The first USS Undine was a "tinclad" 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...

 in the United States Navy

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...

 in 1864, 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 captured on 30 October and put in service with the Confederates

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...

, but was not renamed before being burned, 5 days later, to prevent re-capture.

Undine was built in 1863 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...

, as Ben Gaylord. She was purchased by the Navy at Cincinnati on 7 March 1864 and commissioned there in April.

Civil War operations

Undine joined the Mississippi Squadron and, in May 1864, was deployed in 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...

 between Fort Adams

Fort Adams

Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, was established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification. Its first commander was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812.-History:...

 and Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...

. She soon left the Mississippi and operated during early July in the Tennessee River

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...

 in support of Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 forces ashore. While standing off Clifton, Tennessee

Clifton, Tennessee

Clifton is a city in Wayne County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,699 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Clifton is located at ....

, Undine, Acting Master John L. Bryant in command, struck a snag and partially sank on 25 July. Her crew was able to transfer the ship's guns ashore to defend Clifton from 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...

 attack before taking measures to raise the vessel. Undine was successfully refloated on 1 August after the arrival of the pump steamer Little Champion on 31 July.

Undine, , and transports City of Pekin, Kenton, and Aurora left Clifton on 9 October on an expedition to capture Eastport, Mississippi. This operation was launched to prevent cavalry forces under Confederate General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...

 from crossing the Tennessee River at Eastport and to provide an outpost against an expected advance of General Hood. However, the Union force was ambushed by shore batteries on 10 October as it landed troops near Eastport. After a heated, 30-minute exchange with the batteries, Undine and Key West evacuated troops caught ashore in the withering crossfire and escorted the disabled transports back downstream. The battered expedition returned to Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...

, at sundown on 12 October.

After repairs were completed, Undine resumed patrol and reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 duty along the Tennessee River. On 30 October, she convoyed the transport Anna from Johnsonville, Tennessee, to Sandy Island. While returning to Johnsonville, Acting Master Bryant heard artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 reports coming from the river below Sandy Island and ordered Undine turned about to investigate. Near Paris Landing, Undine was again ambushed. Transports Venus and Cheeseman soon joined her and engaged the Confederates. Three hours later, both transports were disabled, and Undine was out of ammunition and crippled by a broken engine. Bryant hauled down his flag and surrendered Undine, Venus, and Cheeseman. He was later exonerated by a board of inquiry.

The Confederates wasted little time putting the captured Union vessels to use. While patrolling the Tennessee River on 2 November, Key West and engaged Undine and Venus. Venus was retaken, but Undine escaped, badly damaged, to the protection of Confederate batteries at Reynoldsburg Island. There, she was burned by the Confederates on 4 November to prevent her recapture by Union gunboats attacking the island.

The destruction of the Undine came in the wake of the unsuccessful attempt to cross the Tennessee River at Johnsonville, led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...

 (namesake of Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...

). If the Confederate plan had succeeded, General William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...

's supply line would have been exposed, and the Union Army's march through 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...

 and South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 would have been endangered.

Post Civil War

After the Civil War, the hulk of Undine was one of several in the Tennessee River ordered raised or wrecked on 20 June 1865. Two 24 pounder howitzer

Howitzer

A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...

s were recovered from the vessel later that month.

In 2000, a group called "Raise the Gunboats" in Benton County, Tennessee attempted to salvage the remaining portions of the Undine. The group has had mixed success, with some artifacts from the gunboat recovered as well as a derrick boat from the turn of the century.