What Happened To 'Em Part III
Minnesota and Roanoke
Virginia's Support flotilla
Now lets take a look at the rest of the ships that participated in The Battle of Hampton Roads. I'm going to divide this into two section, the first dealing with the last two Union ships that were directly involved with the battle and the second dealing with the five ships that acted as Virginia's support flotilla and escorts.
USS Minnesota and USS Roanoke
USS Minnesota We gotta follow up on what happened to USS Minnesota. After all her destruction and defense were the main reason that Monitor and Virginia tangled in the first place.
As I noted earlier, USS Minnesota was not only one of the USS Merrimack's sister ships, she was actually one of two other Minnesota class frigates involved in the battle, the other being USS Roanoke. Minnesota was launched in 1855, spent two years in the 1850s version of the famed Asiatic Fleet, then she was decommissioned in 1857, only two years after she was commissioned. She was placed 'in ordinary', the 19th century term for being placed in a reserve fleet, and laid up in Boston until the outbreak of the Civil War.
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| A model of USS Minnesota in her prime. She, USS Roanoke, and USS Merrimack...The frigate that was converted into the CSS Virginia by the Confederate Navy...were all sister ships. |
After the Battle of Hampton Roads, she served as flagship for the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, participating in several other engagements, most notably the first and second battles of Fort Fisher in Wilmington, NC on Dec 23rd - 27th 1864 and Jan 13th-15th 1865. The two Battles of Fort Fisher were fought in an ultimately successful effort to capture the fort, and deny use of Wilmington’s vitally important port to the Confederate forces.
The First Battle of Fort Fisher was a study in Murphy's Law. Weather interfered, ships and troops were at the wrong place at the wrong time, recon and intelligence yielded bad information, and the whole battle evolved into a major cluster. Minnesota still managed to do herself proud, positioning herself about a mile out from the fort, and laying down a withering and devastating barrage to cover the landing, but all that effort ended up being a moot point. The commander of the land forces captured a couple of batteries and accepted the surrender of two battalions, then pulled his troops back due to a possible approaching storm and other factors. This, of course, gave the Confederate forces a false and short lived sense of victory while really ticking off the Union Army and government brass right on up to and including ol' Honest Abe himself.
This sense of victory lasted for about three weeks, until Jan. 13th when the US Army returned with a more aggressive commander, and the Navy returned in their support role. This time the support was a bit more hands on. Minnesota's gunners again laid down a devastating curtain of fire but this time a landing force of 240 men went ashore to get in on the action. The battle took place over the 13th, 14th, and 15th of January and this time, after a long, tough, and grueling fight the combined Army-Navy force took the fort. Nine sailors and Marines from Minnesota were awarded The Congressional Medal Of Honor for their actions during the battle.
Very shortly after the Battles of Fort Fisher she was ordered to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, then decommissioned on Feb 16, 1865. She was laid up for two years and a bit more this time, until June 1867 when she was placed back in service for a European cruise with Midshipmen from the Navel Academy.
She returned from The Med to be laid up again three years to the day after her triumph at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, on January 13th, 1868. This time she stayed in ordinary for six and a half years. She was recommissioned as a gunnery training ship in June 1875, a duty she fulfilled for twenty years. She scored some honors even in that role as three of her crew were awarded the medal of honor. Two of her crew were awarded the medal for two separate rescues of fellow sailors when they went overboard, and a third was awarded the medal for heroic actions during a fire at the Castle Garden Immigration Facility in New York City.
She returned from The Med to be laid up again three years to the day after her triumph at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, on January 13th, 1868. This time she stayed in ordinary for six and a half years. She was recommissioned as a gunnery training ship in June 1875, a duty she fulfilled for twenty years. She scored some honors even in that role as three of her crew were awarded the medal of honor. Two of her crew were awarded the medal for two separate rescues of fellow sailors when they went overboard, and a third was awarded the medal for heroic actions during a fire at the Castle Garden Immigration Facility in New York City.
In October 1895 she was loaned to the Massachusetts Naval Militia... basically a Naval National Guard...and converted to a combination floating barracks/recruitment center. She served with them as a barracks ship until August 1901 when she was sold to Thomas Butler & Company out of Boston to be scrapped. They didn't want her for her wood...they wanted her copper and other metal fittings She was taken to Eastport Maine, where tides run 20 plus feet, then anchored close to shore. The ship breakers waited for low tide and when she was high and dry they soaked her throughout with Kerosene and lit her off. The assumption was that it would take a day or less for all of her wooden hull to burn but Minnesota didn't die easily. It took about two weeks for her hull to burn completely. Still a degrading and
ignominious end for a noble ship.
