USS Sidney C. Jones

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History
Union Navy Jack United States
NameSidney C. Jones
BuilderG. E. and W. H. Goodspeed, East Haddam, Connecticut
LaunchedApril 1856
AcquiredOctober 7, 1861
CommissionedJanuary 29, 1862
Out of serviceJuly 15, 1862
Fate
Scuttled
, July 15, 1862
General characteristics
Type
Mortar schooner
Tonnage254 tons
Length98 feet (30 m)
Beam27 feet (8.2 m)
PropulsionSails
Complement36
Armament
  • 1 × 13 in (330 mm) mortar
  • 2 × 32-pounder guns
  • 2 × 12-pounder smoothbore guns

USS Sidney C. Jones was a

blown up by her crew
to prevent capture on July 15.

Construction and characteristics

Sidney C. Jones was built at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2]

Civil War operations

The Union mortar vessels in the New Orleans campaign. Sidney C. Jones is in the background and is mostly hidden.

On October 7, 1861,

New York Navy Yard, under the command of Acting Master Robert Adams.[4] By February, in addition to the mortar and the 32-pounders, two 12-pounder smoothbore cannon had been added to her armament.[3]

Farragut was preparing for a campaign against

Pass A L'Outre.[4] Sidney C. Jones was part of Commander David Dixon Porter's Mortar Flotilla.[6] On April 18, Porter's mortar schooners moved upriver towards the Confederate positions at Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, with their masts camouflaged with brush.[7] Porter divided his command into three parts; Sidney C. Jones was assigned to the rearmost one, Lieutenant Walter W. Queen's Second Division, along with five other vessels. This division was assigned a location with a clear view of both forts, and of the three parts was the most exposed to Confederate fire. At a range of a minimum of 3,680 yards (3,360 m), each schooner fired a mortar shot at the Confederate forts every ten minutes, in the beginning of the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.[8] One of the ships in Sidney C. Jones's division, USS Maria J. Carlton, was sunk by Confederate fire on the morning of April 19, and Porter ordered the division to move to a more sheltered position.[9] The firing increased in intensity on April 20.[10] During the firing, Sidney C. Jones was commanded by Acting Master J. Duncan Graham.[11]

The bombardment continued through the night of April 24, when Farragut ran his ships past the Confederate forts. In order to pre-occupy the Confederate defenders, the mortar vessels increased their rates of fire until the Union ships had passed the positions.

run aground several days before,[13] as she had gone ashore and was then stranded by lowering river levels.[14] To prevent potential capture of the vessel during Arkansas's run, she was blown up by her crew that day.[13] At the time of her sinking, she was commanded by an Acting Master Jack. During her time in Union service, Sidney C. Jones required $21,352.82 of repair costs.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Gaines 2008, p. 103.
  2. ^ a b "Condensed Items". Hartford Courant. April 21, 1856. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Silverstone 1989, p. 138.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Sidney C. Jones". Naval History and Heritage Command. September 9, 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Official Records 1921, p. 208.
  6. ^ Hearn 1995, pp. 272–273.
  7. ^ Hearn 1995, p. 180.
  8. ^ Hearn 1995, pp. 181–182.
  9. ^ Hearn 1995, pp. 182–184.
  10. ^ Hearn 1995, p. 185.
  11. ^ Official Records 1904, pp. 407–408.
  12. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 58–59.
  13. ^ a b Chatelain 2020, pp. 192, 194.
  14. ^ Official Records 1905, p. 29.

Sources

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