USS Valparaiso was a Navy vessel that was given a "second life" in her nautical career. During the start of the American Civil War, she was destined to be used as a "stone ship" hazard to navigation sunk in a Southern harbor, but the Union Navy reconsidered and put her to work as a stores ship, supporting the blockade of the ports of the Confederate States of America.
Valparaiso—a brig built at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1836—was one of a class of vessels popularly called "Baltimore clippers" because of their reputation for speed and outstanding performance. Valparaiso was purchased by the Navy at New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 22 November 1861.
Civil War serviceedit
The sailing vessel was originally intended to be sunk on 20 January 1862 at the entrance to Charleston harbor, South Carolina, as part of the second "Stone Fleet." These stone fleets—the first of which was sunk at Charleston on 20 December 1861—consisted of older vessels, mostly derelicts, filled with large boulders. They were intended to aid Northern efforts to blockade the Southern coastline in the early days of the Civil War when the Union Navy was still relatively small.
However, instead of deploying with her sisters at the bottom of Charleston harbor as originally planned, Valparaiso joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron of Flag Officer Samuel F. Du Pont and served as a storeship at Port Royal, South Carolina. She remained at Port Royal for the duration of the war. After the collapse of the Confederacy, the old brig was sold at public auction at Bay Point, South Carolina, on 2 September 1865.
valparaiso, navy, vessel, that, given, second, life, nautical, career, during, start, american, civil, destined, used, stone, ship, hazard, navigation, sunk, southern, harbor, union, navy, reconsidered, work, stores, ship, supporting, blockade, ports, confeder. USS Valparaiso was a Navy vessel that was given a second life in her nautical career During the start of the American Civil War she was destined to be used as a stone ship hazard to navigation sunk in a Southern harbor but the Union Navy reconsidered and put her to work as a stores ship supporting the blockade of the ports of the Confederate States of America HistoryUnited StatesNameUSS ValparaisoLaid downnot knownLaunched1836Acquired22 November 1861In service1862Out of service1865Stricken1865 est HomeportPort Royal South CarolinaFateSold 2 September 1865General characteristicsDisplacement402 tonsLength117 ft 6 in 35 81 m Beam27 ft 6 in 8 38 m Draftnot knownPropulsionClipper sailSpeedvariedComplement36Armamentnone Contents 1 Built as a Baltimore Clipper 2 Civil War service 3 See also 4 ReferencesBuilt as a Baltimore Clipper editValparaiso a brig built at Baltimore Maryland in 1836 was one of a class of vessels popularly called Baltimore clippers because of their reputation for speed and outstanding performance Valparaiso was purchased by the Navy at New Bedford Massachusetts on 22 November 1861 Civil War service editThe sailing vessel was originally intended to be sunk on 20 January 1862 at the entrance to Charleston harbor South Carolina as part of the second Stone Fleet These stone fleets the first of which was sunk at Charleston on 20 December 1861 consisted of older vessels mostly derelicts filled with large boulders They were intended to aid Northern efforts to blockade the Southern coastline in the early days of the Civil War when the Union Navy was still relatively small However instead of deploying with her sisters at the bottom of Charleston harbor as originally planned Valparaiso joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron of Flag Officer Samuel F Du Pont and served as a storeship at Port Royal South Carolina She remained at Port Royal for the duration of the war After the collapse of the Confederacy the old brig was sold at public auction at Bay Point South Carolina on 2 September 1865 See also edit nbsp American Civil War portalUnion BlockadeReferences 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 Valparaiso amp oldid 1152184630, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