Roanoke After her commissioning in 1855, Roanoke was assigned as flagsip to the U.S. Home fleet. She made diplomatic cruises for the first two years of her career, then like Minnesota she was placed in ordinary on Sept 24, 1857, just two years after her commissioning.
She was recommissioned on August 18, 1858 and again assigned to the Home Fleet as flagship. She again was used mostly for diplomatic cruises, at one point spending over a year in The West Indies, at Aspinwald waiting for a Japanese Diplomatic delegation. When the delegation finally arrived after a long trip by ship from Japan, then across the isthmus by train, Roanoke transported them to Hampton Roads, leaving Aspinwald n April 15th 1860 and arriving in Hampton Roads on MAy 12th. As the Japanese delegation was heading for Washington by train, Roanoke was again decommissioned,
She was recommissioned in June 1861, after the outbreak of The Civil War, and assigned to the North Atlantic Blocading Squadron, her assignment on March 8, 1862 when she was involved in The Battle of Hampton Roads. It's what happened to her after the battle that gets interesting.
Several days after the battle of Hampton Roads, which Roanoke's deep draft and troublesome engines kept her from really getting into the middle of, she embarked 268 sailors from Cumberland and Congress and transported them to New York. She arrived in NYC on March 25th, disembarked her presently shipless passengers, and was immediately decommissioned.
ignominious end for a noble ship.
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| Minnesota's hull converted to a Recruitment center/Brracks ship near the end of her career. |
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| Minnesota high and dry in Eastport Maine, being prepared for burning so her metal fittings and copper can be salvaged for scrap value. Truly a sad end for such a noble ship. |
Roanoke After her commissioning in 1855, Roanoke was assigned as flagsip to the U.S. Home fleet. She made diplomatic cruises for the first two years of her career, then like Minnesota she was placed in ordinary on Sept 24, 1857, just two years after her commissioning.
She was recommissioned on August 18, 1858 and again assigned to the Home Fleet as flagship. She again was used mostly for diplomatic cruises, at one point spending over a year in The West Indies, at Aspinwald waiting for a Japanese Diplomatic delegation. When the delegation finally arrived after a long trip by ship from Japan, then across the isthmus by train, Roanoke transported them to Hampton Roads, leaving Aspinwald n April 15th 1860 and arriving in Hampton Roads on MAy 12th. As the Japanese delegation was heading for Washington by train, Roanoke was again decommissioned,
She was recommissioned in June 1861, after the outbreak of The Civil War, and assigned to the North Atlantic Blocading Squadron, her assignment on March 8, 1862 when she was involved in The Battle of Hampton Roads. It's what happened to her after the battle that gets interesting.
Several days after the battle of Hampton Roads, which Roanoke's deep draft and troublesome engines kept her from really getting into the middle of, she embarked 268 sailors from Cumberland and Congress and transported them to New York. She arrived in NYC on March 25th, disembarked her presently shipless passengers, and was immediately decommissioned.
But she wasn't decommissioned to go in 'Ordinary'. The Navy had plans for her! Hey, the 'Rebs' as the Confederate forces were known, had taken a wooden hulled steam frigate of the exact same class as Roanoke...one of her sister ships, in fact...and made an ironclad out of her. So the U.S. Navy decided to go one better! They'd turn Roanoke into the Ultimate Floating Super weapon! Unfortunately the project became a perfect example of 'The Concept Was Good, But The Execution Was Lousy' as well a a bit of proof that wasteful spending is not a new concept.
Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair Chief John Lenthall and Bureau of Steam Engineering Chief Ben Isherwood brainstormed the conversion, and bid it out...the winning bid came from Novelty Iron Works in New York. Roanoke was dry-docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and her hull was cut down...no where near as radically as her sister ship Merrimack's was when she was converted to CSS Virginia, but still enough to make her into a low free board ship. Then the portions of her hull above the waterline were covered with four and a half inches of armor. As often happens in war time, technology had taken a couple of good long leaps since Monitor's armor was installed. Roanoke's armor was actually cast in one piece 4.5 inch slabs rather than the laminated and overlapped one inch slabs used on Monitor.
