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USS Saginaw (1859)
Encyclopedia
The first USS Saginaw was a sidewheel sloop-of-war in the United States Navy
during the American Civil War
.
James F. Schenck
in command.
The new side-wheel ship sailed from San Francisco Bay on 8 March 1860, headed for the western Pacific, and reached Shanghai
, China
on 12 May. She then served in the East India Squadron
, for the most part cruising along the Chinese coast to protect American citizens and to suppress pirates. She visited Japan
in November but soon returned to Chinese waters. On 30 June 1861, she silenced a battery at the entrance to Qui Nhon Bay, Cochin China, which had fired upon her while she was searching for the missing boat and crew of American bark
, Myrtle.
On 3 January 1862, Saginaw was decommissioned at Hong Kong
and returned to Mare Island
on 3 July for repairs.
Relaunched on 3 December 1862 and recommissioned on 23 March 1863, the side-wheeler was attached to the Pacific Squadron
and operated along the western seaboard to prevent Confederate
activity. She visited Puget Sound
that spring to investigate reports that Southern privateer
s were being outfitted in British Columbia
, but returned after learning that the scheme had no chance of success.
Her cruises in 1864 took Saginaw to ports in Mexico
and Central America
to protect the interests of the U.S. endangered by Confederate activity and by Europe
an interference in Mexico. During the closing months of the year, she escorted steamers of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
carrying rich cargoes of bullion from the California
gold fields. In the spring of 1865, the ship was assigned to the Revenue Service
but was returned to the Navy on 2 June. She spent the remainder of the year protecting American citizens at Guaymas
and other Mexican ports during the unrest and disorder which beset Mexico during the struggle between Maximilian
and Benito Juárez
.
In March 1866, Saginaw returned to Mare Island. She sailed in August for Puget Sound to support settlers in the northwest. While there, she aided the Western Union Company
in laying a cable which first brought telegraphic service to the region. After returning to Mare Island in December, the ship remained at the navy yard through 1867.
In April 1868, a year after Alaska was purchased from Russia, Saginaw got underway for Alaska
and, with the exception of a run home late in the year for replenishment, spent the next year exploring and charting the coast of that vast, newly acquired territory. In February 1869 a conflict erupted between the U.S. Army and the Tlingit in the Kake region. After the Indians refused a command in Sitka not to leave, one Indian was killed. In reprisal, two innocent miners were killed by the Indians in a place on Admiralty Island called Murder Cove.
In reprisal, the U.S. Army deployed the gunboat USS Saginaw from Sitka which attacked, shelled, and burned three Tlingit villages on Kiku Island near what is today called Saginaw Bay. The villages had been evacuated. The Tlingit of the Kake area did not rebuild these three destroyed villages, but many relocated and settled around 1890 at the present site of Kake.
There were numerous outbreaks of violence by the Indians prior to this incident near Saginaw Bay. The crew of a British trader, Royal Charlie, were killed by Indians in the early 1860s while Russian still owned Alaska according to George Davidson who was the first coastal survey for the United States in Alaska. Alaska Coast Pilot (1869). In 1862, the Labouchere, a Hudson's Bay trading steamer was boarded by hundreds of Indians who seized the captain and the head of the Hudson's Bay operation in Alaska. The armed crewed negotiated a release. Also in the 1860s, Indians paddled almost 800 miles from the Kiku Island region to Puget Sound where they beheaded the custom's inspector. General Davis in Sitka considered all these events when crafting a strategy to maintain law and order in the territory.
After steaming back to San Francisco Bay
in April 1869, the ship departed her home port on 28 July and operated along the coast of Mexico until arriving back at Mare Island on 11 November.
en route home to rescue any shipwrecked sailors who might be stranded there. The next day, 29 October, as she neared this rarely visited island, Saginaw struck an outlying reef and grounded. Before the surf battered the ship to pieces, her crew managed to transfer much of her gear and provisions to the island.
On 18 November, a party of five men, headed by Lieutenant
John G. Talbot
, the executive officer, set out for Honolulu in a small boat to get relief for their stranded shipmates. As they neared Kauai
, 31 days and some 1500 mi (2,414 km) later, their boat was upset by breakers. Only Coxswain
William Halford
survived to obtain help. He was brought to Oahu
and the U.S. Consul
there. The king Kamehameha V
subsequently sent his steamer
the "Kilauea
" to rescue the shipwrecked sailors, which arrived January 4. All of them survived.
The ship's gig that they sailed in is on display at the Saginaw History Museum in Saginaw, Michigan
.
The wreck was discovered in 2003 and remains under the jurisdiction of the Naval Historical Center
.
The book, A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: Life on Board USS Saginaw (by Hans Van Tilburg, University Press of Florida, 2010) covers the ship's construction, her ten years of service in the Pacific, and loss at Kure Atoll. Van Tilburg led the team which discovered the wreck site in 2003.
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...
.
History
The first vessel built by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Saginaw was laid down on 16 September 1858; launched as Toucey on 3 March 1859; sponsored by Miss Cunningham, daughter of the commandant of the Navy Yard; renamed Saginaw; and commissioned on 5 January 1860, CommanderCommander (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...
James F. Schenck
James F. Schenck
James Findlay Schenck was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.-Biography:...
in command.
The new side-wheel ship sailed from San Francisco Bay on 8 March 1860, headed for the western Pacific, and reached Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
on 12 May. She then served in the East India Squadron
East India Squadron
The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coasts of the Americas and in the South Pacific Ocean...
, for the most part cruising along the Chinese coast to protect American citizens and to suppress pirates. She visited Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in November but soon returned to Chinese waters. On 30 June 1861, she silenced a battery at the entrance to Qui Nhon Bay, Cochin China, which had fired upon her while she was searching for the missing boat and crew of American bark
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
, Myrtle.
