USS Water Witch (1851)
Encyclopedia
The third USS Water Witch was a wooden-hulled, sidewheel
gunboat
in the United States Navy
during the American Civil War
. She is best known as the ship fired on by Paraguay
in 1855. In 1864 she was captured by the Confederate States Navy
, and subsequently was taken into that Navy as CSS Water Witch.
in 1851 and was commissioned during the winter of 1852–53, Lieutenant Thomas Jefferson Page in command.
On 8 February 1853, the gunboat set sail from Norfolk, Virginia
, for an extended exploration and survey voyage along the Atlantic coast of the southern portion of South America
and of the rivers which drain that part of the continent. Over the next few years, she conducted surveys of the rivers in Paraguay
, Argentina
, and Uruguay
. In February 1855, while the little steamer was surveying the Río de la Plata
, she was fired upon by the Paraguayan fort Itapirú. The bombardment killed one member of her crew (helmsman Samuel Chaney) and ended her surveying mission on the river. The gunboat, however, continued her mission in other areas of the southeastern coast of South America until 1856. On 8 May 1856, she returned to the Washington Navy Yard
for repairs and went out of commission on the 12th.
The ship recommissioned briefly during the summer of 1858, but her next real active service came after yet another recommissioning on 17 September of that same year. She headed for the coast of South America as part of the Paraguay expedition
under Flag Officer William B. Shubrick to exact an apology and an indemnity from Paraguay over the incident which had occurred in 1855. In January 1859, Water Witch and Fulton arrived in Asunción
, the capital of Paraguay; and, backed by the warships, an American commissioner, Mr. Bowlin, began negotiations with the Paraguayans. As a result of that expedition, Paraguay extended a satisfactory apology to the United States, indemnified the family of the slain Water Witch crewman, and granted the United States a new and highly advantageous commercial treaty.
After the resolution of the difficulties with Paraguay, Water Witch resumed her survey missions in that region of the world. That employment, punctuated by periods out of commission in the United States, lasted until the fall preceding the outbreak of the Civil War. She was again decommissioned, this time at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, for repairs on 1 November 1860.
opened hostilities between the North and the South. Steaming via Key West, Florida
, she joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron off Pensacola, Florida
, on 2 May. There, her initial duty consisted of dispatch service and shuttling mail between the blockaders and their base at Key West. She also carried mail to Havana, Cuba.
However, later that summer, her duty station was changed to the area around the mouth of the Mississippi River
. That duty lasted until the beginning of 1862. During the intervening months, she made several reconnaissance runs into the mouth of the Mississippi, missions for which her shallow draft made her an ideal ship. During one such incursion, ships of the Federal Fleet were attacked by the Confederate
ram Manassas
and the converted gunboat Ivy
. Water Witch engaged Ivy briefly but never encountered the ram which zeroed in on and damaged Richmond
. The Union ships re-crossed the bar; and the Confederates retired upriver, Manassas having suffered damage to her ram.
On 20 January 1862, the Gulf Blockading Squadron was divided in two to create the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. Water Witch was assigned to the latter organization, and her area of operations became the gulf coasts of Alabama
and Florida
. She served most frequently off Mobile, Alabama
and Pensacola, but also performed the familiar duty of dispatch vessel and mail packet. On 5 March 1862, the gunboat pursued the Confederate schooner
, William Mallory, for five hours before finally capturing the blockade runner
late in the day. In April, she began another period of repairs that lasted until September. On 6 September, she was recommissioned and ordered to join Rear Admiral Samuel F. du Pont
's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She arrived at Port Royal, South Carolina
, on 18 September and, by the end of the month, was on blockade station in the St. Johns River
in northeastern Florida.
On 1 October, Water Witch, Cimarron
, and Uncas
moved up the river as far as St. John's Bluff
to reconnoiter Confederate batteries situated on the heights. They traded some shots with the heavy caliber battery but soon retired because of well-directed fire from the Southerners. The following day, Federal troops landed and moved inland to isolate the Confederates manning the batteries on the bluff. Thereupon, the Southerners abandoned their guns in haste, and Water Witch participated in the unopposed occupation of the former Confederate positions late on the 3rd. Over the next few days, the warship participated in a foray farther up the river to destroy shipping and river barges.
On 17 October, she returned to Port Royal to resume her role as a dispatch vessel again. She continued to serve with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron until February 1863 when she broke down and had to be towed north for repairs.
