| History | |
|---|---|
.svg)  United States | |
| Ordered | asFanny |
| Acquired | 9 April 1863 |
| Commissioned | 25 July 1863 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1865 |
| Fate | sold, 17 August 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 175 tons |
| Length | 120 ft (37 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft (10 m) |
| Draft | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Depth of hold | 3 ft 10 in (1.17 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 4knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) |
| Armament |
|
USSPaw Paw was asteamer acquired by theUnion Navy during theAmerican Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as aconvoy and patrol vessel onConfederate waterways.
Fanny, a wooden, center-wheel steamer formerly namedSt. Charles, was purchased by the Navy atChicago, Illinois, 9 April 1863 from J. Van Vartwick; arrivedCairo, Illinois, fromSt. Joseph, Missouri. 13 April 1863 for conversion to a "tinclad"gunboat; renamedPaw Paw 12 May 1863, designatedgunboat No. 31 on 19 June 1863; and commissioned 25 July 1863, Acting Master Augustus F. Thompson in command.Paw Paw patrolled the upperMississippi River protecting Union communication and supply bases fromguerrilla attacks. She struck a snag and sank in Walnut Bend 6 August 1863, but was pumped out and raised by steam pump boatChampion No. 5.[1] After repairs atCairo, Illinois, she resumed patrol duty. From 10 October to 13 December, she supported GeneralWilliam Tecumseh Sherman's operations on theTennessee River. In acknowledging the arrival of the gunboats, General Sherman wrote AdmiralDavid Dixon Porter:
Of course we will get along together elegantly. All I have, he (Lt. Comdr. S. L. Phelps, the senior naval officer on the Tennessee River) can command, and I know the same feeling pervades every sailor's and soldier's heart. We are as one.
Sherman's confidence was well founded. The joint effort solidified the Union's position in the South's interior and prepared for Sherman's drive onAtlanta, Georgia, and ultimate thrust to the sea. Through the end of the war,Paw Paw remained active in theMississippi Squadron maintaining Union control of the vast river system which acted as the nerves and sinews of the South.Paw Paw decommissioned atMound City, Illinois, 1 July 1865 and was sold at public auction there to Sol. A. Silver 17 August 1865.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
