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USS Mohican (1859)
Encyclopedia
The first USS Mohican was a steam sloop of war in the United States Navy
during the American Civil War
. She was named for the Mohican
tribe.
Mohican was laid down by Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
, in August 1858; launched on 15 February 1859; and commissioned on 29 November 1859, Commander
Sylvanus William Godon
in command.
. On 8 August, the sloop captured the slaver Erie — commanded by Nathaniel Gordon
— off the Congo
and forced that ship to unload its captive cargo at Monrovia, Liberia. She remained on station until sailing for home on 13 August 1861.
's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Sandy Hook, New Jersey
. Departing Norfolk, Virginia
on 29 October for Port Royal, South Carolina
, as part of the largest U.S. naval squadron
assembled to that time, the sloop steamed in the battleline on 7 November as Du Pont's squadron pounded Fort Walker
on Hilton Head Island, forcing the Confederate
s to abandon the emplacement, thereby allowing a combined Union Army
and Navy Force to land and occupy this important base of operations. Mohican was hit six times by Confederate shells in this engagement, suffering superficial hull damage and having one man killed and seven wounded. One of the wounded officers was Acting
Master
Isaac D. Seyburn
.
at the end of November accompanying part of the "Stone Fleet
", and stood by while these ships were scuttled on 18–19 December to obstruct channels to Confederate ports in the Carolinas and Georgia
. The warship then operated off the southern coast with steamer , searching for Confederate shipping, capturing British blockade runner
Arrow off Fernandina, Florida on 25 February 1862. In company with sloop and schooner , she took possession of St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island
near Brunswick, Georgia
on 9–10 March, but found them deserted because of a general Confederate withdrawal from the seacoast and coastal islands. In early April, Mohican reconnoitered the Wilmington River to determine the best way of obstructing it, helping to cut off Fort Pulaski from Savannah
as part of the projected attack on that fort and then operated out of St. Simons Bay, Georgia, on blockade until ordered to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
on 29 June. The ship decommissioned there on 9 July.
and . Sailing immediately, the steamer cruised on station from the Cape Verde Islands to the Cape of Good Hope
operating off the coasts of Africa and South America into 1864. She returned to Philadelphia on 14 April 1864 without contacting the elusive enemy and was decommissioned there two weeks later.
David Dixon Porter
's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and cruised off Wilmington, North Carolina
through December. She then joined the rest of the squadron in the attack on Fort Fisher
on 24–25 December, firing over 500 shells in the fierce bombardment. Mohican resumed her blockade, now off Beaufort, North Carolina
, until the second attack on Fort Fisher
from 13–15 January 1865. As part of the first line of battle, the sloop bombarded the Confederate bastion throughout the three-day campaign, supplying covering fire for the landings on the second and third days until the fort was taken on the 15th. During the engagement, Mohican lost one man killed and 10 wounded.
William T. Sherman. She began blockading off Ossabaw Island
, South Carolina on 3 February and remained there until ordered north on the 24th. The steam sloop decommissioned at Boston Navy Yard
on 26 April and remained there — repairing — until recommissioning on 18 August 1866.
and departed 6 September for the west coast, steaming via St. Thomas, ports in Brazil, Montevideo
, round Cape Horn, to Valparaíso
, joining Rear Adm. Dahlgren in at Callao, Peru on 25 April 1867 and then steaming up the Pacific coast, through Panama
and the coast of Mexico, arriving at San Francisco, California
on 28 July.
Mohican remained on the Pacific coast through 1872, cruising to South America in the fall and winter of 1867 and then decommissioning from 3 April 1868-7 June 1869 at Mare Island Navy Yard. The warship made one cruise to Siberia and the northwest coast during the summer of 1869 and then departed on 11 October to cruise to Hawaii
, returning on 11 January 1870. She then made a second cruise to the Pacific Northwest and in May sailed to patrol off Mexico. On 17 June 1870, men from Mohican attacked the Mexican pirate steamer Forward, which had terrorized the coast for the previous month. In a fierce gun battle
between Mohicans armed boats and the outlaw vessel off Mazatlán
, the pirate was boarded and captured. The sloop continued her cruise as far south as Callao through August 1871, returning on the 25th. The warship made one more cruise along the coast of Mexico to Panama from October–April 1872.
