USS James S. Chambers (1861)
Encyclopedia
USS James S. Chambers (1861) was a schooner
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.
, 4 September 1861; and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 16 December, Lt. Dennis Condry in command.
and off the Florida
coast was first rewarded on 23 August when she captured blockade-running schooner Corelia with a cargo of supplies badly needed by the South. Two days later she took Confederate steamer Union attempting to escape with a cargo of 350 bales of cotton.
's inauguration—when men from her whaleboats boarded and took Spanish sloop Relampago with a cargo of coffee, liquors, and soldiers shoes.
The triumph was capped late that afternoon when a sail was sighted to the south standing in for land. The unidentified ship ignored a shot across her bow and continued to race for the beach without showing any colors. The Union schooner continued the chase firing at her quarry until she ran aground. The following morning men from James S. Chambers boarded the wreck, a schooner of pilot boat-build, and identified her as Ida. They removed several boatloads of cargo before setting her afire. A final prize came on 18 June 1863 when the vigilant blockader captured schooner Rebekah.
drove off a body of Confederate sailors embarking on a boat expedition ordered to capture the Union's side-wheel steamer Adela
.
. The epidemic
forced her to return to Philadelphia after taking the lives of 13 bluejacket
s and 3 officers. Only two or three members of her crew escaped the disease.
1865 the indomitable ship was back in action with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron stationed at Bull's Bay, South Carolina She was in the joint expeditionary force which attacked the rear of Charleston, South Carolina
, 12 February. A fortnight
later, her boat crews raided and destroyed extensive Confederate salt works and stockpiles at Palmetto Point, South Carolina.
Toward the end of the war James 8. Chambers served as a quarantine
vessel at Port Royal, South Carolina
.
in New York City to Mr. Rhinehart 27 September 1865.
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
acquired by the Union Navy
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 as a 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:...
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.
Purchased and commissioned in Philadelphia
James S. Chambers was a three-masted schooner purchased by the Navy at Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, 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,...
, 4 September 1861; and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 16 December, Lt. Dennis Condry in command.
Assigned to the Gulf Blockading Squadron
The schooner sailed from Philadelphia 6 days later and joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron at Ship Island, Mississippi, 23 January 1862. Her diligent service in the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
and off the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
coast was first rewarded on 23 August when she captured blockade-running schooner Corelia with a cargo of supplies badly needed by the South. Two days later she took Confederate steamer Union attempting to escape with a cargo of 350 bales of cotton.
James S. Chambers, a “vigilant blockader”
James S. Chambers scored again on 4 March 1863 -- the second anniversary of President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's inauguration—when men from her whaleboats boarded and took Spanish sloop Relampago with a cargo of coffee, liquors, and soldiers shoes.
The triumph was capped late that afternoon when a sail was sighted to the south standing in for land. The unidentified ship ignored a shot across her bow and continued to race for the beach without showing any colors. The Union schooner continued the chase firing at her quarry until she ran aground. The following morning men from James S. Chambers boarded the wreck, a schooner of pilot boat-build, and identified her as Ida. They removed several boatloads of cargo before setting her afire. A final prize came on 18 June 1863 when the vigilant blockader captured schooner Rebekah.
Continued Florida operations
A period of almost a year's blockading duty stationed at West Pass, St. George's Sound, Florida, ensued. On 12 May 1864 boats from James S. Chambers and SomersetUSS Somerset (1862)
USS Somerset was a wooden-hulled, side-wheel ferryboat built at Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1862, which was purchased by the Navy at Washington, D. C., on 4 March 1862 and was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 3 April 1862, Lt...
drove off a body of Confederate sailors embarking on a boat expedition ordered to capture the Union's side-wheel steamer Adela
USS Adela (1862)
USS Adela was a steamer captured 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.-Planning, in England, to run the Union Blockade:...
.
Yellow fever forces a return to Philadelphia
In August 1864 James S. Chambers encountered a new enemy -- yellow feverYellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
. The epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
forced her to return to Philadelphia after taking the lives of 13 bluejacket
Bluejacket
-People:* A term for an enlisted sailor in the U.S. or British Navy* Blue Jacket, a Shawnee war chief known for his defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country* Charles Blue Jacket, a 19th century Shawnee chief in Kansas, and Methodist Minister...
s and 3 officers. Only two or three members of her crew escaped the disease.
Reassigned to the South Atlantic blockade
On New Year's DayNew Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1865 the indomitable ship was back in action with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron stationed at Bull's Bay, South Carolina She was in the joint expeditionary force which attacked the rear of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, 12 February. A fortnight
Fortnight
The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen days, or two weeks. The word derives from the Old English fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights"....
later, her boat crews raided and destroyed extensive Confederate salt works and stockpiles at Palmetto Point, South Carolina.
Toward the end of the war James 8. Chambers served as a quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
vessel at Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
.
End-of-war decommissioning and sale
She sailed for the North 27 July and decommissioned 31 August. James S. Chambers was sold at public auctionPublic auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
in New York City to Mr. Rhinehart 27 September 1865.