USS Springfield (1862) was a steamship purchased 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:...

 assigned to patrol 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.

Springfield -- a stern wheel river steamer built at Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, in 1862 -- was purchased by the Navy at that city on 20 November 1862; and was commissioned at Cairo, Illinois

Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

, on 12 January 1863, Lt. Henry A. Glassford in command.

Patrolling the Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers

The light draft gunboat operated on the Ohio

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

, Tennessee

Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...

, and Cumberland River

Cumberland River

The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...

s escorting transports and protecting 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...

 lines of communication and supply, from time to time engaging guerrilla forces on the river banks.

Destroying the town of Palmyra, Tennessee

On 3 April 1863, Springfield accompanied gunboats Lexington

USS Lexington (1861)

The third USS Lexington was a timberclad gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Purchase and conversion:Lexington was built as a sidewheel steamer at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1861 and was purchased by the War Department and converted into a gunboat at Cincinnati, Ohio,...

, Brilliant

USS Brilliant (1862)

USS Brilliant was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways....

, Robb, and Silver Lake

USS Silver Lake (1862)

USS Silver Lake was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways.- Built in Pennsylvania is 1862 :...

 on an expedition up the Tennessee River to destroy Palmyra in retaliation for the attack by a Confederate battery there the day before which damaged Union gunboat St. Clair

USS St. Clair (1862)

USS St. Clair was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways.- Built in Pennsylvania in 1862 :...

 and Army transports Eclipse and Luminary.

In pursuit of Confederate General John Morgan and his raiders

Perhaps Springfields most exciting service came in July when she joined a number of other gunboats in chasing a large Confederate force led by General John Hunt Morgan

John Hunt Morgan

John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...

. The Southern raider crossed the Ohio River on 8 July, entered Indiana, and commenced a wild ride east. While Union home guards pursued him, the Union gunboats moved up the river and prevented him from recrossing to safety in the South. Finally, after a 10-day chase over some 500 miles, the pursuers caught up with the raiders and forced them to attempt to cross at Buffington Island

Buffington Island

Buffington Island is an island in the Ohio River in Jackson County, West Virginia, United States, east of Racine, Ohio. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Buffington Island took place on July 19, 1863, just south of the Ohio community of Portland....

. Federal steamers Moose

USS Moose (1863)

USS Moose was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways to prevent the South from trading with other countries....

 and Alleghany Belle repeatedly frustrated Morgan's efforts to move his troops south of the river. Pressed from both directions, most of the raiders surrendered.

Morgan and a few followers managed to retreat into the hills and rode on for another week through the North before they were surrounded and captured near New Lisbon, Ohio.

Chasing Confederates attempting to cross the Cumberland

Almost a year of routine convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 and patrol service went by before Springfield could report any more excitement. On 3 June 1864, as the tinclad was descending the Cumberland, she came upon a band of guerrillas attempting to ford the river at Shelly Island. The gunboat opened fire on the Confederates who fled on foot leaving behind four horses, a few pounds of horseshoe nails, and a “contraband” blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 whom they had impressed “to shoe rebel horses.”

Springfield served on upper rivers through the end of the Civil War.

Post-war decommissioning, sale, and civilian career

On 29 April 1865, she was ordered down to Mound City, Illinois

Mound City, Illinois

Mound City is a city located along the Ohio River in Pulaski County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 692. It is the county seat of Pulaski County.-Geography:Mound City is located at ....

, where she was decommissioned on 30 June. The steamer was sold at public auction there on 17 August 1865 to R. G. Jameson. Re-documented as Jennie D. on 1 April 1866, the stern wheeler served on the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

system until 1875.