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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS C. P. Williams

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Schooner:
  • Built, date and location unknown
  • Purchased by the Navy Department, 2 September 1861, at New York
  • Fitted out as a mortar schooner
  • Commissioned USS C. P. Williams, 21 January 1862, Acting Master A. R. Langthorne in command
  • During the Civil War USS C. P. Williams was assigned to the Mortar Flotilla in the Mississippi River
    USS C. P. Williams cruised the lower Mississippi 13 March and 17 July 1862
    Participating in the bombardments of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, La., between 18 and 23 April
    Took part in the siege of Vicksburg, 27 June to 3 July
    Participated in the blockading of Berwick Bay
    Reassigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in November 1862
    During the remainder of the war C. P. Williams patrolled the rivers and sounds of the area
  • Decommissioned, 27 June 1865, at Philadelphia
  • Sold, 10 August 1865, for merchant service, renamed Sarah Purves
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 210 t.
    Length 103' 8"
    Beam 28' 3"
    Depth 8' 2"
    Draft unknown
    Speed 10 kts
    Complement 35
    Armament
    one 13" mortar
    two 32-pdrs
    Propulsion sail
    Click On Image
    or Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description
    Dandelion 75k "Bombardment of Fort McAllister, Georgia, 3 March 1863"
    Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", January-June 1863, page 196, depicting the bombardment of Fort McAllister by the U.S. Navy monitors USS Passaic, USS Patapsco and USS Nahant. The engraving is based on a sketch by "an eye-witness" on board USS Montauk, which is in the right center foreground. In the left foreground, firing on the fort, are the mortar schooners USS C.P. Williams, USS Norfolk Packet and USS Para. Among other U.S. Navy ships involved were gunboats USS Wissahickon, USS Seneca and USS Dawn and tug USS Dandelion.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 59288    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Westfield 103k "Commander Porter's Mortar Flotilla".
    Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting the mortar schooner flotilla commanded by David Dixon Porter during the April 1862 attack on the forts below New Orleans.
    Vessels shown are (from left to right):
    USS Westfield,
    USS Adolph Hugel,
    USS Para,
    USS William Bacon,
    USS Oliver H. Lee,
    USS C.P. Williams,
    USS Henry Janes,
    USS George Mangham,
    USS Racer,
    USS Horace Beals,
    USS Sarah Bruen,
    USS Samuel Rotan,
    USS John Griffith,
    USS Rachel Seaman,
    USS Maria J. Carlton,
    USS Sidney C. Jones,
    USS T.A. Ward,
    USS Sea Foam,
    USS Maria A. Wood,
    USS Octorara (Porter's flagship) and
    USS Matthew Vassar.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 59061    		 Robert Hurst
    Wissachickon 103k "The Line Of Battle, Ogeechee River"
    The second battle of Ogeechee River, 13 December 1864. A sketch from "Harpers Weekly" showing:
    USS C.P. Williams
    USS Dawn
    Daffodil
    USS Wissahickon
    USS Seneca
    USS Montauk on the river.    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS C. P. Williams
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01Act. Master Langthorne, Amos R.21 January 1862 - 8 November 1862
    02Act. Master Freeman, Simeon N.8 November 1862 - 29 January 1865
    03Act. Master Parker, George W.12 February 1865 - 27 June 1865
    Courtesy Bill Gonyo
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 27 October 2017