Tawah was used by the Union Navy as a convoy and patrol vessel on Confederate waterways, only to be sunk, along with USS Elfin and USS Key West by Confederate shore batteries.
Service historyedit
Tawah (Gunboat No. 29)—a wooden river steamer, formerly named Ebenezer—was purchased by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter on 19 June 1863 from Ebenezer Blackstone, St. Louis, Missouri. Tawah was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron under the command of Acting Master Alfred Phelps, Jr. In October 1863, she was assigned to patrol the Tennessee River and remained there until the following year. In April 1864, Tawah, USS Paw Paw, Key West, and USS Alfred Robb were employed in convoying Army transports up the Tennessee River, in addition to being on the lookout for Confederate shipping. At this time, Tawah was reported to be a miserable ship at best and badly in need of repairs.
On 2 November, Tawah and Key West encountered USS Undine and Venus, which the Confederates had captured three days earlier. After a running battle, Venus was recaptured. Undine, a "tinclad" of eight 24-pounder brass howitzers, was able to outrun the Union ships and escape to the protection of Confederate shore batteries on Reynoldsburg Island. When Venus was recaptured, there were two 20-pounder Parrott rifles and over 200 rounds of ammunition on board. On 4 November, Tawah, Key West, and Elfin were patrolling the river to protect the Union headquarters and depot at Johnsonville when Confederate forces under the command of General Nathan B. Forrest attacked the city.
Undine came up river from the protection of the Confederate batteries, and the three Union ships moved down to attack her. The Confederates burned Undine and opened fire on the Union ships with their shore batteries. They were using heavy, rifled guns, and the three Union ships were badly outgunned. The Confederates moved their batteries along the shore and severely shelled the three ships as well as other gunboats, transports, and the wharfs. After fighting fiercely for several hours, Tawah's Parrott guns on the starboard bow were disabled; and all three ships had been damaged, in addition to having expended most of their ammunition. The Union gunboats were abandoned and fired to prevent them from falling into Confederate hands. In June 1865, four 24-pounder howitzers and two rifled, steel 12-pounders were salvaged from the hulk of Tawah.
tawah, steamer, acquired, union, navy, during, american, civil, historyunited, statesacquired19, june, 1863commissionedcirca, june, 1863fatesunk, during, combat, november, 1864general, characteristicsdisplacement108, tonslength114, beam33, depth, holddepth, ho. USS Tawah was a 108 ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War HistoryUnited StatesAcquired19 June 1863Commissionedcirca June 1863FateSunk during combat 4 November 1864General characteristicsDisplacement108 tonsLength114 ft 35 m Beam33 ft 10 m Depth of holddepth of hold 3 9 Propulsionsteam engine side wheel propelledArmament4 24 pounder guns 2 30 pounder Parrott rifles 2 12 pounder gunsTawah was used by the Union Navy as a convoy and patrol vessel on Confederate waterways only to be sunk along with USS Elfin and USS Key West by Confederate shore batteries Service history editTawah Gunboat No 29 a wooden river steamer formerly named Ebenezer was purchased by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter on 19 June 1863 from Ebenezer Blackstone St Louis Missouri Tawah was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron under the command of Acting Master Alfred Phelps Jr In October 1863 she was assigned to patrol the Tennessee River and remained there until the following year In April 1864 Tawah USS Paw Paw Key West and USS Alfred Robb were employed in convoying Army transports up the Tennessee River in addition to being on the lookout for Confederate shipping At this time Tawah was reported to be a miserable ship at best and badly in need of repairs On 2 November Tawah and Key West encountered USS Undine and Venus which the Confederates had captured three days earlier After a running battle Venus was recaptured Undine a tinclad of eight 24 pounder brass howitzers was able to outrun the Union ships and escape to the protection of Confederate shore batteries on Reynoldsburg Island When Venus was recaptured there were two 20 pounder Parrott rifles and over 200 rounds of ammunition on board On 4 November Tawah Key West and Elfin were patrolling the river to protect the Union headquarters and depot at Johnsonville when Confederate forces under the command of General Nathan B Forrest attacked the city Undine came up river from the protection of the Confederate batteries and the three Union ships moved down to attack her The Confederates burned Undine and opened fire on the Union ships with their shore batteries They were using heavy rifled guns and the three Union ships were badly outgunned The Confederates moved their batteries along the shore and severely shelled the three ships as well as other gunboats transports and the wharfs After fighting fiercely for several hours Tawah s Parrott guns on the starboard bow were disabled and all three ships had been damaged in addition to having expended most of their ammunition The Union gunboats were abandoned and fired to prevent them from falling into Confederate hands In June 1865 four 24 pounder howitzers and two rifled steel 12 pounders were salvaged from the hulk of Tawah See also edit nbsp American Civil War portalAnaconda PlanReferences editThis article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS Tawah amp oldid 1113609139, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
