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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Augusta (II)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Sidewheel steamer:
  • Laid down, date unknown, by William Henry Webb at New York City
  • Completed in 1853 for the Savannah Steam Navigation Co.
  • Purchased by the Navy, 1 August 1861, fitted out for naval service at New York Navy Yard
  • Commissioned, USS Augusta, 28 September 1861, CDR. Enoch Greenleafe Parrott in command
  • During the Civil War USS Augusta was participated in the following campaigns/actions:
    South Atlantic Blockading Squadron - Fort Royal and Charleston
    Decommissioned, 31 July 1863, at New York Navy Yard
    Recommissioned, 12 May 1864, CDR. Thomas G. Corbin in command
    Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
    Decommissioned, 6 February 1865
  • Recommissioned, 2 April 1866, at Washington Navy Yard, CDR . Alexander Murray in command for a goodwill cruise to Europe
  • Decommissioned, in July 1868 at Philadelphia Navy Yard
  • Sold at auction, 2 December 1868 to "Commodore" Cornelius Kingsland Garrison
  • Redocumented SS Magnolia, 23 December 1868
  • Sold in 1872 to the Central Georgia Railway and Banking Co. (Ocean Steamship Co.)
  • Final Disposition, foundered, 30 September 1877 enroute from Savannah to New York
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,310 t.
    Length 220'
    Beam 35' 4"
    Draft 14' 3"
    Depth 21' 10"
    Speed 11 kts
    Complement 157
    Armament
    eight 32-pdr smoothbores
    one 12-pdr rifle
    Propulsion steam
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    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Augusta 63k Watercolor by Erik Heyl, 1948 of the steamship SS Augusta painted for use in his book "Early American Steamers", Volume I.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 63684, courtesy of Erik Heyl.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Alabama 186k "Merchant Steamers Converted into Gun-boats."
    Engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", July-December 1861 volume. Depicts thirteen merchant steamships acquired by the U.S. Navy between April and August 1861 and subsequently converted into warships, plus the steamer Nashville (far left), which became a Confederate cruiser. US Navy ships as identified below the image bottom, are (from left to right:
    USS Alabama,
    USS Quaker City,
    USS Santiago de Cuba, (listed as "St. Jago de Cuba")
    USS Mount Vernon,
    USS Massachusetts,
    USS South Carolina,
    USS Florida,
    USS De Soto,
    USS Augusta,
    USS James Adger,
    USS Monticello,
    USS Bienville and
    USS R.R. Cuyler.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 59366.    		 Robert Hurst
    Valley City 139k Preparing Merchant Vessels for the Blockade", Harper's Weekly, September 7, 1861. Merchant steamers Augusta, James Adger, Florida and Valley City being fitted out for naval service at New York Navy Yard. Tommy Trampp
    Wabash 170k "Portion of the Naval Expedition, as it appeared on the night of October 16, sailing to Hampton Roads. -- Sketched by an Officer on Board. 1861".
    Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", July-December 1861 volume, pages 712. It depicts Flag Officer DuPont's squadron en route to capture Port Royal, South Carolina. Ships, all U.S. Navy, as identified below the image bottom, are (from left):
    USS Wabash,
    USS Florida,
    USS Augusta,,
    USS Alabama,,
    USS Ottawa,,
    USS Seneca,
    and USS Pembina.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 59316    		 Robert Hurst
    Wabash 100k "The Great Naval Expedition" to capture Port Royal, South Carolina, November 1861. Engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", July-December 1861 volume, pages 696-697, depicts Federal warships and transports, under Flag Officer Samuel F. DuPont, USN, departing Hampton Roads, Virginia, en route to Port Royal. Ships, as identified below the image bottom, are (from left): (illegible),
    Oriental,
    Baltic,
    USS O.M. Pettit,
    USS Gem of the Sea,
    Great Republic,
    USS Wabash (DuPont's flagship),
    USS Seneca,
    USS Pembina,
    USS Connecticut,
    USS Mercury,
    USS Unadilla,
    USS Augusta,
    USS Alabama and (illegible).
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo #: NH 59315    		 Robert Hurst
    TECUMSEH 150k Rare painting of USS Tecumseh at sea en route to Mobile Bay, accompanied by USS Augusta (right) and USS Eutaw. Oil on canvas (1912) by Xanthus Smith, Captain's Clerk aboard Augusta. Photo courtesy of Dr. Charles V. Peery via explorersclub.ca. via denix.osd.mil.
    Aries 65k USS Augusta in European waters, circa 1866-1867.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 57276.    		 Tommy Trampp
    MIANTONOMOH 104k Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox (6th from left, 2nd row) with Russian officers and officers of USS Miantonomoh and USS Augusta, during his visit to Europe in 1866. Others identified in this group are: CAPT. Alexander Murray, USN, Commanding Officer, USS Augusta (3rd from left, 2nd row); and CDR. John C. Beaumont, USN, Commanding Officer, USS Miantonomoh (7th from left, 2nd row).
    US Naval Historical and Heritage Command photo # NH 50747.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    MIANTONOMOH 106k USS Miantonomoh at Malaga, Spain, 24 December 1866 - 3 January 1867 during her European cruise. The photo was probably taken on 26 December when the log made specific mention of the ship being crowded with visitors. USS Augusta, her companion on the cruise, is in the left background.
    Majority text courtesy of "Monitors of the U.S. Navy, 1861-1937", pg 21, by LT. Richard H. Webber, USNR-R. (LOC) Library of Congress, Catalog Card No. 77-603596.
    Photo courtesy of Mrs. William E. Taylor, 1941, from the collection of Medical Inspector William E. Taylor, USN. US Naval Historical and Heritage Command photo # NH 46260    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Aries 75k George W. Marchant (1844-1912) he received his appointment, 6 April, 1864. He served as an acting master’s mate on the USS Augusta during late stages of the Civil War. He was honorably discharged on 2 September 1866. Bill Gonyo
    USS Augusta (II)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 10 May 2019