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Union Army gunboat
Her Men and History |
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Union Army gunboat
Her Men and History |
~History~
1861-1866 |
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Naval Forces on the Western Waters An Account of Action on the Silver Lake No.2 NASHVILLE, DECEMBER 22, 1863. (Forwarded from Clarksville.) General Grant wants a gunboat to go up the Cumberland on a reconnaissance as far as Big South Fork. Can you spare one? J. L. DONALDSON, Chief-Quartermaster. Lieutenant-Commander LE ROY FITCH. DOVER, December 22, 1863. Your dispatch received. Will send a gunboat up tonight in compliance with General Grant's request. LE ROY FITCH, Lieutenant-Commander, Comdg. 8th District Miss. Squadron. Chief Quartermaster J. L. DONALDSON, Nashville, Tenn. Report of Rear-Admiral Porter, IT.U.S. Navy, transmitting report of the commanding officer of the S. S. Reindeer. MISSISSIPPI SQUADRON, Flagship Black Hawk, Cairo, January 27,1864. SIR : I beg leave to enclose herewith copy of a communication received from Lieutenant-Commander Le Roy Fitch, regarding a reconnaissance up the Cumberland River. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. GIDEON WELLES, Rear-Admiral. DAVID D. PORTER, Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. [Enclosure.] U. S. S. REINDEER, 5TH DISTRICT Miss. SQUADRON, Off Nashville, Tenn., January 5, 1864- SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report: In obedience to your order of 22d ultimo, I at once proceeded to Nashville and on arrival called upon Major-General Grant to learn his wishes. The objects of the expedition as stated by the general were- 1st. To convoy some steamers with army supplies to Carthage. The army gunboat Silver Lake No. 2 was put under my command and accompanied me. 2d. To ascertain if any coal was upon the river in condition for shipment, and the prospects for getting it to Nashville. 3d. To reconnoiter the river if possible as far up as Big South Fork, the head of steamboat navigation. On the 26th" ultimo at daylight, I got the convoy underway at Nashville, and on the 28th ultimo, at 12.45 p.m., reached Carthage safely and without interruption from the enemy. On the 29th ultimo, at daylight, with Silver Lake No. 2 in company, I proceeded up the river, which during the night previous had shown indications of a considerable rise. Jackson County was represented to me as the seat of operations of several guerrilla bands, and it fully merits its reputation, for we had scarcely touched the county line before guerrillas were discovered on the lookout for us. From the windings of the river news of our departure and direction from Carthage could easily be sent in advance of us, and no doubt was so, for the whole region seemed roused. During the day we were attacked at the following places: At Ray's Ferry by a party of 10 or 12 men. At Flynn's Lick by a party of 15 or 20 men. At Gainesboro by a party of 40 or 50 men. At Celina (2 miles below) by a party of 80 or 100 men. (Bennett's Ferry.) At Ferris wood yard by a party of 15 or 20 men. In every instance positions were selected on the tops of precipitous bluffs or cliffs, inaccessible by attack in front, and requiring a long detour to reach them in the rear with a land force. Their positions availed them nothing, however, against the guns of this vessel and those of the Silver Lake No.2; they were completely shelled out of them whenever they let us see them after a few volleys. From the Obey's River to Creelsboro I saw no rebels in arms. The citizens exhibited considerable gladness at the sight of the gunboats, cheering for the Union, etc. At the mouth of Obey's River I found a small quantity of coal, partly burned by the rebels. The Silver Lake No. 2 being out of fuel, I directed her to take it, and took a position to cover her. Soon after I observed some uneasiness among the people on shore and backed off and about half a mile downstream discovered the head of what I have since ascertained was a body of guerrillas, all mounted. These I dispersed with a few rounds of shrapnel and canister. Their intention was to surprise us, thinking both gunboats were in the Obey's River jammed among the branches of the trees which overhang the banks. I have reason to believe that several were killed by our fire We reached Creelsboro at 12.30 p.m. on 30th ultimo, and there the river gave unmistakable signs or a fall. The weather set in cold immediately, and by morning a fall of 4 feet had taken place; under these circumstances I thought it unwise to proceed farther, though I would have liked to go as far as Big South Fork, so as fully to satisfy the desire of General Grant in regard to coal. I can not think, however, that anything was lost, as from all accounts I can gather there were no coal barges ready to come down if the stage of the river allowed, which it did not. There is no doubt whatever but that a large quantity can be brought out from this source by proper arrangements on the February rise, which was the one usually selected by coal men in peaceful times. On my up trip I destroyed several flatboats (used for ferry purposes) in Jackson County, but have reason to think that many more are concealed in the numerous creeks tributary to the Cumberland. On the Obey's River, about 50 miles up, near Olympus, is a coal mine partly worked by the rebels in 1861, who mined about 500,000 bushels and left it on the bank. This could be got to Nashville on the same February rise if barges were built and the work protected by the troops. In obedience to the orders of Rear-Admiral Porter I would have destroyed Gainesboro, which is a rendezvous of these roving bands of robbers, but Governor Johnson purposes to establish a military post there and will need the buildings. On the 1st I left Creelsboro and on the 2d reached Carthage, meeting with no interruption whatever, the inhabitants seeming to have deserted the river banks altogether. I have expended of ammunition on this expedition 57 rounds of shell, 62 rounds of shrapnel, 3 rounds of canister, and have in the magazine 