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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Reindeer (I)

Sternwheel Steamer (Tinclad Gunboat #35):
  • Built in 1863 as the sternwheel steamer Rachel Miller at Cincinnati, OH.
  • Purchased by the US Navy at Cincinnati, 13 June 1863, renamed Reindeer
  • Placed in service in early July 1863
  • Reindeer was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron to protect Northern shipping from Southern raiders
  • In July Confederate Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan crossed the Ohio and invaded the North with some 6,000 troops
  • Reindeer joined a group of Union gunboats which patrolled the river for 10 days to prevent his crossing back to the southern bank and escaping
  • Reindeer returned to Cincinnati for a belated commissioning ceremony, 25 July 1863
  • USS Reindeer operated along the Ohio from Louisville, Ky., to Madison, Ind., watchful against guerrilla batteries as she patrolled the river and escorted transports and supply ships
  • Reindeer was reassigned to the Cumberland River 15 November for similar duty
  • On 11 April 1864, Reindeer became a dispatch vessel for the Navy base at Mound City, IL.
  • Decommissioned, 7 August 1865
  • Sold at public auction, 17 August 1865 to J. A. Williamson, et al., redocumented as Mariner, 5 October 1865
  • Final Disposition, stranded and destroyed at Decatur, Ala., 9 May 1867
    Specifications:
    Displacement 212 t.
    Length 154'
    Beam 32'9"
    Draft 6'
    Depth of Hold 5'
    Speed 8kts
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    six 24-pdr howitzers
    Propulsion steam
    sternwheel
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Reindeer 99k USS Reindeer at anchor off Maysville, Kentucky, on the Ohio River in 1863
    University of Wisconsin-Madison Digital Library    		 John Spivey
    USS Reindeer (I)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 4 June 2021