A trio of Ericksson type turrets...one forward, one amidships, and one aft...were installed with the forward and midship turrets each mounting one 15” Dahlgren and one 150 pounder rifled gun, and the aft turret mounting one 11” Dahlgren and one 150 pounder. Marine steam propulsion technology had also taken a pretty good leap with Monitor's revolutionary power plant, but unfortunately this was not taken advantage of. Her masts and sails were removed, but below the waterline and in the engine room she was the same Roanoke as before her conversion, with the same problematic engines as the rest of her class were equipped with. Her tall single funnel was even retained.
A trio of Ericksson type turrets...one forward, one amidships, and one aft...were installed with the forward and midship turrets each mounting one 15” Dahlgren and one 150 pounder rifled gun, and the aft turret mounting one 11” Dahlgren and one 150 pounder. Marine steam propulsion technology had also taken a pretty good leap with Monitor's revolutionary power plant, but unfortunately this was not taken advantage of. Her masts and sails were removed, but below the waterline and in the engine room she was the same Roanoke as before her conversion, with the same problematic engines as the rest of her class were equipped with. Her tall single funnel was even retained.
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| USS Roanoke after being converted to an ironclad. The box like structure just forward of the forward turret is the pilothouse...like Monitor, she couldn't fire directly across her bow for fear of blowing away her pilothouse...and her pilot. This was a moot poing on Roanoke, though as she never fired her guns in anger as an ironclad. |
When she was taken out for sea trials it was discovered that they had managed to turn her into a real dog, handling and sea-keeping ability wise. She was seriously top-heavy, and if any kind of sea at all was running she rolled dangerously, to the point of heeling way, WAY over then staying there for several seconds that probably seemed more like decades to her crew as they held their breath and prayed until she slowly recovered and rolled back to an even keel...only to roll in the other direction and do the dance all over again. On top of that, her hull wasn't designed to support either the weight of her armor and turrets or the shock of her big guns firing continuously.
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| A profile full painting of Roanoke as an ironclad, superimposed over the drawing above. This is a perfect illustration of just how much water these ironclads drew. |
Did they regroup, redesign, and fix the problems...No. Instead she was assigned to Hampton Roads as a harbor defense vessel. Problem is (And this is my opinion) her deep draft would seem to inhibit her ability to perform even that function effectively. She was fifteen feet longer and drew nearly a foot more water as an ironclad turret ship than she did as a screw frigate even though her displacement was a few hundred pounds lighter. That was her displacement as launched, however. Her displacement full was a bit over 6300 tons. She was also five knots slower after her conversion.
Below's a quick table comparing Roanoke's vital stats before and after her conversion.
| Screw Frigate | Ironclad Turreted Warship | |
| Class and Type | Colorado class Screw Frigate |
Turreted Ironclad
|
| Displacement | 4772 tons | 4395 Tons (6300 tons full) |
| Length | 263 ft 8 3/4 inches | 278 ft |
| Beam | 52 ft 6 in | 52 Ft 6 In |
| Draft | 23 Ft 6 in | 24 Ft 3 in |
| Propulsion | 4 Martin Boilers 1-shaft Penn trunk engine, nominal 440 ihp | Same |
| Speed | 11 Knots | 6 knots |
| Crew Size | 574 | 350 |
| Armament | 2 × 10 in (254 mm) smoothbore 28 × 9 in (229 mm) smoothbore 14 × 8 in (203 mm) smoothbore | Forward Turret: 1×15 in, 1×150 pdr Rifle Middle Turret: 1×15 in,1×11 in Aft Turret: 1×11 in,1×150 pdr Rifle |
| Armor | None | Iron Side: 4½ - 3½ in Turrets: 11 in Deck: 1½ in |
Somehow I just can't see her maneuvering effectively in tight quarters and even with her rotating turrets her lack of maneuverability would have put her at a serious disadvantage against a purpose designed ironclad with comparable armament. Remember that Monitor's turret was just one of her advantages...maneuverability wise she was all but a cigarette boat of her era.
