USS ''Magnolia'' was a steamer captured 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 planned to be used by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

Service history

''Magnolia'', a wooden, seagoing, sidewheel steamer built by J. Simonson of

Greenpoint, New York Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn–Queens E ...

for Charles Morgan's Southern Steamship Company. Launched in 1854, the ship was impressed as a public vessel in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana, 15 January 1862, by Maj. Gen. Mansfield Lovell, CSA, acting for the Confederacy's Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin. The South's original plan to arm her as a ram was dropped in favor of turning her into a

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

. In 1858 Floridian cattle man Captain James McKay Sr. of Tampa made a contract with the Morgan Line. This contract allowed McKay to use ''Magnolia'' twice a month at a price of $1,500 each run in order to ship cattle to Cuba, making ''Magnolia'' the first of many ships to be used in the same way. For this reason, the introduction of Spanish doubloons to Florida can be traced back to the trading trips made by ''Magnolia''. ''Magnolia'' made at least two successful runs to nearby British islands in 1861 carrying large cargoes. On 19 February 1862, while trying to escape from Pass a' l’Outre in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

with a large cargo of cotton and

rosin Rosin (), also known as colophony or Greek pitch (), is a resinous material obtained from pine trees and other plants, mostly conifers. The primary components of rosin are diterpenoids, i.e., C20 carboxylic acids. Rosin consists mainly of r ...

, in a dense fog, she was detected and chased by Union ships ''Brooklyn'' and ''Mercedita''. After a daylong pursuit, ''Magnolia'' was intercepted and captured by ''South Carolina'' near the entrance to

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. T ...

. After her capture, ''Magnolia'' was sent to

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, Florida, where she was evaluated and condemned. She was purchased 9 April 1862 at New York City, by the Navy Department from the Key West

Prize Court A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...

. After repairs, she commissioned at New York City 22 July 1862, Lt. William Budd in command. The sidewheel steamer departed New York 26 July 1862 to take station near Key West as part of the Union blockade. En route on the 31st, she captured British steamer ''Memphis'' near Cape Romain, South Carolina, bound ostensibly from

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

, to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England. Search produced papers revealing that she had actually departed

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, the previous night with a cargo of cotton and

. Aided by ''South Carolina'', ''Magnolia''

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

ed her prize to New York City, arriving 3 August. After repairs, she sailed again for Key West. Operating off the coast of Florida with the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron, ''Magnolia'' took British

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

''Carmita'' 27 December, and 2 days later seized a second blockade runner, British sloop ''Flying Fish'', off Tortugas. By mid January 1863, repeated boiler problems slowed down ''Magnolia’s'' activities on blockade, and 15 July she sailed for New York for extensive repairs. ''Magnolia'' sailed to rejoin the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron 25 April 1864, and patrolled off the Bahama Banks. On 10 September, she captured steamer ''Matagorda'' with a load of cotton, carrying no papers and flying no colors. She remained on blockade in these waters until February 1865, when she shifted to

Apalachee Bay Apalachee Bay is a bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico occupying an indentation of the Florida coast to the west of where the Florida peninsula joins the United States mainland. It is bordered by Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, and Franklin ...

to blockade St. Marks, Florida. Four of the ship's sailors were awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for accompanying a Union Army force during the

Battle of Natural Bridge The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the American Civil War in what is now Woodville, Florida near Tallahassee on March 6, 1865. A small group of Confederate troops and volunteers, which included teenagers from the nearby Florida Mi ...

on 5–6 March 1865. The four men were Landsman John S. Lann, Seaman George Pyne, Ordinary Seaman Charles Read, and Seaman Thomas Smith. ''Magnolia'' put into Key West 15 March, and spent her last war days ferrying supplies to the ships maintaining the blockade. ''Magnolia'' decommissioned at New York 10 June 1865 and was sold at

public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...

to N. L. & G. Griswold 12 July 1865. Redocumented 23 August 1865, ''Magnolia'' served briefly as a merchantman and was abandoned in 1866.

References

*Bauer, Karl Jack and Roberts, Stephen S. (1991): ''Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants'', Greenwood Publishing Group, . * *Joe A. Akerman, Jr., North Florida Junior College (1976): ''Florida Cowman'', Jimbob Printing, Inc. Madison, Florida {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnolia Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in Brooklyn Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy 1854 ships