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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Wando (I)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Sidewheel Steamer:
  • Built as the iron sidewheel steamer blockade runner SS Let Her Rip, at Glasgow, Scotland
  • Purchased by Chicora Import & Export Co. of Charleston, S.C. in May 1864 and renamed SS Wando while at Wilmington, N.C.
  • Captured at sea off Cape Rosmain, N..C., by USS Fort Jackson, 21 October 1864
  • Purchased from the prize court at Boston by the Union Navy, 6 November 1864
  • Commissioned, 22 December 1864, at the Boston Navy Yard, Acting Master Frederick T. King in command
  • During the Civil War USS Wando was assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron for duty off Charleston and Georgetown, S.C., February to April 1865
  • Participated in the amphibious operations against the Confederate fort and batteries at Andersonville, Bull's Bay, S.C., 13 to 17 February 1865
  • Decommissioned, 10 August 1865, at New York Navy Yard
  • Struck from the Naval Register and sold at public auction, 30 November 1865, to H. Allen
  • Final Disposition, sunk during a storm in February 1872
    Specifications:
    Displacement 645 t.
    Length 230'
    Beam 26'
    Depth unknown
    Draft 7'
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    one 20-pdr Parrott rifle
    one 12-pdr
    one 12-pdr rifle
    Propulsion steam
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Wando 60k Watercolor by Erik Heyl of SS Wando, painted for use in his "Early American Steamers" series.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo #: NH 42049. Courtesy of Erik Heyl.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Wando
    098617303    		 204k Lithograph of the side-wheel blockade runner SS Wando in port, 1864.
    Frank Leslies Illustrated Weekly Newspaper     		Robert Hurst
    State of Georgia 149k "Landing of General Potter's and Admiral Dahlgren's Troops at Bull's Bay, South Carolina". Line engraving, based on a sketch by John Everding, published in "Harper's Weekly", March 1865, depicting the landings made on 16-17 February 1865. Ships shown include (as identified below the print, from left to right:
    USS State of Georgia,
    USS Pawnee,
    USS Juniata,
    USS Harvest Moon--flagship,
    USS Wando,
    USS Winona,
    USS Shenandoah, and
    USS Canandaigua.
    US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Photo #: NH 59175    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Wando (I)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Civil War Talk - Who Needs A Blockade? The Confederacy's May 1861 'No Dolls And Toys' Act
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The "Old Navy" Ship Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 9 October 2020