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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Kinsman
ex
 USAT Kinsman (1862)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Side-wheel Steamer:
  • Built in 1854, as the wooden side-wheel steamer SS Gray Cloud at Elizabeth, PA.
  • Gray Cloud operated on the Mississippi River and its tributaries from St. Louis
  • Seized at New Orleans in May 1862 for the US Army by General B. F. Butler, named Kinsman
  • Renamed USS Kinsman, the side-wheel steamer operated for the Army, Acting Master George Wiggen in command
  • Transferred to the Navy 30 September 1862 or 1 January 1863 (records are not clear on transfer date)
  • During the Civil War USS Kinsman
    Participated in action against Confederate ironclad gunboat CSS J. A. Cotton, 3 November 1862
    Participated in the capture of steamer SS A. B. Seaer the night of 3 November
    Captured and burned steamers SS Osprey and SS J. P. Smith, 8 November 1862
    Participated in the attack of Southern defenses at Bayou Teche, 14 January 1863
  • Final Disposition, while transporting troops, 23 February 1863 in Berwick Bay, near Brashear City, LA. USS Kinsman sunk with six men reported missing
    Specifications:
    Displacement 245 t.
    Length unknown
    Beam unknown
    Draft unknown
    Depth unknown
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Armament unknown
    Propulsion steam
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Richmond 303k "The Fight at Corney's Bridge, Bayou Teche, Louisiana, and Destruction of the Rebel Gun-boat 'Cotton,', January 14, 1863."
    Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", 1863, showing the Confederate gunboat CSS J.A. Cotton engaging Federal gunboats, as Confederate troops fire from the shore. U.S. Navy ships in this engagement were USS Kinsman, USS Estrella, USS Diana and USS Calhoun.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo    		 Bill Gonyo and Tommy Trampp
    USS Kinsman
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 21 February 20204