_drawing.png) A profile drawing of USSUndine, done in 1992 by David J. Meagher | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSUndine |
| Launched | 1863 |
| Acquired | by purchase, March 7, 1864 |
| Commissioned | April 1864 |
| Fate | Captured byConfederate forces, October 30, 1864, and burned to prevent re-capture, November 4, 1864 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Tinclad warship |
| Tonnage | 179 tons |
| Propulsion | Sternwheel steamer |
| Armament | 8 × 24-pounderDahlgren howitzers |
The firstUSSUndine was atinclad warship used by theUnion Navy in 1864, during theAmerican Civil War. Built inCincinnati, Ohio, asBen Gaylord for civilian trade on theOhio River,Undine was purchased by the Navy in March 1864 and renamed. Converted to a tinclad and commissioned the following month,Undine originally served on theMississippi River before being transferred to theTennessee River. In July 1864, the vessel sank after hitting asnag nearClifton, Tennessee, but was refloated a week later.Undine was then involved in an operation atEastport, Mississippi, on October 10. While responding to the sounds of a fight betweenNathan Bedford Forrest'sConfederate cavalry raiders and a transport on October 30,Undine was damaged and was surrendered to Forrest's troops. Taken into Confederate service,Undine participated in Forrest's movement against the Union supply depot atJohnsonville, Tennessee. WithUndine caught between two Union naval forces, the Confederates burned the captured tinclad on November 4.
Thepacket steamerBen Gaylord was built by Captain Uriah B. Scott atCincinnati, Ohio, in 1863. Asternwheel steamer with a woodenhull and a tonnage of 179 tons,Ben Gaylord was intended for use in the civilian trade between theOhio River towns ofPortsmouth, Ohio, andParkersburg, West Virginia.[1][a] It is known that the vessel had twoboilers,[3] while further information on her dimensions is not available.[4] On March 7, 1864, the steamer was acquired by theUnion Navy for military use in theAmerican Civil War. After the purchase,[5] which took place at Cincinnati,[6] at a cost of $35,600,[7] she was remainedUndine,[5] aftermythical class of water nymphs.[6]Undine was taken toMound City, Illinois, to be outfitted as atinclad warship. Hermilitary commissioning occurred at Mound City the month after her purchase. She was under the command of ActingMaster John L. Bryant and was armed with eightsmoothbore 24-pounderDahlgren howitzers,[8] although this armament was not the same for her entire length of service.Undine was given the identification number 55.[3]
Assigned to theMississippi River Squadron after commissioning,Undine served on theMississippi River beginning in May 1864, operating betweenNatchez, Mississippi, andFort Adams, Mississippi. She was reassigned and by July was operating on theTennessee River.[6] On July 25, while nearClifton, Tennessee,Undine struck asnag while backing off of the riverbank and sank. Bryant and his crew were able to remove the ship's armament and most of the ammunition stores.Undine'sbow was in a deeper part of the river than thestern; the former was 14 feet (4.3 m) underwater, while the latter was only 2 feet (0.61 m).[3] The vessel's armament were used as part of the defenses of Clifton whileUndine was raised, a process that was completed on August 1, with the assistance ofLittle Champion, a pump steamer.[6]
On either October 9[6] or October 10,Undine left Clifton along with the tincladUSSKey West and three transports:City of Pekin,Kenton, andAurora. The transports were carrying troops from the113th Illinois Infantry Regiment on an expedition toEastport, Mississippi, as part of operations against theConfederate cavalry raiderNathan Bedford Forrest. The commander of the 113th Illinois failed to scout the area around Eastport after landing on October 10 and the troops were ambushed by part of Forrest's command underLieutenant Colonel David C. Kelley. Kelley's troops drove the Union soldiers back to the transports in confusion.Undine andKey West provided covering fire, although a contemporary newspaper report in theChicago Daily Tribune claimed that the two tinclads caused morefriendly fire casualties than they inflicted on the Confederates.[9] The convoy withdrew and reachedPaducah, Kentucky, on October 12.[6]
