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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive
USS Union (III)
Gunboat:
Built in 1860-61 as a screw steamer a Mystic, CT.
Launched, in 1861
Chartered by the Union Navy, 24 April 1861 at Philadelphia, PA.
Commissioned USS Union, 16 May 1861, at Philadelphia, PA., 16 May 1861, CDR. John R. Goldsborough in command
On 17 May 1861, USS Union departed Philadelphia for duty with the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, off coast of Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, GA.
Nine days later she headed back north and captured schooner F. W. Johnson at sea off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, 1 June. The following morning, she arrived at
Hampton Roads with the prize
After coaling, Union returned to the blockade off Savannah and captured the brig Hallie Jackson, 10 June
She arrived off Charleston, S.C., on the morning of the 18th and, later that day, captured the blockade runner Amelia
Union sent Amelia north to Philadelphia in the charge of a prize master and delivered the prize's crew to Fort Monroe, VA., on 23 June
Union departed Hampton Roads on 27 June to rejoin the blockade off Charleston
She sustained considerable damage to her superstructure and rigging in a collision with the Spanish ship Plus Ultra, 2 July, 1861
She was temporarily repaired at sea and sailed for Hampton Roads to refuel on 15 July arriving 18 July
Union was next deployed on blockade duty off Cape Hatteras
On 28 July, she found the Northern merchant brig B. T. Martin, which had been captured by Confederate privateer York, hard aground north of the cape
and destroyed the prize
She briefly put into Hampton Roads for coal on 5 August, then immediately returned to blockade duty off Hatteras, where she forced the Confederate privateer York
aground on the 9th
Union returned to Hampton Roads on 14 August for emergency repairs and put into Baltimore the next day for alterations
While undergoing repairs, Union was transferred to the Potomac Flotilla on the 16th
She left Baltimore the next day and arrived in the Potomac River off Aquia Creek, Va., on 19 August
Union performed routine reconnaissance and dispatch duties in the Potomac and, despite heavy fire from shore, burned a large Confederate schooner in Dumfries Creek
on 11 October
Union suffered no casualties during the action and received special commendation for her daring exploit from the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles
The vessel remained in the Potomac until ordered north on 5 December
Decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 10 December 1862
Recommissioned, 20 January 1863 and detailed to the Gulf of Mexico for use as a supply and dispatch vessel
She spent the remainder of the war operating between New York; Hampton Roads; Port Royal, S.C., and points scattered along the Florida coast and the shore of the Gulf of Mexico
Union also compiled an impressive list of captures during this time
These included the blockade-running British schooner Linnet, captured, 21 May 1863, west of Charlotte Harbor, FL., and the English steamer, Spaulding,
taken off St. Andrew's Sound, GA., on 11 October
On 14 January 1864, Union seized steamer Mayflower near Tampa Bay, FL.; and, on 26 April, she captured schooner O.K. south of the bay
and the sloop Caroline, at Jupiter Inlet, FL., 10 June 1864
Union completed several dispatch and supply missions after the war ended
She was decommissioned, 25 September 1865, at New York
Sold at auction at New York to W. H. Starbuck on 25 October and was re-documented as SS Missouri on 8 December
Final Disposition Missouri remained in merchant service until she caught fire and sank in the Bahamas, 22 October 1872, some 25 miles northeast of Abaco, with the loss of 69 lives
Specifications:
Displacement 1,114 t.
Length 220'
Beam 34'
Depth of Hold unknown
Draft 16'
Speed 13.5kts
Complement unknown
Armament one 12-pdr rifle
Propulsion
boiler(s)
steam engine(s)
propeller(s)
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Union (III)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Last Updated 30 December 2022