Mohican decommissioned at Mare Island on 25 June 1872 and by the end of the year had sunk at her moorings. She was subsequently towed onto the Mare Island mud flats and broken up.
United States Navy
The 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...
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 named for the Mohican
Mohican
-Native Americans:* Mahican , a Native American tribe who lived in and around the Hudson Valley* Mohegan, a functional confederation of several branches of Native Americans during the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century...
tribe.
Mohican was laid down by Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
, in August 1858; launched on 15 February 1859; and commissioned on 29 November 1859, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Sylvanus William Godon
Sylvanus William Godon
Sylvanus William Godon was an American naval officer who served in the Mexican–American and American Civil Wars.-Biography:...
in command.
African Squadron, 1859-1861
Assigned to the African Squadron, Mohican departed Portsmouth on 19 January 1860 for the South Atlantic and for the next year and one-half cruised on patrol against pirates and slavers off the coasts of Africa and at times BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. On 8 August, the sloop captured the slaver Erie — commanded by Nathaniel Gordon
Nathaniel Gordon
Nathaniel Gordon was the only American slave trader to be tried, convicted, and executed "for being engaged in the Slave Trade" in accordance with the Piracy Law of 1820.Gordon was born in Portland, Maine...
— off the Congo
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and forced that ship to unload its captive cargo at Monrovia, Liberia. She remained on station until sailing for home on 13 August 1861.
Battle of Port Royal, 1861
Following her arrival at Boston, Massachusetts on 27 September, she sailed to join Flag Officer Samuel Du PontSamuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit, approximately 6.0 miles in length and varying between 0.10 and 1 miles wide in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic Ocean coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. The barrier spit encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay...
. Departing Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 29 October for 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...
, as part of the largest U.S. naval squadron
Battle of Port Royal
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861...
assembled to that time, the sloop steamed in the battleline on 7 November as Du Pont's squadron pounded Fort Walker
Fort Walker
Fort Walker was a Civil War redoubt located on what is now the southeastern corner of Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia.-History:The redoubt was built by Confederate forces in 1863....
on Hilton Head Island, forcing the 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...
s to abandon the emplacement, thereby allowing a combined Union Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Navy Force to land and occupy this important base of operations. Mohican was hit six times by Confederate shells in this engagement, suffering superficial hull damage and having one man killed and seven wounded. One of the wounded officers was Acting
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Master
Master (naval)
The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...
Isaac D. Seyburn
Isaac D. Seyburn
Isaac D. Seyburn was a Welsh-American merchant captain who served as an officer in the United States Navy during the Civil War, with the rank of Acting Master. He was wounded in action during the 1861 Battle of Port Royal. During 1863 he commanded the schooner USS Kittatinny as part of the West...
.
Blockade duty, 1861-1862
The steamer sailed to Charleston BarCharleston Bar
Charleston Bar is a series of submerged shoals lying about eight miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, United States.-See also:* Battle of Sullivan's Island...
at the end of November accompanying part of the "Stone Fleet
Stone Fleet
The Stone Fleet consisted of a fleet of aging ships purchased in New Bedford and other New England ports, loaded with stone, and sailed south during the American Civil War by the Union Navy for use as Blockships...
", and stood by while these ships were scuttled on 18–19 December to obstruct channels to Confederate ports in the Carolinas and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The warship then operated off the southern coast with steamer , searching for Confederate shipping, capturing British blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
Arrow off Fernandina, Florida on 25 February 1862. In company with sloop and schooner , she took possession of St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island is an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County; it is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia. The city of Brunswick, Georgia, the Marshes of Glynn, and several other islands, including the larger St. Simons Island, are nearby...
near Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
on 9–10 March, but found them deserted because of a general Confederate withdrawal from the seacoast and coastal islands. In early April, Mohican reconnoitered the Wilmington River to determine the best way of obstructing it, helping to cut off Fort Pulaski from Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
as part of the projected attack on that fort and then operated out of St. Simons Bay, Georgia, on blockade until ordered to 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,...
on 29 June. The ship decommissioned there on 9 July.