If an enemy ship 'Crossed The 'T'...presenting their broadside to her bow...she was all but defenseless because like Monitor she couldn't fire directly over her bow for fear of hitting her own pilothouse. She'd have to turn to present her side to the enemy at an angle so her turrets could turn and train her guns at her adversary. With her ponderous bulk, slow speed, anemic engine and single screw this would not be a quick process. And the enemy crew woiuld be cheerfully pounding her with broadsides as she tried to bring her guns to bear.
The Navy could have, of course, hired a crack naval architectural and design team to spearhead the conversion and design modifications that would have remedied her stability and structural integrity problems. They could have also installed an engine, or even a pair of engines similar to to the awesome power plant installed in USS Monitor. They could have actually turned her into a really sweet ship. A fairly fast, competently maneuverable three turreted ironclad warship with six big guns and sea keeping ability? She would have been an awe inspiring offensive or defensive weapon.
The Navy could have, of course, hired a crack naval architectural and design team to spearhead the conversion and design modifications that would have remedied her stability and structural integrity problems. They could have also installed an engine, or even a pair of engines similar to to the awesome power plant installed in USS Monitor. They could have actually turned her into a really sweet ship. A fairly fast, competently maneuverable three turreted ironclad warship with six big guns and sea keeping ability? She would have been an awe inspiring offensive or defensive weapon.
But they didn't. And after her conversion Roanoke became a slow, ponderous beast with the same deep draft and same engines as Merrimack, AKA Virginia, along with serious stability and structural integrity issues. Only the fact that her guns were turreted rather than laid out in traditional 'Broadside' configuration made her a better warship than Virginia.
The US Navy readily and quickly agreed about Roanoke's weaknesses. She remained a harbor defense vessel for the rest of the war and never fired a shot in anger as an ironclad. After the war she steamed to New York, and was decommissioned at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on June 20, 1865. She was recommissioned almost nine years later to serve as the flagship for the Port Officer of New York, then again decommissioned and placed on reserve status on 6-12-1875, 8 days shy of ten years to the day after her first post-war decommissioning.
This time she stayed on reserve until August 5th, 1882 when she was stricken from the Navy's list and put up for sale. She was sold to the E. Stannard and Co. for scrap on Sept 27th, 1883.
******Virginia's Escort and Support Fleet******
CSS Virginia, didn't take on the blockade fleet at Hampton Roads all by herself, of course...she was accompanied by several other vessels that acted as escorts and as a support squadron, While the great majority of the Union Navy was made up of purpose built warships, during the early part of the war the Confederate Navy was made up of a combination of converted and captured vessels and 'Blockade Runners'. Many of the latter were built clandestinely in either England or France, both of which were sympathetic to the South (A little aside here, ya can't help but wonder if the British attitude towards The US had a little 'Now you see how it feels, don't ya' thrown in). Most of the former were siezed in port as the states they were in at the time seceded from the Union, then converted into warships.
Virginia's support fleet was made up entirely of the former. The smaller, more nimble vessels were able to go places that Virginia's deep draft wouldn't allow her to go, and they were utilized as every thing from tenders to escorts to additional tactical resources during an offensive operation. None were purpose built warships and all started their lives out as commercial vessels.
Virginia's support squadron consisted of CSS Jamestown, CSS Patrick Henry, CSS Beaufort, CSS Raleigh, and CSS Teaser. The first two were sister ships, both big side wheel passenger and freight steamers that had been taken over by the Confederate forces, the last three were all converted tugs.
Only two of them would survive the war.
CSS Patrick Henry CSS Patrick Henry was built for the Old Dominion Steam Ship line in 1859 as the SS Yorktown, and began life as the passenger steamer Yorktown, plying between Richmond, Va and New York. She was seized at anchor in the James River upon Virginia's seccession from the Union, converted to a 10 gun gunboat and renamed CSS Patrick Henry after the Virginia Statesman who gave the famed 'Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death' speech.
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| CSS Patrick Henry Under Way |
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| A model of CSS PAtrick Henry showing her deck layout, and her guns. Note the circular track that the bow gun is mounted on, allowing it to pivot...the strern gun mount was identical. Her other eight guns were situated in classic 'broadside' configuratiuon, four to a side, four forward and four aft. |
After the Battle of Hampton Roads she continued as Virginia's tender and five days before Virginia was scuttled, she engaged in a night action during which she and several other ships removed a good bit of Confederate property and records and transported them up-river to Richmond. After the fall of Norfolk, she retired to Drewry's Bluff, near Richmond, and assisted in turning back the Union squadron that came up-river to attempt to take the fort and then Richmond.