She completed repairs late that spring and returned to Port Royal on 14 June. She performed blockade duty at several points along the coasts of South Carolina
, Georgia
, and northern Florida, but most frequently at Ossabaw Sound between Ossabaw Island
and the Georgia mainland about 15 miles due south of Savannah, Georgia
. That remained her primary duty station well into 1864. On the night of 3 June of that year, a Confederate boat force under the command of First Lieutenant Thomas P. Pelot, CSN
, succeeded in boarding and capturing Water Witch in Ossabaw Sound after a brief scuffle which cost the Union ship two killed and 12 wounded. {13 officers and 49 men were captured}.
CS losses were 6 killed and 17 wounded. Doubly ironic is that one of the Confederate fatalities was a black man - a river pilot named Moses Dallas - while one of the Union fatalities was black landsman Jeremiah Sills. The only Union man to escape was a "contraband" named Peter McIntosh.
The prize was subsequently taken into the Confederate Navy in which she retained the name Water Witch. Lt. W. W. Carnes, CSN, commanded the ship during her service for the South. Plans were being made to move her to Savannah for some special assignment, but she remained at White Bluff, Georgia
, until 19 December 1864 when the Confederates burned her to prevent recapture. Carnes was later ordered to Columbus, Georgia to take command of the CSS Jackson
.
. The museum is also home to the Water Witchs original bell, one of her flags, and an original Bible taken from the ship. The museum's Water Witch recreation and exhibit opened to the public on April 4, 2009.
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
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...
. She is best known as the ship fired on by Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
in 1855. In 1864 she was captured by the Confederate States Navy
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
, and subsequently was taken into that Navy as CSS Water Witch.
Commissioning and early service
Water Witch was launched by the Washington Navy YardWashington 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...
in 1851 and was commissioned during the winter of 1852–53, Lieutenant Thomas Jefferson Page in command.
On 8 February 1853, the gunboat set sail from Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, for an extended exploration and survey voyage along the Atlantic coast of the southern portion of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and of the rivers which drain that part of the continent. Over the next few years, she conducted surveys of the rivers in Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. In February 1855, while the little steamer was surveying the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
, she was fired upon by the Paraguayan fort Itapirú. The bombardment killed one member of her crew (helmsman Samuel Chaney) and ended her surveying mission on the river. The gunboat, however, continued her mission in other areas of the southeastern coast of South America until 1856. On 8 May 1856, she returned to 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...
for repairs and went out of commission on the 12th.
The ship recommissioned briefly during the summer of 1858, but her next real active service came after yet another recommissioning on 17 September of that same year. She headed for the coast of South America as part of the Paraguay expedition
Paraguay expedition
The Paraguay Expedition was a United States Naval mission sent to Asunción, Paraguay in 1858 to demand indemnity and apology from the Paraguayan Government for the 1 February 1855 firing on the US Navy vessel...
under Flag Officer William B. Shubrick to exact an apology and an indemnity from Paraguay over the incident which had occurred in 1855. In January 1859, Water Witch and Fulton arrived in Asunción
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
, the capital of Paraguay; and, backed by the warships, an American commissioner, Mr. Bowlin, began negotiations with the Paraguayans. As a result of that expedition, Paraguay extended a satisfactory apology to the United States, indemnified the family of the slain Water Witch crewman, and granted the United States a new and highly advantageous commercial treaty.
After the resolution of the difficulties with Paraguay, Water Witch resumed her survey missions in that region of the world. That employment, punctuated by periods out of commission in the United States, lasted until the fall preceding the outbreak of the Civil War. She was again decommissioned, this time at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, for repairs on 1 November 1860.
Civil War
She returned to active duty on 10 April 1861, just two days before General Beauregard's bombardment of Fort SumterFort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
opened hostilities between the North and the South. Steaming via Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, she joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron off Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, on 2 May. There, her initial duty consisted of dispatch service and shuttling mail between the blockaders and their base at Key West. She also carried mail to Havana, Cuba.
However, later that summer, her duty station was changed to the area around the mouth of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. That duty lasted until the beginning of 1862. During the intervening months, she made several reconnaissance runs into the mouth of the Mississippi, missions for which her shallow draft made her an ideal ship. During one such incursion, ships of the Federal Fleet were attacked by the 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...
ram Manassas
CSS Manassas
CSS Manassas, formerly the steam icebreaker Enoch Train, was built as a twin-screw towboat at Medford, Massachusetts, by James O. Curtis in 1855. A New Orleans commission merchant, Captain John A...
and the converted gunboat Ivy
CSS Ivy
CSS Ivy was a sidewheel steamer and privateer purchased by Commodore Lawrence Rousseau for service with the Confederate Navy, and chosen by Commodore George Hollins for his Mosquito Fleet...