On 3 January 1862, Saginaw was decommissioned at Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and returned to Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
on 3 July for repairs.
Relaunched on 3 December 1862 and recommissioned on 23 March 1863, the side-wheeler was attached to the Pacific Squadron
Pacific 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 operated along the western seaboard to prevent 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...
activity. She visited Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
that spring to investigate reports that Southern privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s were being outfitted in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, but returned after learning that the scheme had no chance of success.
Her cruises in 1864 took Saginaw to ports in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
to protect the interests of the U.S. endangered by Confederate activity and by Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an interference in Mexico. During the closing months of the year, she escorted steamers of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
carrying rich cargoes of bullion from the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
gold fields. In the spring of 1865, the ship was assigned to the Revenue Service
United States Revenue Cutter Service
The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service. Throughout its entire existence the Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury...
but was returned to the Navy on 2 June. She spent the remainder of the year protecting American citizens at Guaymas
Guaymas
Guaymas is a city and municipality located in the southwest part of the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. The city is located 117 km south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and 242 miles from the U.S. border, and is the principal port for the state. The municipality is located in the...
and other Mexican ports during the unrest and disorder which beset Mexico during the struggle between Maximilian
Maximilian
Maximilian, Maximillian, or Maximiliaan is a male given name.-Saints:*Maximilian , 3rd century Christian martyr*Maximilian of Lorch, Christian bishop and martyr*Maximilian of Antioch, Christian martyr under Julian the Apostate...
and Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
.
In March 1866, Saginaw returned to Mare Island. She sailed in August for Puget Sound to support settlers in the northwest. While there, she aided the Western Union Company
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
in laying a cable which first brought telegraphic service to the region. After returning to Mare Island in December, the ship remained at the navy yard through 1867.
In April 1868, a year after Alaska was purchased from Russia, Saginaw got underway for Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and, with the exception of a run home late in the year for replenishment, spent the next year exploring and charting the coast of that vast, newly acquired territory. In February 1869 a conflict erupted between the U.S. Army and the Tlingit in the Kake region. After the Indians refused a command in Sitka not to leave, one Indian was killed. In reprisal, two innocent miners were killed by the Indians in a place on Admiralty Island called Murder Cove.
In reprisal, the U.S. Army deployed the gunboat USS Saginaw from Sitka which attacked, shelled, and burned three Tlingit villages on Kiku Island near what is today called Saginaw Bay. The villages had been evacuated. The Tlingit of the Kake area did not rebuild these three destroyed villages, but many relocated and settled around 1890 at the present site of Kake.
There were numerous outbreaks of violence by the Indians prior to this incident near Saginaw Bay. The crew of a British trader, Royal Charlie, were killed by Indians in the early 1860s while Russian still owned Alaska according to George Davidson who was the first coastal survey for the United States in Alaska. Alaska Coast Pilot (1869). In 1862, the Labouchere, a Hudson's Bay trading steamer was boarded by hundreds of Indians who seized the captain and the head of the Hudson's Bay operation in Alaska. The armed crewed negotiated a release. Also in the 1860s, Indians paddled almost 800 miles from the Kiku Island region to Puget Sound where they beheaded the custom's inspector. General Davis in Sitka considered all these events when crafting a strategy to maintain law and order in the territory.
After steaming back to San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
in April 1869, the ship departed her home port on 28 July and operated along the coast of Mexico until arriving back at Mare Island on 11 November.
Fate
Saginaws next assignment took her to Midway Island to support dredging operations to deepen the entrance to the harbor. She reached Midway on 24 March 1870 and completed her task on 21 October. A week later, she sailed for San Francisco, intending to touch at Kure AtollKure Atoll
Kure Atoll or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean beyond Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at . The only land of significant size is called Green Island and is habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds...
en route home to rescue any shipwrecked sailors who might be stranded there. The next day, 29 October, as she neared this rarely visited island, Saginaw struck an outlying reef and grounded. Before the surf battered the ship to pieces, her crew managed to transfer much of her gear and provisions to the island.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
John G. Talbot
John G. Talbot
John Gunnell Talbot was an officer in the United States Navy.Born at Danville, Kentucky, Talbot was appointed a midshipman in 1862 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 12 June 1866. Commissioned ensign on 12 March 1868, Talbot attained the rank of master on 26 March 1869 and of...
, the executive officer, set out for Honolulu in a small boat to get relief for their stranded shipmates. As they neared Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
, 31 days and some 1500 mi (2,414 km) later, their boat was upset by breakers. Only Coxswain
Coxswain
The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
William Halford
William Halford
William Halford was a sailor, and later an officer, in the United States Navy. He also received the Medal of Honor.-Biography:...
survived to obtain help. He was brought to Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
and the U.S. Consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
there. The king Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V
aloghaKamehameha V , born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipa`a": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief...
subsequently sent his steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
the "Kilauea
Kilauea
Kīlauea is a volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and one of five shield volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. Kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. The Puu Ōō cone has been continuously erupting in the eastern...
" to rescue the shipwrecked sailors, which arrived January 4. All of them survived.
The ship's gig that they sailed in is on display at the Saginaw History Museum in Saginaw, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
The wreck was discovered in 2003 and remains under the jurisdiction of the Naval Historical Center
Naval Historical Center
The Naval History & Heritage Command is the official history program of the United States Navy and is located at the historic Washington Navy Yard in the District of Columbia.-Mission :...
.
The book, A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: Life on Board USS Saginaw (by Hans Van Tilburg, University Press of Florida, 2010) covers the ship's construction, her ten years of service in the Pacific, and loss at Kure Atoll. Van Tilburg led the team which discovered the wreck site in 2003.