In May 1862 she underwent alterations to become the Confederate Navy's floating Naval academy, docked at Drewry's Bluff and housing as many as 60 Midshipmen and thirteen instructors. She wasn't married to the dock during this period, either...on a couple of occasions she engaged Union vessels while she had Midshipmen on board.
Patrick Henry served in this capacity until Richmond was evacuated...she was burned to prevent her capture on April 3rd, 1865.
CSS Jamestown S S Jamestown, Like her sister ship Yorktown was built by the William H Webb Co. for the Old Dominion Steam Ship Line to run on the same route, and like her sister ship she was taken over by the Commonwealth of Virginia Navy and turned over to the Confederate Navy. She was rechristened CSS Thomas Jefferson, and converted to a gunboat but with two differences to her sister.
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| CSS Jamestown |
First, she only mounted a pair of guns...one fore and one aft...rather than the ten guns mounted by her sister. And second, she was almost always known by her old name...Jamestown...rather than her new name. After the Battle of Hampton Roads, Jamestown was one of the vessels that moved in and captured a trio of commercial vessels in an unsuccessful attempt to draw Monitor into battle. In late April of 1862 she participated with Confederate General John Bankhead McGruder in several combined Army-Navy operations, and in early May, she transported injured Confederate personnel to Richmond.
On the fifth of May, 1862 she snuck down river to Hampton Roads...past numerous Federal shore batteries unseen...and grouped up with Patrick Henry to load up with Confederate property. They returned to Richmond the next night at Oh Dark Thirty, accompanied by CSS Richmond, CSS Hampton and several ordinance barges, again sneaking past the batteries unseen. A second attempt was made to make the same trip the next day, but this time they were repelled.
Jamestown's last assignment was to steam upriver to notify the Confederate Navy brass of a long, drawn out battle between a pair of Confederate shore batteries and the Union ironclad Galena. She was turned back, and didn't complete her assignment. She retired to Drewry's Bluff and on May fifteenth she was sunk in the middle of the channel at that location to act as an obstruction. Her wreck...or what little's left of it...is still mid channel in the James, just east of Drewery's Bluff.
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| Jamestown's paddlewheel boxes can be seen above the water mid frame after she was snk mid-channel in the James River as an obstruction. The second wreck visible to the right of Jamestown's wreck is the Confederate ironclad CSS Virgina II, also sunk as an obstruction. |
CSS Raleigh CSS Raleigh started life as a small, iron hulled tug boat in Wilmington. With an iron hull and a propeller rather than paddle wheels she was already embracing a bit of new technology when she was built.
She was taken over by the State of North Carolina in May of 1861 upon succession of that state, and turned over to the Confederate Navy in July of the same year. Her armament's listed as 'From one to four guns', so I’m not sure what she mounted, but whatever Naval artillery she may have mounted, The Confederate Navy wasted no time in putting her and it to work. She participated in several actions...both Offensive and Defensive, one of which was the defense of Roanoke Island against an amphibious invasion, Ditto Elizabeth City a couple of days later. The U.S. won both of those fights and Raleigh escaped northward through the Dismal Swamp Canal to Norfolk, where she became one of Virginia's tenders.
After the Battle of Hampton Roads she steamed up the James River towards Richmond. She was manned with a skeleton crew for the remainder of the war, assuming patrol boat duties, and was renamed Roanoke'near the end of the conflict. When Richmond was evacuated on April 4, 1865 she was burned to prevent capture.
CSS Beaufort Beaufort started life and entered the Confederate Navy in much the same way as Raleigh. She began life as a iron hulled screw propelled tug, operating out of Edenton, then Plymouth, and she was seized by the Navy of North Carolina and turned over to the Confederate navy. One interesting point...she was put in commission by the N.C. Navy in Norfolk, and steamed north towards New Bern. While enroute to New Bern she actually engaged the large steamer USS Albatross, though the battle ended in a draw with little damage to either vessel. What makes this interesting is that this is one of the few battles...win, loose or draw...that was fought by a vessel belonging to one of the state navies before being turned over to the Confederate Navy.
