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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive
Ivy (I)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons
Civil War Campaign Medal
Screw Tug:
Built as the tug Terror by the Army at St. Louis in 1862
Launched, date unknown
Transferred to the Navy 30 September 1862 and renamed Ivy
Ivy was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron, she took part as tug and dispatch boat in the winter operations around Vicksburg 1862-63
In the important attack on Fort Hindman 9-11 January 1863, she served as Rear Admiral D. D. Porter's flagship
As the more powerful gunboats pounded the fort in support of General Sherman's attack, Ivy came alongside both USS Cincinnati and
USS Louisville to help quench fires started by shore fire
A memorandum in the office of Secretary Welles noted: "The officers and crew behaved with great coolness, though under a brisk fire of musketry."
The naval attack, directed from Ivy, resulted in Sherman's capture of the fort, a severe blow to the Confederate cause in the West.
Ivy was also present for the passage of the Vicksburg batteries by Admiral Porter's ships 16-17 April 1863
Lashed to the side of the powerful USS Benton, Ivy steamed boldly past Vicksburg, opening operations south of the city to Porter and
contributing importantly to the fall of Grand Gulf and eventually to the capture of Vicksburg
In May the tug accompanied the gunboats up the Red River. The ships reached abandoned Fort De Russy 5 May and 2 days later took Alexandria, only to be forced back downstream by low water.
The fort was partially destroyed and Porter returned to Grand Gulf to continue the assault on Vicksburg
The tug remained near Vicksburg, often as Porter's flagship, until after its fall 4 July 1863, and subsequently acted as a dispatch boat and tug on the river and as a receiving ship for
prisoners of war
Ivy entered the Red River again in 1864 when the major part of Admiral Porter's fleet was caught by low water above the rapids at Alexandria.
She assisted gunboat USS Ozark over the rapids 13 May 1864 and returned to the Mississippi with the fleet amid frequent Confederate attacks from shore
For the remainder of the war Ivy was used to tend and pump coal barges at Donaldsonville
She was sold $5.560 at Mound City, IL, 17 August 1865 to W. G. Priest
Final Disposition - abandoned 1874
Specifications:
Displacement 50 t.
Length unknown
Beam unknown
Depth of Hold unknown
Draft 10'
Speed 10kts
Complement unknown
Armament none
Propulsion
one steam engine; cylinder dimension 16", stroke 18"
one boiler
single screw
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Ivy (I)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
This page is created by Gary P. Priolo and and maintained by Michael Junge
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Last Updated 16 May 2023