay, Abaco, Bahamas with a cargo of cotton, turpentine, and tobacco.
Conversion to cruiser
With defective boilers requiring repair, Rhode Island entered
Employed in cruising along Confederate-controlled coasts Rhode Island's duty was highlighted by the capture of the British blockade runner Vixen on 1 December 1864. Sailing from Hampton Roads on 11 December with the monitor USS Canonicus in tow, Rhode Island joined the squadron attacking Fort Fisher, taking part in the first assault on 24 December and the second, successful attempt of 13–15 January 1865. Signal Quartermaster Charles H. Foy was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher.[2]
Ordered to tow the monitor
Maintained in commission in the years immediately following the end of the Civil War, Rhode Island's first duty was to help bring the formidable former Confederate armored ram Stonewall to the United States. Departing on 21 October for Havana in company with USS Hornet, Rhode Island returned with the French-built Stonewall on 23 November.
After the Civil War
Throughout 1866, Rhode Island continued to cruise in the Atlantic and West Indies, from April 1866
See also
- Confederate States Navy
- Union Navy
- Union Blockade
Footnotes
- ^ Bauer and Roberts, p. 87.
- ^ a b "Medal of Honor Recipients – Civil War (A-L)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 6 August 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients – Civil War (M-Z)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 3 August 2009. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients – Interim Awards, 1866–1870". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 3 August 2009. Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
References
- Bauer, Karl Jack and Roberts, Stephen S. (1991): Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.