. Water Witch engaged Ivy briefly but never encountered the ram which zeroed in on and damaged Richmond
USS Richmond
Three ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Richmond for the capital of Virginia.* The first Richmond was a brig, launched and purchased for the Navy in 1798. She was sold in 1801....
. The Union ships re-crossed the bar; and the Confederates retired upriver, Manassas having suffered damage to her ram.
On 20 January 1862, the Gulf Blockading Squadron was divided in two to create the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. Water Witch was assigned to the latter organization, and her area of operations became the gulf coasts of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
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...
. She served most frequently off Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
and Pensacola, but also performed the familiar duty of dispatch vessel and mail packet. On 5 March 1862, the gunboat pursued the Confederate schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, William Mallory, for five hours before finally capturing the blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
late in the day. In April, she began another period of repairs that lasted until September. On 6 September, she was recommissioned and ordered to join Rear Admiral Samuel F. du Pont
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She arrived at 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...
, on 18 September and, by the end of the month, was on blockade station in the St. Johns River
St. Johns River
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...
in northeastern Florida.
On 1 October, Water Witch, Cimarron
USS Cimarron (1862)
The first USS Cimarron was a sidewheel double-ended steam gunboat of the United States Navy that served during the American Civil War....
, and Uncas
USS Uncas (1843)
The first USS Uncas was a 192-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.Uncas was used as a gunship by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
moved up the river as far as St. John's Bluff
Battle of Saint John's Bluff
The Battle of Saint John's Bluff saw a Union detachment defeat Confederate forces in Duval County, Florida, forcing them to retire, and helped secure Federal control of the region, during the American Civil War....
to reconnoiter Confederate batteries situated on the heights. They traded some shots with the heavy caliber battery but soon retired because of well-directed fire from the Southerners. The following day, Federal troops landed and moved inland to isolate the Confederates manning the batteries on the bluff. Thereupon, the Southerners abandoned their guns in haste, and Water Witch participated in the unopposed occupation of the former Confederate positions late on the 3rd. Over the next few days, the warship participated in a foray farther up the river to destroy shipping and river barges.
On 17 October, she returned to Port Royal to resume her role as a dispatch vessel again. She continued to serve with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron until February 1863 when she broke down and had to be towed north for repairs.
She completed repairs late that spring and returned to Port Royal on 14 June. She performed blockade duty at several points along the coasts of 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...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and northern Florida, but most frequently at Ossabaw Sound between Ossabaw Island
Ossabaw Island
Ossabaw Island is one of the Sea Islands located on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia approximately twenty miles by water south from the historic downtown of the city of Savannah. One of the largest of Georgia's barrier islands, Ossabaw contains of wooded uplands with...
and the Georgia mainland about 15 miles due south of Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. That remained her primary duty station well into 1864. On the night of 3 June of that year, a Confederate boat force under the command of First Lieutenant Thomas P. Pelot, CSN
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
, succeeded in boarding and capturing Water Witch in Ossabaw Sound after a brief scuffle which cost the Union ship two killed and 12 wounded. {13 officers and 49 men were captured}.
CS losses were 6 killed and 17 wounded. Doubly ironic is that one of the Confederate fatalities was a black man - a river pilot named Moses Dallas - while one of the Union fatalities was black landsman Jeremiah Sills. The only Union man to escape was a "contraband" named Peter McIntosh.
The prize was subsequently taken into the Confederate Navy in which she retained the name Water Witch. Lt. W. W. Carnes, CSN, commanded the ship during her service for the South. Plans were being made to move her to Savannah for some special assignment, but she remained at White Bluff, Georgia
White Bluff, Georgia
White Bluff was a collection of communities—Nicholsonboro, Rose Dhu, Twin Hill, and Cedar Grove—located in Chatham County, Georgia, United States and now part of Savannah. In 1940, as part of research published in Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies Among the Georgia Coastal Negroes,...
, until 19 December 1864 when the Confederates burned her to prevent recapture. Carnes was later ordered to Columbus, Georgia to take command of the CSS Jackson
CSS Muscogee
CSS Muscogee also known as CSS Jackson was a Confederate States Navy ironclad ram, powered by a steam driven screw and deployed on the Chattahoochee River during the American Civil War....
.
New life
The National Civil War Naval Museum constructed a full-scale reproduction of the USS Water Witch using her original plan drawings at their facilities in Columbus, GeorgiaColumbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
. The museum is also home to the Water Witchs original bell, one of her flags, and an original Bible taken from the ship. The museum's Water Witch recreation and exhibit opened to the public on April 4, 2009.