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USS Tawah

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Sidewheel Gunboat (Tinclad No.29):
  • Built in 1859 as the wooden river steamer, Ebenezer at Brownsville, PA.
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Purchased by RADM.David D. Porter, 19 June 1863, from Ebenezer Blackstone, St. Louis, MO..
  • Commissioned, date unknown, as USS Tawah (Gunboat No.29) in October 1863, Acting Master Alfred Phelps, in command
  • Tawah was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron to patrol the Tennessee River
  • In April 1864, Tawah, USS Paw-Paw, USS Key West, and USS Alfred Robb were employed in convoying Army transports up the Tennessee River as well as watching for Confederate shipping
  • On 2 November 1864 Tawah and Key West encountered CSS Undine and transport Venus, which the Confederates had captured three days earlier
  • After a running battle, Venus was recaptured. Undine, a "tinclad" of eight 24-pounder brass howitzers, was able to outrun the Union ships and escape to the protection of Confederate shore batteries on Reynoldsburg Island
  • On 4 November, USS Tawah, USS Key West, and USS Elfin were patrolling the river to protect the Union headquarters and depot at Johnsonville when Confederate forces attacked the city
  • Undine came up river from the protection of the Confederate batteries, and the three Union ships moved down to attack her
  • The Confederates burned Undine and opened fire on the Union ships with their shore batteries severely shelling the three ships as well as other gunboats, transports, and the wharfs
  • After fighting for several hours, Tawah's Parrott guns on the bow were disabled; and all three ships had been damaged, the Union gunboats were abandoned and fired to prevent them from falling into Confederate hands
    Specifications:
    Displacement 108 t.
    Length 114'
    Beam 22'
    Draft unknown
    Depth of Hold 3'9"
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    two 24-pdr cannons
    two 30-pdr Parrott rifles
    one 12-pdr cannon
    one heavy 12-pdr smoothbore cannon
    Propulsion
    one steam engine
    two sidewheels
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    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
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    Tawah
    098684601    		 118k USS Tawah and USS Key West attack CSS Undine, and the transports, Cheeseman, and Venus, at Davidson’s Ferry on the Tennessee River in Tennessee, 2 November 1864. This results in the Federal recapturing of the vessel, Venus, from Major General Nathan B. Forrest (CSA) who had captured these vessel the previous day. Forrest had been sailing up the Tennessee River towards Johnsonville, Tennessee, but was forced to retire to the safety of the Confederate batteries near Fort Henry.
    Hardman County Tennessee Civil War History    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS Tawah
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 25 September 2020