She also participated in the battles of Roanoke Island and Elizabeth City, lending a good portion of her crew to man Cobbs Point Battery on the Pasquotank River. And after the battles she also escaped to Norfolk through the Dismal Swamp Canal to join up with a certain ironclad. Beaufort was of course the gunboat that came alongside USS Congress to take aboard that ships officers after Congress surrendered. Shore batteries fired on her under Congress's white flag, injuring several of her crew, pissing off the Confederate crews and resulting in Virginia pumping hot shot into Congress until she was a floating inferno.
After The Battle of Hampton Roads, Beaufort also escaped up the James River to Richmond and assumed very similar duties to Raleigh. She, however was not destroyed to prevent her capture when Richmond was evacuated. Rather, she was taken over by the US Navy, placed in reserve, and sold to a private commercial owner on September 15, 1865. In a strange coincidence on October 31st, 1865 she too was renamed Roanoke by her new owners.
Beaufort AKA Roanoke led a busy but peaceful life thereafter. She operated as a tug until 1878 when her superstructure and machinery were removed and she was converted to a barge. Her fate afterward is unknown. She was probably scrapped though...or maybe she was just towed to some unknown backwater, where her hulk's still waiting to be found.
I looked for drawings, etchings, sketches, anything of Raleigh and Beaufort, but found nada. We can probably assume that layouit wise they were both probably very similar to CSS Teaser
I looked for drawings, etchings, sketches, anything of Raleigh and Beaufort, but found nada. We can probably assume that layouit wise they were both probably very similar to CSS Teaser
CSS Teaser Teaser enjoyed the least boring and most interesting career of any of Virginia's tenders. She started life in much the same way as Beaufort and Raleigh, as a screw propelled tug. She was originally named York River and was already getting some age on her when the civil War started. She was purchased by The Commonwealth of Virginia in 1861and assigned to the James River squadron, and ultimately to the small fleet that supported CSS Virginia.
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| A model of CSS Teaser |
After the battle she took on two roles that were glimpses into the future. First she became what was arguably one of the first aircraft carriers as she was used as a base for an observation balloon...aerial recon actually started during the Civil War, and was used by both sides.
It's debated whether Teaser's balloon used hydrogen or hot air. The former would have required a hydrogen generator, and I have a feeling that this is the type of balloon Teaser carried. It would have been safer, quicker, and more efficient than hot air inflation during that era...remember Butane burners were still a long way off in the future. Teaser was one of the few actual self propelled vessels used in this capacity on either side...most balloon tenders were barges that required a tug to get them where they needed to be as well as for quarters for the crew. (Wonder if there was good natured rivalry between the ships crew, and the 'flight crew' then as there is aboard carriers now? ;) )
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| Model of Teaser as she may have appeared launching or recovering her observation balloon. The balloon fabric depicted isn't accurate, though. The fabric was silk, bought from a variety of suppliers in the south, and would have been a patchwork of various designs. |
She was also a pioneer mine layer, laying what were then called 'Torpedoes' in the James river. She was engaged in the latter task, as well as some recon on July 4th, 1862 when she tangled with the U.S.Navy gun boat USS Maratanza near Harrison's Landing. During the battle, Maratanza's gunners managed to put their third shell smack dab into the middle of Teasers boiler room, putting her engine out of action and leaving her dead in the water. Her crew figured they were done for, and that their ship was about to be sunk out form under them, so they abandoned her, leaving her afloat, intact, and drifting. Maratanza sent a prize crew over and they quickly boarded her and took her in tow, probably to Norfolk.
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| Damage to Teaser from the hit on her boiler. This is looking aft, along her port side. |
Teaser's crew made one BIG mistake when they abandoned her. In modern times (And likely back then too) the US Navy policy and procedures stated that before abandoning a ship during time of war, any and all equipment is to be made useless to the enemy and all secret documents are to be destroyed for obvious reasons. Teaser's crew did none of the above...and I know the Confederate Navy had to have had similar policy in effect. These guys just didn't do it. And as a result the Maratanza's crew captured the balloon and all assorted hardware, her mines and mine laying/detonating/servicing equipment, and most importantly documents and charts showing the locations of mines upriver along the James. They didn't even have to arm her to put her in service...both of her guns were left intact as well. She had a big 32 pounder rifled gun aft and a twelve pounder rifled gun forward. All they had to do was repair her boiler and the other comparatively minor damage from the hit and put her in service, and they wasted little time doing just that...in fact USS Teaser had a far more active if less technologically progressive career than CSS teaser.
