USS Tacony (1863) was a double-ended, side-wheel steamboat

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...

 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 third year of 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 outfitted as a heavy 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:...

 with powerful guns and used in the Union blockade

Union blockade

The Union Blockade, or the Blockade of the South, took place between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, when the Union Navy maintained a strenuous effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms...

 of the waterways of the Confederate States of America

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...

.

Built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Tacony – the first ship to be so-named by the U.S. Navy -- was launched on 7 May 1863; sponsored by Miss Ellie M. Wells, daughter of Lieutenant Commander Clark H. Wells, the captain of the yard at Philadelphia; and commissioned there on 12 February 1864, Lt. Comdr. William T. Truxtun in command.

Assigned to the East Gulf blockade

The double-ender was assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and sailed south from 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,...

 soon thereafter, bound for Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

. She reached Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

, on the 15th and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs to her steering machinery. While the steamer was undergoing this yard work, a dispatch arrived reassigning her to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Reassigned to the North Atlantic blockade

She departed Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 before dawn on the morning of 27 February, bound for the North Carolina

North 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 to strengthen Union forces afloat in those dangerous waters against the attacks by 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...

 ironclad 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...

, then reportedly nearing completion up 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...

. But for a brief run—via 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....

 -- to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 for repair, she served in the 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 ....

 until after the destruction of Albemarle on the night of 27 October and 28 October.

On 31 October 1864, the ship participated in the capture of Plymouth, North Carolina

Plymouth, 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...

. Four sailors from the Tacony were awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 for going ashore and disabling a Confederate artillery gun while under heavy fire during this action. The men were Landsman Henry Brutsche, Landsman Robert Graham, Landsman Michael C. Horgan

Michael C. Horgan

Michael C. Horgan was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War who served under the alias Martin Howard. He received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the capture of Plymouth, North Carolina.-Biography:A native of Ireland, Horgan...

, and Quarter Gunner James Tallentine.

Supporting the attack on Fort Fisher

In December, Tacony left the sounds to join the force Rear Admiral David D. Porter was assembling to destroy the defenses of 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...

; and she participated in the abortive attack against Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....

 on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

 and Christmas Day. She was part of the powerful fleet which Porter led back to Fort Fisher in mid-January 1865, and she supported the effort which finally compelled that valuable Confederate stronghold to surrender on the 15th. She also participated in the attack against Fort Anderson

Fort Anderson

Fort Anderson can refer to:*Fort Anderson — A Union fort used in the American Civil War and site of the Battle of Paducah, Kentucky*Fort Anderson — A Confederate fort used in the American Civil War...

 late in the month.

The ship continued blockade duty through the collapse of the Confederacy and then sailed north.

Post-war service and decommissioning

She was decommissioned at Boston, Massachusetts on 21 June 1865 for repairs. Recommissioned on 16 September 1865, the ship served—but for another period out of commission undergoing repairs from 21 November 1866 to 12 February 1867 — until 7 October 1867 when she was decommissioned for the final time at Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...

. Tacony remained in ordinary until 26 August 1868 when she was sold. No trace of her subsequent career has been found.

External links

• USS Tacony