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USS Tioga (1862)
Encyclopedia
USS Tioga (1862) was a large steamer with powerful guns, acquired by the Union Navy
during the American Civil War
.
Tioga was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat
in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate
waterways.
on 18 April 1862; sponsored by Mrs. H. P. Grace; and commissioned on 30 June 1862, Lt. George W. Rodgers in command.
to support Union troops beleaguered in a small pocket on the north bank of the river.
's Army of Northern Virginia
had recently defeated General George B. McClellan
's Army of the Potomac
in the Seven Days Campaign and penned the Northern forces in a bridgehead at Harrison's Landing where they were protected by the guns of Union warships and fed by Federal supply ships. The Union gunboats, charged with maintaining control of the James for the North to assure the continuation of McClellan's waterborne support, constituted an independent division of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron called the James River Flotilla.
and sharpshooters
ashore. One of her more unusual duties during this assignment was the chore of protecting the barge which carried and launched an observation balloon
to reconnoiter Confederate positions and troop deployments. Thus, it has been claimed jocularly that she was one of the first warships to screen an aircraft carrier.
between the James and the York River
s and transferred his troops north by water to protect Washington, D.C.
After the withdrawal had been largely completed, the James River Flotilla was broken up on 29 August, with a dozen of its ships being transferred to the Potomac Flotilla
and the remainder reverting to the direct control of Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough
, who commanded the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Tioga was one of the Union warships sent north to strengthen Federal control of the Potomac River
and, by doing so, to beef up the Union forces afloat ready to defend Washington, D.C. At this time, General Robert E. Lee was defeating General John Pope's
Army of Virginia
in the Second Battle of Bull Run
, greatly endangering the Federal capital.
-- to counter the threat posed by the recent commissioning of the Confederate commerce raider Florida
and the expected activation of the steam warship then being built for the South in England
under the designation 290 which would prey on Northern shipping as Alabama
. While Tioga never encountered either of these adversaries which would win renown under Confederate colors, she did compile an impressive score against blockade runners.
to Key West, Florida
, for adjudication. On 13 March, she captured another British schooner, Florence Nightingale, laden with cotton and without papers. Nine days later, she made a prize of the English side-wheel steamer Granite City. The British sloop Justina struck her colors to the gunboat on 23 April.
On 20 June, while cruising in company with Santiago de Cuba
and Octorara
, Tioga sighted a strange steamer; and the three Union ships gave chase. When they noticed a large quantity of cotton floating in the water, Tioga and Octorara hove to and picked up the jettison
ed cargo, while Santiago de Cuba kept up the pursuit and overtook the English steamer Victory which she sent to Boston, Massachusetts, under a prize crew
.
A week later, Tioga captured Julia as that English schooner attempted to slip through the Union blockade laden with cotton and rosin
. On 25 September, she took Confederate steamer Herald which had escaped from the South with a cargo of cotton and naval stores
.
-- and sent her to Boston. About the same time, she chased and overtook the sloop Oriental.
broke out on board Tioga; and, on 19 June, she was ordered north. She arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, on the 27th and was decommissioned two days later but remained in quarantine
in the lower harbor until October.
coast through the summer. In October, the ship was transferred to the Gulf Squadron; and she arrived at Pensacola, Florida
, on 30 November. The double-ender cruised in the Gulf of Mexico, principally off the coast of Texas
, through the winter and into the spring of 1866.
on 8 May and was laid up in the navy yard there until she was sold on 15 October 1867.
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...
.
Tioga 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.
Tioga constructed at the Boston Navy Yard
Tioga -- one of 12 double-ended steam gunboats laid down in the summer and fall of 1861 -- was launched by the Boston Navy YardBoston 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 18 April 1862; sponsored by Mrs. H. P. Grace; and commissioned on 30 June 1862, Lt. George W. Rodgers in command.
Assigned to the North Atlantic blockade
The double-ender sailed for Hampton Roads, Virginia, late that day, joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron upon her arrival there on 5 July, and promptly ascended the James RiverJames River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
to support Union troops beleaguered in a small pocket on the north bank of the river.
Maintaining control of the James River for McClellan
Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
had recently defeated General George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
's Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
in the Seven Days Campaign and penned the Northern forces in a bridgehead at Harrison's Landing where they were protected by the guns of Union warships and fed by Federal supply ships. The Union gunboats, charged with maintaining control of the James for the North to assure the continuation of McClellan's waterborne support, constituted an independent division of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron called the James River Flotilla.
One of the first ships to "screen an aircraft carrier”
While in the James River Flotilla, Tioga escorted supply ships and frequently exchanged fire with Southern batteriesArtillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
and sharpshooters
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
ashore. One of her more unusual duties during this assignment was the chore of protecting the barge which carried and launched an observation balloon
Observation balloon
Observation balloons are balloons that are employed as aerial platforms for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Their use began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today....
to reconnoiter Confederate positions and troop deployments. Thus, it has been claimed jocularly that she was one of the first warships to screen an aircraft carrier.
