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Uncas (I)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons
Civil War Medal
Screw Steamer
Built at New York City in 1843
Launched, date unknown
Delivered, date unknown
Purchased by the Navy there, 20 September 1861, from Dudley Buck for use with the Coast Survey
Refitted at the New York Navy Yard between September 1861 and February 1862, and placed in service in March, Acting Master Lemuel G. Crane in command
Before Uncas could begin her duties for the Coast Survey she was dispatched to Hampton Roads to strengthen the Union naval forces there after the
Confederate ironclad ram CSS Virginia had attacked the Union warships blockading Hampton Roads, sinking USS Cumberland and
USS Congress and endangering their consorts.
Uncas arrived at Hampton Roads, 14 March 1862, and was transferred 17 March to the Navy and assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
Uncas' brief service had revealed serious deficiencies in the ship; and she was ordered to Baltimore for repairs
Repairs completed, Uncas was sent her to the western part of the Gulf of Mexico to join Flag Officer Farragut forces preparing for the attack on New
Orleans
Arriving 10 April, the steamer entered the Mississippi where she was needed to help locate positions for Commander David D. Porter's mortar boats during his
impending bombardment of Forts St. Philip and Jackson
Farragut planned to use her as a gunboat in the Mississippi Sound, however, her machinery broke down again almost immediately, and the ship returned north for further
repairs
On 26 April Uncas repairs completed, headed south arriving 26 April at Port Royal, S.C., to join Flag Officer Samuel F. Du Pont's South
Atlantic Blockading Squadron
While assigned to blockade duty, Uncas captured schooner Belle 30 miles northwest of Charleston, S.C.
Uncas was reassigned, 29 April 1862, to the blockade of St. Simon's Sound, GA.
Ordered next to St. Johns River in Florida she arrived there 11 June 1862.
On 1 September 1862 Uncas and Patroon engaged a company of Confederates at St. John's and Yellow Bluffs
leading to a major encounter with Southern batteries at St. John's Bluff on 11 September 1862 and again a minor battle on 2 October there
Although damaged by cannon fire in the Yellow Bluffs engagement Uncas continued patrol and reconnaissance work into the spring of 1863
On 10 March 1863, in company with USS Norwich, Uncas escorted Army transports up the St. John's River with troops who landed and occupied
Jacksonville, FL.
On 10 June 1863 Uncas was ordered to Port Royal for repairs
Her deteriorated condition prompted further orders directing Uncas to New York Navy Yard
Uncas was struck from the Naval Register and sold at public auction, 21 August 1863
She was redocumented as SS Claymont, 20 November 1863, and remained in merchant service until abandoned in 1886
Specifications:
Displacement 192 t.
Length 118'6"
Beam 23'4"
Depth of Hull 7'6"
Draft unknown
Speed 11.5 kts
Complement unknown
Armament
one 20-pdr Parrott rifle
two 32-pdr cannons
Propulsion
steam engine
single propeller
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Uncas (I)
Dictionary of American Navy Fighting Ships (DANFS)
This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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Last Updated 27 August 2021