81 rounds of shell, 75 rounds of shrapnel, 48 rounds of canister. The bulkheading on boiler deck was always weak and defective, and the firing on 25th has almost destroyed it. I fear it will require considerable repairs, if not complete renewal, to make officers' quarters fit for occupation. In the several skirmishes reported above, as well as in the other duties of the vessel, it gives me great pleasure to speak in high terms of the courage and efficiency of Mr. A. C. Sears, acting ensign, executive officer, and of the other officers of this vessel, all of whom performed their several duties zealously and well. Acting Ensign William II. Hall, as soon as the rebels opened their fire, sent a request to be permitted to take charge of any division I might designate. I acceded to his desire and put him in charge of Acting Master's Mate (Thomas M.) Lewis's, absent on duty. I am glad to be able to report favorably of his conduct on this occasion, as he is now under arrest and this statement may benefit him. The army gunboat Silver Lake No. 2 was well handled, and the cooperation of her commanding officer, Lieutenant Roberts, U. S. Army, was hearty and complete. On my arrival at Carthage from Creelsboro I found the steamers still loaded. Apprehending that the objects of the expedition had been accomplished as far as possible under the circumstances, and bearing in mind your order to rejoin you as soon as I could, I left all three there with the Silver Lake No. 2 to guard and convoy them back to Nashville when discharged. I omitted to mention that 140 sharpshooters, under Lieutenant- Colonel Andrew J. Cropsey, were put on board the transports and the army gunboat. I reached Nashville at 5 p.m. today. Colonel Cropsey will report to General Grant particulars of the information obtained on the reconnaissance in so far as they refer to the interior of the counties bordering on the river, their military wants, etc. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H. A.
GLASSFORD, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant, Commanding.
(By United
States War Dept, Robert Nicholson Scott
*packet is
defined as " a passenger boat usually carrying mail and
cargo". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. "Sternwheel"
refers to the propelling paddle wheel which was located on the rear
of the boat. |
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Special Order No. 190 Department of the Cumberland |
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This organization was formed of men of various regiments detailed by S.O. No. 190, Hd. Qrs. Department of the Cumberland, of July 20, 1863 for duty on Gunboat Silver Lake, No. 2. The men were relieved and returned to their respective regiments at different dates.--R. and P. 389, 287. (Pvt. Absalom Ross was assigned to this gunboat after leaving the hospital in Nashville. He rejoined the 70th Indiana Regiment in North Carolina, on 23 April 1865, after being re-assigned to duty at Fort Negley, Nashville, Tennessee. Here he fought in the Battle of Nashville in 1864, one of the last major battles of the war.)
“Too great a proportion of the interest and study of the Civil War has been lavished upon the slogging to and fro on the martial highway between Washington and Richmond. The little men-of-war on the bayous likewise served from start to finish, and they fought summer and winter too. For unique thrills their adventures cannot be approached in this struggle unless possibly by their sisters on the eastern sloughs. West and east, those on both sides behaved splendidly.” H. Allen Gosnell, author of Guns on the Western Waters. (This book is a very good read! Available at Amazon.com John H. Ross) |
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Gunboat Silver lake |
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In the picture the "Silver Lake" is lying off Vicksburg (Mississippi) after its fall. While Admiral Porter was busy attacking Vicksburg with the Mississippi squadron, Lieutenant-Commander Le Roy Fitch, with a few small gunboats, was actively patrolling the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. It was soon seen that the hold upon Tennessee and Kentucky gained by the Federals by the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson would be lost without adequate assistance from the navy, and Admiral Porter was authorized to purchase small light-draft river steamers and add them to Fitch's flotilla as rapidly as they could be converted into gunboats. One of the first to be completed was the "Silver Lake." The little stern-wheel steamer first distinguished herself on February 3, 1863, at Dover, Tennessee, where she (with Fitch's flotilla) assisted in routing 4,500 Confederates, who were attacking the Federals at that place. The little vessel continued to render yeoman's service with the other gunboats, ably assisted by General A. W. Ellet's marine brigade. (From the Photographic History of the Civil War: the Navies by Francis Trevely Miller, 1911) |
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Gunboat U. S. S. Benton |
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This drawing of the Ironclad Benton depicts a typical layout of a Western Waters Gunboat. The water line shown here would actually be much higher. From: A. L. Holley's A Treatise on Ordnance and Armor, 1865. (Photo from: Guns on the Western Waters, H. A. Gosnell.) |
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Gunboat U. S. S. Conestoga |
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One of the first three Union Gunboats on the Western Rivers, the others being the Tyler and Lexington. From: H.W. Elson's The Civil War Through the Camera, 1912. (Photo from: Guns on the Western Waters, H. A. Gosnell.) |
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These excerpts have not been identified as to which of the Silver Lake gunboats they should be applied. However, I wanted to include the information now, regardless. As data is verified as being related to the Silver Lake No.2, the page to be updated. Jan 2004 JHR. |
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