Hunting the raiders, 1862-1864
Mohican recommissioned on 17 October and five days later was ordered on special service chasing the Confederate raiders CSS FloridaCSS Florida (cruiser)
CSS Florida was a cruiser in the Confederate States Navy.Florida was built by the British firm of William C. Miller & Sons of Toxteth, Liverpool, and purchased by the Confederacy from Fawcett, Preston & Co., also of Liverpool, who engined her...
and . Sailing immediately, the steamer cruised on station from the Cape Verde Islands to the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
operating off the coasts of Africa and South America into 1864. She returned to Philadelphia on 14 April 1864 without contacting the elusive enemy and was decommissioned there two weeks later.
Battles of Fort Fisher, 1864-1865
Reactivated on 7 October, the warship was assigned to Rear AdmiralRear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...
's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and cruised off Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
through December. She then joined the rest of the squadron in the attack on Fort Fisher
First Battle of Fort Fisher
The First Battle of Fort Fisher, was a siege fought from December 23 to December 27, 1864, was a failed attempt by Union forces to capture the fort guarding Wilmington, North Carolina, the South's last major port on the Atlantic Ocean...
on 24–25 December, firing over 500 shells in the fierce bombardment. Mohican resumed her blockade, now off Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1709, it is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.The population was 4,189 at the 2008 census and it is the county seat of Carteret County...
, until the second attack on Fort Fisher
Second Battle of Fort Fisher
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union Army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War...
from 13–15 January 1865. As part of the first line of battle, the sloop bombarded the Confederate bastion throughout the three-day campaign, supplying covering fire for the landings on the second and third days until the fort was taken on the 15th. During the engagement, Mohican lost one man killed and 10 wounded.
End of the war, 1865
The warship was ordered to Rear Adm. John Dahlgren's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron on 17 January, carrying dispatches for GeneralGeneral (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
William T. Sherman. She began blockading off Ossabaw Island
Ossabaw Island
Ossabaw Island is one of the Sea Islands located on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia approximately twenty miles by water south from the historic downtown of the city of Savannah. One of the largest of Georgia's barrier islands, Ossabaw contains of wooded uplands with...
, South Carolina on 3 February and remained there until ordered north on the 24th. The steam sloop decommissioned at Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
on 26 April and remained there — repairing — until recommissioning on 18 August 1866.
Pacific Squadron, 1865-1872
The sloop was then assigned to the Pacific SquadronPacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
and departed 6 September for the west coast, steaming via St. Thomas, ports in Brazil, Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, round Cape Horn, to Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, joining Rear Adm. Dahlgren in at Callao, Peru on 25 April 1867 and then steaming up the Pacific coast, through Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and the coast of Mexico, arriving at San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on 28 July.
Mohican remained on the Pacific coast through 1872, cruising to South America in the fall and winter of 1867 and then decommissioning from 3 April 1868-7 June 1869 at Mare Island Navy Yard. The warship made one cruise to Siberia and the northwest coast during the summer of 1869 and then departed on 11 October to cruise to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, returning on 11 January 1870. She then made a second cruise to the Pacific Northwest and in May sailed to patrol off Mexico. On 17 June 1870, men from Mohican attacked the Mexican pirate steamer Forward, which had terrorized the coast for the previous month. In a fierce gun battle
Battle of Boca Teacapan
The Battle of Boca Teacapan was the result of a United States Navy boat expedition to destroy a Mexican pirate ship which was attacking targets in the Pacific Ocean. United States sailors and marines in several small boats pursued the pirates to the Boca Teacapan, in Sinaloa and up the Teacapan...
between Mohicans armed boats and the outlaw vessel off Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
, the pirate was boarded and captured. The sloop continued her cruise as far south as Callao through August 1871, returning on the 25th. The warship made one more cruise along the coast of Mexico to Panama from October–April 1872.
Mohican decommissioned at Mare Island on 25 June 1872 and by the end of the year had sunk at her moorings. She was subsequently towed onto the Mare Island mud flats and broken up.
See also
- Battle of Boca TeacapanBattle of Boca TeacapanThe Battle of Boca Teacapan was the result of a United States Navy boat expedition to destroy a Mexican pirate ship which was attacking targets in the Pacific Ocean. United States sailors and marines in several small boats pursued the pirates to the Boca Teacapan, in Sinaloa and up the Teacapan...