USS Bibb (1853) was a Coast and Survey vessel that performed survey work during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

In 1864, when Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, appeared under threat when Jubal Early’s Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 Army crossed the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

, Bibb was quickly commandeered and armed by the Union Navy

Union Navy

The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...

.

Built at the Boston Navy Yard in 1853

Bibb was laid down for the Coast Survey

U.S. National Geodetic Survey

National Geodetic Survey, formerly called the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey , is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications of science...

 by the Boston Navy Yard

Boston Navy Yard

The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...

 on 24 February 1853; launched on 12 May 1853; and got underway on 11 August for her first cruise.

Service in the war with the South Atlantic Blockade

At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, she was transferred to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, but returned to the Coast Survey in November.

Assigned to the contingent of that organization attached to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, she steamed to Port Royal, South Carolina

Port Royal, South Carolina

Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...

, and reported to the head of the former organization, Assistant Charles O. Boutelle, USCS, in January 1862 and relieved , freeing that vessel to proceed north for repairs.

She served the Union cause in a variety of ways: surveying and buoying harbors and channels along the Atlantic coast of the Confederacy between South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 and Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

; escorting transports; towing and piloting gunboats; carrying dispatches; and performing any other duties that were of assistance to the Union Army and Navy. Her labors won her the most generous praise of the leaders of both services.

Borrowed by the Union Navy when Washington was threatened

The ship spent the first half of 1864 in the Washington Navy Yard

Washington Navy Yard

The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 undergoing repairs. As this work was being completed, Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early crossed the Potomac River on a raid that endangered Washington, D.C.

In an effort to help parry this threat to the Union capital, Commander

Commander (United States)

In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...

 Foxhall A. Parker took over Bibb from the Coast Survey, armed her, and ordered her to the Gunpowder River

Gunpowder River

The Gunpowder River is a tidal inlet on the western side of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, United States. It is formed by the joining of two freshwater rivers, Gunpowder Falls and Little Gunpowder Falls.-Gunpowder Falls:The Big Gunpowder, long, begins in the extreme southern part of Pennsylvania's...

 where Southern troops had been seen.

Commanded by Acting

Brevet (military)

In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...

 Ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 George E. McConnell, the steamer then ascended that stream but could not move closer than a point some five miles below Gunpowder Bridge and hence never got into contact with the Confederate troops. After the crisis had passed, Parker returned Bibb to the Coast Survey for which she operated out of the Washington Navy Yard through the end of 1864.

Reassigned by the Coast Survey to the South Atlantic Blockade

Early in 1865, the steamer rejoined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron; and she worked along the Southern coast through the end of the war.

Post-war service

Following the collapse of the Confederacy, she resumed peacetime service with the Coast Survey.