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| Teaser's big 32 pounder stern gun. One of the shells fired by the gun is visible sitting on the gun carriage just left of mid-frame |
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| Teaser's 12 pounder bow gun. Note the gunner's sponge sitting on the gun carriage. This was used to swab the inside of the barrel to extinguish any powder still burning after the gun was fired to prevent igniting the powder charge for the next round when it was tamped down into the barrel. |
She was assigned to the Potomac River Flotilla and tasked with 'contraband Interdiction'...stopping the smuggling of contraband (Mostly tobacco) to be sold on the Black Market. Her crew apparently was pretty good at their job. In September 1862 alone she was involved in the capture of a schooner and a sloop along with their crews, and captured five other smugglers, along with their boats, as they attempted night crossings loaded down with contraband.
In December 1862 she, along with other elements of the flotilla, supported General Ambrose Burnside's ultimately unsuccessful push towards Richmond. After surviving that debacle she returned to her patrol area. March of 1863 she was extremely active. She paired up with USS Primrose to send several small boat expeditions up tributaries of The Chesapeake Bay and in the process captured two smugglers, took possession of their contraband and gained valuable intelligence RE: other smuggling operations in the area.
She was damaged on April 17th 1863 when she ran aground in the Nansemond River, between Norfolk and Smithfield while on loan to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She was part of a three ship expedition, the other two being USS Alert and USS Coerce De Lion. She had to leave the group and limp back to Norfolk for repair. After being put back in service she returned to The Potomac and her normally assigned stomping grounds where she continued a busy and successful career of contraband interdiction.
She was also involved in a couple of small amphibious landings, lending both manpower and gunnery support to the operations...seems nothing keeps soldiers heads down and their focus on survival rather than firing on the enemy like a few rifled shells screaming in just over their heads. During these landings they interrupted both smuggling and military operations, at one point sinking a pair of good sized boats capable of landing nearly a hundred Confederate troops and taking a couple of prisoners while they were at it.
She was involved in one certified confirmed cluster in the Summer of 1864. She left her Potomac River home territory once again to assist in protecting important bridges over rivers at the Head of The Chesapeake Bay, near Baltimore. She left on that assignment and headed up the bay amid heavy winds (And likely some rough water) to find her hull leaking in several places. She put in to the Patauxent River to wait out the winds and try to make temporary repairs. She set out the next morning only to have the leaks get worse...emergency repairs had to be made so she could make it to Baltimore for more permanent repairs.
The bridge she was assigned to protect was one over the Gunpowder River, and she should have arrived on the evening of the tenth...due to her leaky hull she didn't make it until late on the 12th, and when she arrived she found only the bridge piers and some floating, charred timbers. Confederate forces had already burned it.
Back then of course, the only way that a ship could report on conditions was a face to face meeting with forces on shore...she headed back to Baltimore to report on what she'd found. My bet is the news was not met with warm fuzzies and attaboys. Her captain found orders to return to The Potomac River Flotilla when he reached Baltimore, and the converted tug and her intrepid crew headed back south with their tails figuratively tucked between their legs.
She returned to her normal patrol duties for the remainder of the war, continuing with the success and efficiency that she'd enjoyed for most of her career as a U.S. Navy patrol craft. She was decommissioned at Washington Navy Yard two weeks after Lee's surrender at Appomattox and sold to a guy named J. Bigler on June 25th of 1865. She was given her old name...York River...and was put in service as a commercial tug. Records show she was in service in that capacity until 1878. She was probably broken up for scrap after that. I believe she was a wooden hulled vessel, so they likely scrapped her for the scrap value of her machinery and fittings.