Supporting General McClellan and defending Washington
During much of August, Tioga helped to cover the movement of Union troops as McClellan evacuated the peninsulaPeninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
between the James and the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
s and transferred his troops north by water to protect 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....
After the withdrawal had been largely completed, the James River Flotilla was broken up on 29 August, with a dozen of its ships being transferred to the Potomac Flotilla
Potomac Flotilla
The Potomac Flotilla, or the Potomac Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to disrupt Confederate communications and shipping in the...
and the remainder reverting to the direct control of Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron...
, who commanded the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Tioga was one of the Union warships sent north to strengthen Federal control of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
and, by doing so, to beef up the Union forces afloat ready to defend Washington, D.C. At this time, General Robert E. Lee was defeating General John Pope's
John Pope (military officer)
John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East.Pope was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in...
Army of Virginia
Army of Virginia
The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E...
in the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, greatly endangering the Federal capital.
Reassigned to the West India Squadron
However, before Tioga could become an effective part of the Potomac Flotilla, a change of orders reassigned her to the newly established West India Squadron, formed -- under the command of Commodore Charles WilkesCharles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...
-- to counter the threat posed by the recent commissioning of the Confederate commerce raider Florida
CSS 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 the expected activation of the steam warship then being built for the South in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
under the designation 290 which would prey on Northern shipping as Alabama
CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company. Alabama served as a commerce raider, attacking Union merchant and naval ships over the course of her two-year career, during which she never anchored in...
. While Tioga never encountered either of these adversaries which would win renown under Confederate colors, she did compile an impressive score against blockade runners.
Maintaining an impressive score against blockade runners
She took her first prize on February 14, 1863, when she overhauled Avon and sent that English schoonerSchooner
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....
to 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...
, for adjudication. On 13 March, she captured another British schooner, Florence Nightingale, laden with cotton and without papers. Nine days later, she made a prize of the English side-wheel steamer Granite City. The British sloop Justina struck her colors to the gunboat on 23 April.
On 20 June, while cruising in company with Santiago de Cuba
USS Santiago de Cuba (1861)
USS Santiago de Cuba was a brig acquired by the Union Navy during the first year of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat with powerful 20-pounder rifled guns and 32-pounder cannon and was assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.- Commissioned in New...
and Octorara
USS Octorara (1861)
USS Octorara was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
, Tioga sighted a strange steamer; and the three Union ships gave chase. When they noticed a large quantity of cotton floating in the water, Tioga and Octorara hove to and picked up the jettison
Jettison
Jettison may refer to:* A verb meaning to throw or eject from a ship, aircraft or vehicle; or discard or abandon; see marine debris* Jettison , a Chicago-based indie record label* Jettison , a punk band from the 1980s...
ed cargo, while Santiago de Cuba kept up the pursuit and overtook the English steamer Victory which she sent to Boston, Massachusetts, under a prize crew
Prize crew
Prize crew is a term used to indicate a number of crew members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship.In the early days of sailing and up into the American Civil War, capturing enemy ships was quite common...
.
A week later, Tioga captured Julia as that English schooner attempted to slip through the Union blockade laden with cotton and rosin
Rosin
.Rosin, also called colophony or Greek pitch , is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile liquid terpene components. It is semi-transparent and varies in color from yellow to black...
. On 25 September, she took Confederate steamer Herald which had escaped from the South with a cargo of cotton and naval stores
Naval stores
Naval Stores is a broad term which originally applied to the resin-based components used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ships, a category which includes cordage, mask, turpentine, rosin, pitch and tar...
.
Reassigned to the East Gulf Blockade
Three days before the gunboat made this capture, orders had left Washington to transfer Tioga to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. After beginning her new assignment, the double-ender participated in the capture of sloop Last Trial near Key West; but thereafter she spent much of the autumn undergoing repairs at Key West.Doing her best in intercepting blockade runners
Early the following year, she resumed her success as a bane to blockade runners. She took an unidentified schooner -- laden with salt, liquors, coffee, arms, and other items badly needed by the South -- off Grand Bahama Island on 4 January 1864. On 20 March, she overhauled the sloop Swallows -- laden with cotton, rosin, and tobaccoTobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
-- and sent her to Boston. About the same time, she chased and overtook the sloop Oriental.
Crew stricken with yellow fever, ship is sent north and decommissioned
Late in the spring of 1864, 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....
broke out on board Tioga; and, on 19 June, she was ordered north. She arrived 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...
, on the 27th and was decommissioned two days later but remained in 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....
in the lower harbor until October.
Post-war operations
After an overhaul had been completed and the Civil War had ended, Tioga was recommissioned at Portsmouth on 6 June 1865 and cruised off the New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast through the summer. In October, the ship was transferred to the Gulf Squadron; and she arrived at Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, on 30 November. The double-ender cruised in the Gulf of Mexico, principally off the coast of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, through the winter and into the spring of 1866.
Final decommissioning and sale
Ordered north, Tioga arrived at New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 8 May and was laid up in the navy yard there until she was sold on 15 October 1867.