The first USS ''Suwanee'' was a 3rd-rate

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 Pre-steam ...

commissioned by the Union Navy in its struggle against the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

in 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 ...

. Commissioned late in the war, ''Suwanee'' spent several weeks searching for the

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 ...

raider CSS ''Shenandoah'' without success. ''Suwanee'' was eventually wrecked off

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in 1868.

Construction and design

''Suwanee''—a double-ended, iron-

hulled Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

, sidewheel-propelled

—was built for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

Reaney, Son & Archbold Reaney, Son & Archbold was a 19th-century United States, American iron shipbuilding company located on the Delaware River at Chester, Pennsylvania. The company was established in 1859 by Thomas Reaney (formerly of the firm Neafie & Levy, Reaney, N ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. She was 255 feet in length, with a beam of 35 feet, draft of 9 feet, hold depth of 12 feet and displacement of 1,030 tons. ''Suwanee'' was powered by a 58-inch bore, 8-foot 9-inch

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, inclined, direct-acting

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

, fitted with a

surface condenser A surface condenser is a water-cooled shell and tube heat exchanger installed to condense exhaust steam from a steam turbine in thermal power stations. These Condenser (heat transfer), condensers are heat exchangers which convert steam from its g ...

. Steam was supplied by four

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s: two main boilers of the horizontal, tubular type, and two superheated. The ship was also rigged as a two-masted

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 ...

for auxiliary sail power. Total cost of the vessel was $171,000.Daniels, p. 217. ''Suwanee'' was launched on 13 March 1864, delivered to the Navy at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

on 14 December, and commissioned on 23 January 1865, Comdr. Paul Shirley in command.

Service history

Ordered to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, the new double-ender departed

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, at dawn on 17 February 1865 and proceeded via

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down the Atlantic coast of the Americas looking for Confederate commerce raiders, especially for CSS ''Shenandoah'', which had been plaguing Northern shipping. She then steamed up the Pacific coast and arrived at

Acapulco, Mexico Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicircular bay, Acapulco has been a port since the ear ...

, where she joined the Pacific Squadron on 30 July. The side-wheeler was promptly ordered to sea in quest of ''Shenandoah''. After the Southern cruiser ''Shenandoah'' surrendered at

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

, late in the year, ''Suwanee'' cruised along the Pacific coast from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. On 9 July 1868, ''Suwanee'' was wrecked in Shadwell Passage, Queen Charlotte Sound,

References

Bibliography

* Daniels, Josephus, ed. (1921): ''Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion'', Series II, Volume I
p. 217
Government Printing Office, Washington. {{DEFAULTSORT:Suwanee Ships of the Union Navy Steamships of the United States Navy Mohongo-class gunboats American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Ships built by Reaney, Son & Archbold 1864 ships Maritime incidents in July 1868

Construction and design

Service history

See also

References

Bibliography