Comparison Table For comparisons sake here's a chart showing the vital stats of Virginia's support fleet. Not all of the specs were noted, but we can assume the three tugs were all within a couple of feet and a few tons size wise, all had comparable power plants. While the types of guns weren't specified in several cases, we can probably guess that they were likely 32 pounders or 12 pounders on the tugs, and probably either 10 or 8 inchers on Jamestown
SHIP
|
YEAR BUILT
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LENGTH
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BEAM
|
Draft
|
Displace-
ment
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Construction and Class
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Propulsion
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Armament
| |
Patrick Henry
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1859
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250 ft
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34 ft
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13 Ft
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1300 tons
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Converted wooden hulled passenger steamer
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Steam walking beam sidewheeler
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1 10-inch smooth-bore, 1 64 pounder 6 8-inch guns, 2 32 pounder rifles
| |
James-town
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1859
|
250 ft
|
34 ft
|
17 Ft
|
1300 tons
|
Converted wooden hulled passenger steamer
|
Steam walking beam sidewheeler
|
2 guns, type not specified
| |
Raleigh
|
Mid 1850s
|
Unk. Prob 80-85 ft
|
unk
|
unk
|
unk
|
Converted iron hulled tug
|
Steam single screw
|
4 guns, type not specified
| |
Beaufort
|
1854
|
85 ft
|
17 ft 5 in
|
Unk
|
Unk
|
Converted iron hulled tug
|
Steam, single screw
|
One gun, type not specified
| |
Teaser
|
Unk. Prob mid 1850s
|
60 Ft
|
18 ft.
|
Unk
|
65 tons
|
Converted wooden hulled tug
|
Steam, single screw
|
1 rifled 32 pounder;
1 rifled 12 pounder.
|
Notes, Links, and Stuff:
Minnesota gained a good bit of fame in the last years before she was scrapped simply by being the last surviving ship that was involved in The Battle of Hampton Roads. Sadly her conversion to a floating barracks/recruitment center had changed her so much that saving her and preserving her as a historical artifact of the battle would have been cost prohibitive had it even been considered.
Minnesota was neither the only ship converted into a Barracks/recruitment center nor the last wooden hulled ship burned for scrap in Eastport, Maine. The USS Wabash for example was launched a year later than Minnesota, and enjoyed a comparative career, except that she lasted even longer. She was converted into a roofed over recruitment center in 1878, and wasn't scrapped in Eastport until June 1912, a period of 34 years.
While Roanoke was a failure as an ironclad, she taught well learned lessons. The US Navy commissioned several multiple turret monitors both during and after the war. All were designed and built from the git-go as ironclads, and they were the true battle wagons of their time as well as the predecessors to the modern battleship.
The CSS Raleigh that served as one of Virginia' tenders wasn't the only ship of that name commissioned by the Confederate Navy. There was also a Richmond class casemate ironclad of the same name built and commissioned in 1864. She was not a lucky ship, and ran aground and foundered less than a week after she was commissioned. Yeah, I think we may hear more about her on here!
Teaser may be long gone, but her guns are still around. Both are still at the old Washington Navy Yard, the 32 pounder on display and the 12 pounder in storage. The 32 pounder was cast at Tredegar Ironworks in Richmond, Va in 1852, under U.S.Navy contract. This wasn't the only U.S.Navy gun to end up on a Confederate Navy ship, of course and this one got returned to it's rightful owners. This was not a lightweight weapon by any mean...it weighed in at around 6500 pounds.
Links:
The Wikipedia articles for all seven of the ships:
USS Minnesota's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Minnesota_%281855%29
CSS Patrick Henry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Patrick_Henry
CSS Jamestown http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Jamestown
CSS Beaufort http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Beaufort
CSS Teaser http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Teaser
An issue of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum quaterly The Daybook that features a couple of good articles about Minnesota, as well as being chock full of other interesting articles of the Naval History variety. It's a PDF fiile and requires Adobe Reader:
Another blog article on USS Roanoke.
http://warshipsresearch.blogspot.com/2011/11/american-steam-frigateironclad-uss.html
A short article from CSS Virginia.org that goes into a bit more detail about Patrick Henry's early career: http://cssvirginia.org/vacsn3/crew/phenry/index.htm
An interesting and informative article about the flag flown by Patrick Henry when she served as a school ship, and the traditions and methods of displaying flags in the Confederate Navy:
An account of the Patrick Henry's role in the mystery surrounding the gold from CSA Treasury
Blog article About CSS Teaser's capture and the fate of her guns. The entire blog's worth checking out, BTW: http://markerhunter.wordpress.com/tag/css-teaser/
Blog article about Teaser and her operations as both a balloon carrier and a mine layer.
And finally, a modeling forum discussion on the model of Teaser and her balloon pictured in this post.