Undine, along withKey West and the tincladsUSSTawah andUSSElfin frequently operated out ofJohnsonville, Tennessee.[10] During October 1864, Forrest's cavalry was raiding along the Tennessee River to damage the Union supply lines in the area and disrupt theAtlanta campaign from a distance.[3]Undine escorted the transportAnna on October 30 from Johnsonville to Sandy Island.[6]Undine turned back towards Johnsonville, but nearParis Landing, Tennessee, the transport came under fire from some of Forrest's artillery. The transport was damaged but was able to escape to Paducah.[11] The sounds of the fighting caught the attention of the crew ofUndine, and the Union vessel steamed back downriver to investigate. The tinclad came under fire from the Confederates on the west side of the river at Paris Landing, and was severely damaged after a fight of nearly an hour.[12] One of the Confederate shots caused damage that temporarily put out the tinclad's boiler fires;[13] another damaged herexhaust system.[14]
Bryant orderedUndine maneuvered out of range of the Confederates and anchored along the east bank of the Tennessee River. While repairs were going on,Undine came under Confederate small arms fire from across the river, but the Confederates were driven off by the tinclad's artillery after an hour of fighting.[15] Another Union transport,Venus, came downriver from Johnsonville, and after ignoring warning signals fromUndine, came under Confederate fire. This transport was able to reachUndine, but shortly thereafter another transport,J. W. Cheeseman, arrived. Confederate fire knocked out the steering system ofJ. W. Cheeseman, and the transport drifted to the Confederate side of the river and was captured.[16] While Confederate troops and the captured crew ofJ. W. Cheeseman unloaded the transport,[17] other Confederate troops moved downriver to attackUndine andVenus. Fighting followed for several hours. With damage toUndine's steam pipe and running low on ammunition, Bryant ordered the ship abandoned. Two of her guns werespiked, but attempts to destroy the tinclad failed. Bryantstruck his colors at roughly 4:00 p.m.[18]
Confederate troops crossed the Tennessee on rafts and repairedUndine andVenus enough to bring the steamers to Paris Landing, whileJ. W. Cheeseman was burned due to the severity of her damage. A Confederate officer with prewar steamboat experience, Captain Frank Gracey, was placed in command ofUndine, and some of Forrest's troops were transferred to the two ships to operate them. The cavalrymen steamed the vessels between Paris Landing and the site ofFort Heiman as operational practice.[19] Early on November 1, Forrest's troops moved out towards Johnsonville, accompanied byUndine andVenus. On the afternoon of November 2, theKey West andTawah were sent downriver from Johnsonville and encountered the two Confederate-operated ships.[20]Venus had got ahead ofUndine, and after twenty minutes of fighting, the Confederates ran the transport aground and abandoned the ship, which was recaptured by the Union forces.Undine was able to escape downriver.[21] Meanwhile, a force of six tinclads – USSCurlew,USSFairy,USSPaw Paw,USSVictory,USSBrilliant, andUSSMoose – was coming up from the other end of the Tennessee River.[22]
Forrest andUndine reached Reynoldsburg Island, which was 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Johnsonville, on November 3.Undine was used as a bait to draw the Union tinclads at Johnsonville towards Forrest's artillery,[23]Tawah's commander attempted to attackUndine twice, but the Confederate vessel was able to maneuver away back towards the Confederate batteries.[24] On the morning of November 4,Undine again moved down towards Johnsonville. The tinclads at Johnsonville advanced towardsUndine, hoping to reach the six tinclads further downriver, which were under the command ofLieutenant CommanderLeRoy Fitch, but the lead ship,Key West was repeatedly driven back by Confederate artillery fire.[25] Still,Undine was trapped between the two Union forces, and had been struck by several shots.[26] Unable to escape, Gracey hadUndine scuttled. Oil-soaked mattresses were piled in the ship's magazine and then lit with a lamp.[27] Gracey and the Confederate crew escaped asUndine went up in flames.[28]
Forrest's troops opened fire on the Union defenses and depot at Johnsonville later that day, opening theBattle of Johnsonville.[29]Key West andTawah suffered severe damage, and the Union troops burned the two gunboats along withElfin to prevent their capture if Johnsonville fell.[30] Large quantities of supplies and a number of transports were destroyed at Johnsonville, much of which was burned by the Union forces, although Forrest did not take the town.[31] Acourt of inquiry later cleared Bryant and his crew of any blame in the loss ofUndine.[27] The tincladUSSKate was ordered in June 1865 to "raise or wreck, as the case may require" the wrecks ofUndine,Key West,Elfin,Tawah, and three coal barges.[32] Two of the 24-pounder howitzers were recovered that month, and additional items were salvaged in August.[33] The area whereUndine sank became part ofKentucky Lake in the 1940s, and in the early 21st century the combined efforts of several private and governmental entities located the remains ofUndine's burned hull.[34]
