USS ''Alonzo Child'' was a side-wheel steamer seized by the Union Navy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. She was used by the Union Navy as a

barracks ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

in support of the Union Navy blockade of

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

waterways.

Service history

''Alonzo Child'', sometimes referred to as ''Childs'', ''A. Child'', ''A. Childs'', ''Child'', or ''Childs'', was a large side-wheel "river boat" built in 1857 at

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio Riv ...

. During the next few years, she operated out of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, plying the waters of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and its tributaries. One of her pilots was

Samuel Clemens Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fa ...

, better known as

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

br>
(also see photo). Early in the Civil War, the ship found herself in waters controlled by Confederate forces and, by the end of 1861, was apparently serving the Confederate Government. In any case, on 18 December of that year, the South's Confederate States Navy, Secretary of the Navy, Stephen R. Mallory, authorized payment of $1,000 to her owners for the performance of some now unknown service. It seems that at some time during the ensuing 18 months, title to the steamer passed into the hands of the Confederate Government, but no details of the transaction have been discovered. In the spring of 1862, when

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral, Vice admiral (United State ...

wrested control of the

lower Mississippi River The Lower Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River downstream of Cairo, Illinois, Cairo, Illinois. From the Confluence (geography), confluence of the Ohio River and the Middle Mississippi River at Cairo, the Lower flows just u ...

from the South, ''Alonzo Child'' found temporary safety in the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river primarily in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the Ame ...

. In December 1862, her engines were removed and taken to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

to provide power for one of the Confederate ironclads under construction in that state to assist in the defense of

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, and ultimately to challenge the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederate States of America, Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required ...

of that port. The fact that these engines were installed in CSS ''Tennessee'' is supported by the Union Navy's inspection of that ironclad ram in August 1864 soon after she surrendered to Rear Admiral Farragut in the closing moments of the

Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...

. "These engines," the board of inspection reported on 13 August 1864, "were taken out of the river steamer called the ''Alonzo Child''." After losing her engines, the former steamer—now reduced to a barge—remained in the Yazoo River anchored at

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is the county seat of Yazoo County, Mississippi, Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in referen ...

. As Major General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

and Rear Admiral

David Dixon Porter David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral (United States), admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ...

increased the tempo of their operations against Vicksburg, the Southern defenders of that strategic Confederate cliff-side fortress filled ''Alonzo Child'' with combustibles to ready her for possible use as a

fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...

and then moved her down stream so that, as an alternative, she might be employed to obstruct the channel of the Yazoo between Haynes and Snyders Bluffs. On 19 May 1863, Lieutenant Commander

John Grimes Walker John Grimes Walker (March 20, 1835 – September 16, 1907) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served during the Civil War. After the war, he served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, head of the Lighthouse Board, and command ...

— commanding the ironclad gunboat — found her there, abandoned and ". . . much knocked to pieces." She had not been set ablaze and apparently had not been sunk. Walker also found ". . . guns, ammunition, tents, etc. ..." which had been left behind in nearby evacuated Confederate riverbank fortifications. His report of seizing the ". . . 8-inch, 10-inch, and 6-inch rifles ... in these works" has led some historians to conclude mistakenly that ''Alonzo Child'' carried these guns. The damage to the former steamer was apparently only cosmetic for, on 25 July, Porter sent her to

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( , sometimes ) is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinoi ...

, with the recommendation that "she will make a good receiving ship or marine barracks." ''En route'' north under tow by Union side-wheeler , she came across ''Sam Young'' hard aground above the mouth of the White River, "... nearly high and dry" with some 350 captured Confederate soldiers and an armed guard on board. ''Alonzo Child'' embarked the prisoners and their guards and carried them to

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phil ...

. After reaching Cairo, early in August, the prize was fitted out by the navy yard at

Mound City, Illinois Mound City is a city and the county seat of Pulaski County, Illinois, United States. It is located along the Ohio River just north of its confluence with the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 588. History Mound C ...

, for duty as a

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. 'Hulk' may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or a ship whose propulsion system is no longer maintained or has been r ...

, and she served there and at Cairo until close to the end of the Civil War. The Union Navy's de facto possession of the former steamer was ratified by the Federal court in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, when it condemned ''Alonzo Child'' as a lawful prize on 29 March 1864. As Confederate defenses were crumbling throughout the South and the Navy slowly began to demobilize its

Mississippi Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and ...

, ''Alonzo Child'' was sold at Mound City on 29 March 1865.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alonzo Child Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in Jeffersonville, Indiana Steamships of the United States Navy American Civil War auxiliary ships of the United States 1857 ships

Service history

See also

References