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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Tacony (I)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Personal Awards

Medal of Honor
Michael C. Horgan, Landsman, USN
Henry Brutsche, Landsman, USN
Sassacus Class Sidewheel Gunboat:
  • Laid down, date unknown, at Philadelphia Navy Yard
  • Launched, 7 May 1863
  • Commissioned USS Tacony, 12 February 1864, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, LCDR. William T. Truxtun in command
  • During the Civil War USS Tacony served with North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
    February 1864 arrived in the North Carolina sounds area to strengthen Union forces
    Participated in the attack and capture of Plymouth, N.C. 31 October 1864
    Participated in the first and second attacks against Fort Fisher, in December 1864 and January 1865
    Participated in the attack against Fort Anderson later in January 1865
    Continued on blockading duty until the end of the war
  • Decommissioned, 21 June 1865, for repairs at Boston
  • Recommissioned, 16 September 1865
  • Decommissioned, 21 November 1866, for repairs
  • Recommissioned, 12 February 1867
  • Decommissioned, and placed on ordinary, 7 October 1867, at Portsmouth, N.H.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Sold, 26 August 1868
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 974 t.
    Length 205'
    Beam 35'
    Depth 11' 6"
    Draft 8' 10"
    Speed 15 kts
    Complement 145
    Armament
    two 11" Dahlgren smoothbores
    three 9" Dahlgren smoothbores
    one 24-pdr howitzer
    two 12-pdrs
    one brass field piece
    Propulsion steam
    two sidewheels
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Sassacus (I)
    098635505    		 85k Generic lithograph representing the Sassacus-class gunboats.
    Wikipedia    		 John Spivey
    Tacony 91k 19th Century photograph of a painting by Acting Second Engineer Alexander C. Stuart, USN, 1864. Depicting USS Commodore Hull (at left) leading the "Double-Ender" gunboats USS Tacony, USS Shamrock, USS Otsego and USS Wyalusing in engaging Confederate batteries at Plymouth, North Carolina, 31 October 1864. Small vessels lashed to the gunboats' unengaged sides include USS Whitehead (beside Tacony), Bazely (beside Shamrock) and USS Belle (beside Otsego).
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 58943 from the collection of Surgeon H.P. Babcock, USN. Donated by his son, George R. Babcock, 1939.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Maumee 94k "Bombardment of Fort Fisher" "Jan. 15th 1865"
    Lithograph after a drawing by T.F. Laycock, published by Endicott & Co., New York, 1865, depicting the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron bombarding Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in preparation for its capture. The print is dedicated to Commodore S.W. Godon, USN. Ships present, as named on the original print, are (from left to right in the main battle line):
    USS Tacony;
    USS Maumee;
    USS Ticonderoga;
    USS Shenandoah;
    USS Tuscarora;
    USS Juniata;
    USS Wabash;
    USS Susquehanna;
    USS Colorado;
    USS Minnesotaa;
    USS Brooklyn;
    USS New Ironsides and
    USS Mohican.
    Ships in the foreground are (left to right, from the center of the view):
    USS Powhatan;
    USS Mackinaw;
    USS Vanderbilt and
    USS Malvern (Flagship of Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter).
    Monitors in the right middle distance are:
    USS Monadnock (with two turrets);
    USS Mahopac;
    USS Saugus and
    USS Canonicus.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # LC-USZ62-144 from the collections of the Library of Congress.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Tacony
    098622404    		 118k Photo of Midshipman Robert N. Griffin, USN (USNA 1864) who died aboard USS Tacony in 1867 while the ship was part of the North Atlantic Squadron.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 49207    		 Robert Hurst
    Tacony 17k Image created 1 January 1877 author unknown. Robert Hurst
    Tacony
    098622405    		 99k
    Medal of Honor (Obverse and Reverse) awarded to Henry Brutsche, Landsman, USN, USS Tacony
    Citation
    For extraordinary heroism in action while serving on board the USS Tacony during the taking of Plymouth, N.C., 31 October 1864. Carrying out his duties faithfully during the capture of Plymouth, Landsman Brutsche distinguished himself by a display of coolness when he participated in landing and spiking a 9-inch gun while under a devastating fire from enemy musketry.
    Headquarters Artifact Collection, US Naval History and Heritage Command. 0hoto # NHHC 1957-2-H    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Tacony (I)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 12 August 2022