Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Sea Foam

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Brig:
  • Built, date and location unknown
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Purchased by the Navy, 14 September 1861, at New York City
  • Fitted out as a mortar vessel at the New York Navy Yard
  • Commissioned USS Sea Foam, 27 January 1862, Acting Master Henry E. Williams in command
  • Assigned to CDR. David Porter's Mortar Flotilla in support of Flag Officer Farragut's New Orleans campaign
  • Sea Foam departed New York for Key West, FL., and Ship Island, MS.
  • She entered the river through Pass a L'Outre on 18 March
  • On 18 April, Sea Foam and her sister mortar boats began the bombardment on Forts Jackson and St. Philip until Farragut's ships passed the forts on the the night of of 23 and 24 April
  • After New Orleans surrendered, Porter took his flotilla to a position off Mobile Bay to await Farragut
  • On 15 May, Sea Foam and USS Matthew Vassar captured sloops Sarah and New Eagle
  • Sea Foam returned to the Mississippi to support Farragut's operations against Vicksburg during June and July 1862
  • During 1863 the brig, badly hampered by yellow fever, remained on the Mississippi supporting the operations of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron
  • Decommissioned at Boston Navy Yard, 31 May 1864, for repairs and replacement of her worn mortar
  • Recommissioned, 1 August 1864, Sea Foam was assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron serving as a store ship at Port Royal, S.C.
  • In January 1865, she was reassigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
  • Decommissioned at Boston, 16 May 1865 and sold at public auction, 12 June 1865, to A. C. DeWells
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 251 t
    Length 112'6"
    Beam 26'
    Draft unknown
    Depth of Hold 9'3"
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    one 13" mortar
    two 32-pdrs
    Propulsion sail
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Sea Foam 138k
    Namesake
    Sea foam - Sea foam, is a type of foam created by the agitation of seawater, particularly when it contains higher concentrations of dissolved organic matter derived from sources such as the offshore breakdown of algal blooms. (Wikipedia)
    Photo - Sea foam at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, 25 March 2011 by ©Brocken Inaglory    		 Tommy Trampp
    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
    USS Seam Foam
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The "Old Navy" Ship Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 2 April 2010