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USS Bazely (1863)
Encyclopedia
USS Bazely (1863) (also designated Tug No. 2 and Beta) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy
during the American Civil War
. She was used by the Union Navy in a tugboat
/patrol boat
role in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate
waterways.
-- was one of six similar vessels purchased at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, by the U.S. Navy on 3 June 1864 to support other Union warships in all the varied ways in which tugs assist larger ships. These vessels were also needed to help protect Northern men of war and Union Army
transports against surprise attacks by Confederate rams
, torpedo boat
s, or other novel craft which had been a cause of great concern since CSS Virginia’s
first foray on 8 March 1862. The submersible H. L. Hunley’s sinking of the screw sloop of war Housatonic
and the ironclad ram Albemarle’s
destruction of the side wheel gunboat
Southfield
later underscored the dangers posed by such innovative Southern vessels.
s, J. E. Bazely became Patrol Boat No. 2. Her sister tugs lost their merchant names; and, thereafter, each was referred to by her new designation. In practice, however, for some reason Patrol Boat No. 2 continued to carry a shortened version of her former name, Bazely.
Sounds
. Towed by side wheel steamer Nansemond
, she and Belle
got underway for Hatteras Inlet
on the 27th; and the trio, along with sister tugs Hoyt
and Martin
who had been pulled by Monticello
, entered the inland waters on the 29th. Bazely began operations in Albemarle Sound
supporting the Union light draft warships which were guarding the mouth of the Roanoke River
lest the dreaded Southern ram Albemarle
reemerge and attempt to destroy the Union forces which were struggling to maintain a tenuous control on the area.
, relieved him in command of Bazely that had since added Tug No. 2 to her list of names. Well into the autumn, most of the tug’s attention—and that of the other warships within the sounds—was concentrated upon the Confederate ironclad. Then, suddenly, on the night of 27 October, Lt. William B. Cushing put an end to that menace by his courageous ascent of the Roanoke River in Picket Launch No. 1 to destroy Albemarle
by exploding a spar torpedo
against her hull.
. Before the attack upon that Southern position, Comdr. William H. Macomb, the senior naval officer in the sounds, had a tug lashed to each of the principal warships to assure her propulsion in the event her own engine became disabled. Bazely was tied to Shamrock
; and her new commanding officer
, Acting Ensign Mark D. Ames, was praised for working and fighting his ship admirably and was recommended for promotion. Besides taking the town, the expedition captured “22 cannon, 200 stand of arms, 37 prisoners, and all the enemy’s flags.”
More weighty matters than name changes seemed to be occupying the leaders of the Navy in the North Carolina sounds. Besides consolidating the Union position in the wake of Albemarle’s destruction, Comdr. Macomb, the senior naval officer in the area, felt concern over the report of another Confederate ironclad rumored under construction up the Roanoke River
at Halifax, North Carolina
.
On the afternoon of 9 December, an expedition under his command started to move farther up the Roanoke from Plymouth to capture Rainbow Bluff and to destroy the reported ram. That evening, however, the double-ender Otsego struck two torpedoes near Jamesville, North Carolina
, and sank. Beta -- still called Bazely in Macomb’s report—headed for Otsego
to lend assistance, but herself struck a torpedo (mine) whose explosion killed two men and caused the tug to sink.
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. She was used by the Union Navy in a tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
/patrol boat
Patrol boat
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...
role in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
waterways.
Conversion of tugboat role to patrol craft role
J. E. Bazely -- a screw tug built in 1863 at Gloucester, New JerseyGloucester, New Jersey
Gloucester, New Jersey may refer to:* Gloucester City, New Jersey, Camden County* Gloucester Township, New Jersey, Camden County* Gloucester County, New Jersey...
-- was one of six similar vessels purchased at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, by the U.S. Navy on 3 June 1864 to support other Union warships in all the varied ways in which tugs assist larger ships. These vessels were also needed to help protect Northern men of war and Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
transports against surprise attacks by Confederate rams
Naval ram
A naval ram was a weapon carried by varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon consisted of an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between six and twelve feet in length...
, torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s, or other novel craft which had been a cause of great concern since CSS Virginia’s
CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...
first foray on 8 March 1862. The submersible H. L. Hunley’s sinking of the screw sloop of war Housatonic
USS Housatonic (1861)
The first USS Housatonic was a screw sloop-of-war of the United States Navy, named for the Housatonic River of New England which rises in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and flows southward into Connecticut before emptying into Long Island Sound a little east of Bridgeport, Connecticut...
and the ironclad ram Albemarle’s
CSS Albemarle
CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy , named for a town and a sound in North Carolina and a county in Virginia...
destruction of the side wheel gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
Southfield
USS Southfield (1857)
USS Southfield, was a a double-ended, sidewheel steam gunboat of the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was sunk in action against the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Albemarle during the Battle of Plymouth ....
later underscored the dangers posed by such innovative Southern vessels.
Redesignation process of names to numbers
When the U.S. Navy Department designated these tugs as patrol boatPatrol boat
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...
s, J. E. Bazely became Patrol Boat No. 2. Her sister tugs lost their merchant names; and, thereafter, each was referred to by her new designation. In practice, however, for some reason Patrol Boat No. 2 continued to carry a shortened version of her former name, Bazely.
Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockade
All six tugs were assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron; and, although Bazely first appeared on its list of vessels on 17 June, she did not reach Hampton Roads, Virginia, until late in July. Commanded by Acting Ensign John Conner, the tug was assigned to the North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
Sounds
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
. Towed by side wheel steamer Nansemond
USS Nansemond (1862)
The first USS Nansemond, a side wheel steamer built at Williamsburg, N.Y. in 1862, as James F. Freeborn, was purchased by the United States Navy at New York City on 18 August 1863 from Richard Squires; it was renamed Nansemond and commissioned at Baltimore on 19 August, with Lieutenant Roswell H...
, she and Belle
USS Belle (1864)
USS Belle was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.She was used by the Union Navy for various tasks, including those of a torpedo boat.- Built in Philadelphia in 1864 :...
got underway for Hatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet is a estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County.- History :...
on the 27th; and the trio, along with sister tugs Hoyt
USS Hoyt (1863)
USS Hoyt was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy for various tasks, including those of a torpedo boat....
and Martin
USS Martin (1864)
USS Martin was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy for various tasks, including those of a torpedo boat, tugboat, and a picket boat, patrolling Confederate waterways to prevent the South from trading with other countries.Martin, a...
who had been pulled by Monticello
USS Monticello (1859)
The first USS Monticello was a wooden screw-steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the home of Thomas Jefferson. She was briefly named Star in May 1861....
, entered the inland waters on the 29th. Bazely began operations in Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a long barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located,...
supporting the Union light draft warships which were guarding the mouth of the Roanoke River
Roanoke River
The Roanoke River is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, 410 mi long. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont...
lest the dreaded Southern ram Albemarle
CSS Albemarle
CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy , named for a town and a sound in North Carolina and a county in Virginia...
reemerge and attempt to destroy the Union forces which were struggling to maintain a tenuous control on the area.
CSS Albemarle destroyed by spar torpedo on Picket Launch No. 1
After Conner fell ill in mid August, Acting Master’s Mate John Woodman, detached from CeresUSS Ceres (1856)
USS Ceres was a small steamboat acquired by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.-Construction:...
, relieved him in command of Bazely that had since added Tug No. 2 to her list of names. Well into the autumn, most of the tug’s attention—and that of the other warships within the sounds—was concentrated upon the Confederate ironclad. Then, suddenly, on the night of 27 October, Lt. William B. Cushing put an end to that menace by his courageous ascent of the Roanoke River in Picket Launch No. 1 to destroy Albemarle
CSS Albemarle
CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy , named for a town and a sound in North Carolina and a county in Virginia...
by exploding a spar torpedo
Spar torpedo
A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls...
against her hull.
Bazely supports attack and capture of Plymouth, North Carolina
His daring feat freed Union naval forces in the sounds to undertake operations that would strengthen their hold on North Carolina and cleared the way for Bazely’s most notable achievement, her participation in the Union expedition that recaptured Plymouth, North CarolinaPlymouth, North Carolina
Plymouth is the largest town in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,107 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
. Before the attack upon that Southern position, Comdr. William H. Macomb, the senior naval officer in the sounds, had a tug lashed to each of the principal warships to assure her propulsion in the event her own engine became disabled. Bazely was tied to Shamrock
USS Shamrock (1863)
USS Shamrock was a large seaworthy steamer with powerful guns, acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways....
; and her new commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Acting Ensign Mark D. Ames, was praised for working and fighting his ship admirably and was recommended for promotion. Besides taking the town, the expedition captured “22 cannon, 200 stand of arms, 37 prisoners, and all the enemy’s flags.”
A confusion of names as Bazely returns to the North Atlantic Blockade
About the time Bazely and her sister tugs -- Picket Boat No. 1 through Picket Boat No. 6 -- joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and six somewhat smaller craft also appeared on the squadron's list of vessels under similar names: Picket Launch No. 1 through Picket Launch No. 6. The profound confusion that resulted from this likeness in nomenclature prompted the Navy sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864 to rename the former J. E. Bazely and her sisters for the first six letters of the Greek alphabet Alpha through Zeta. Thus Picket Boat No. 2, alias Bazely and Tug No. 2, became Beta. Nevertheless, she did not get the opportunity to carry this new name for long, if at all.Bazely, assisting another stricken vessel, strikes a mine and sinks
Roanoke River
The Roanoke River is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, 410 mi long. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont...
at Halifax, North Carolina
Halifax, North Carolina
Halifax is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 344 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Halifax County...
.
On the afternoon of 9 December, an expedition under his command started to move farther up the Roanoke from Plymouth to capture Rainbow Bluff and to destroy the reported ram. That evening, however, the double-ender Otsego struck two torpedoes near Jamesville, North Carolina
Jamesville, North Carolina
Jamesville is a town in Martin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 502 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jamesville is located at ....
, and sank. Beta -- still called Bazely in Macomb’s report—headed for Otsego
USS Otsego (1863)
USS Otsego was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
to lend assistance, but herself struck a torpedo (mine) whose explosion killed two men and caused the tug to sink.
Her sister ships return later to destroy the remains of Bazely
The surviving ships of the expedition continued upstream, but the necessity of dragging for torpedoes (mines) slowed their progress, a delay that allowed the Southerners to reinforce Rainbow Bluff. Since Union troops—who were scheduled to cooperate with the gunboats—did not arrive to support the attack, Macomb decided on 20 December to withdraw his ships. They arrived back at Jamesville on Christmas Day and carried out the task of destroying Beta -- which they still called Bazely -- lest she fall into Confederate hands.See also
- United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
- American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
- Confederate States NavyConfederate States NavyThe Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...