 USSVaruna, as drawn in 1904 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | Varuna |
| Builder | Charles Mallory & Sons (Mystic, CT) |
| Cost | $127,460 ($4,460,000 today) |
| Laid down | January or February 1861 |
| Launched | September 1861 |
| Acquired | 31 December 1861 |
| Commissioned | February 1862 |
| Fate | Sunk in action 24 April 1862 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Screwgunboat |
| Tons burthen | 1,247tons burthen or 1,300 tons |
| Length | 218 ft (66 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft 8 in (10.57 m) |
| Draft | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Depth of hold | 18 ft 3 in (5.56 m) |
| Installed power | Vibrating-lever steam engine(s) |
| Propulsion | Singlescrew propeller |
| Speed | 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) (designed) |
| Complement | 157 |
| Armament |
|
USSVaruna was ascrew steamer acquired by theUnion Navy during theAmerican Civil War. Union naval strategy called fora blockade of theConfederate coastline, but the acquisition of many additional ships was necessary to accomplish this. One of the new vessels purchased wasVaruna, which was still under construction when the sale occurred on 31 December 1861.Commissioned in February 1862, she traveled to join theWest Gulf Blockading Squadron. The squadron was under the command ofFlag OfficerDavid Glasgow Farragut and was tasked with the capture ofNew Orleans, Louisiana.
In order to reach New Orleans, the Confederate positions atFort Jackson andFort St. Philip had to be passed. On the morning of 24 April, Farragut led his ships inan attempt to pass the forts. During the ensuing action,Varuna ran ahead of the other Union ships, and she was engaged in a chase with theLouisiana gunboatGovernor Moore. The two ships exchanged cannon fire beforeGovernor Moore rammedVaruna twice. Another Confederate vessel added a third ramming blow.Varuna sank within 15 minutes, but Farragut was able to capture New Orleans.
When theAmerican Civil War broke out in April 1861, theUnion adopted a naval strategy resembling theAnaconda Plan, which had been proposed byCommanding General of the United States ArmyWinfield Scott. This involvedblockading theConfederate coastline and taking control of theMississippi River,[1] in order to cut the Confederacy off from foreign trade.[2] At the beginning of the war, theUnion Navy had only 42 ships still considered active, with othersmothballed and in poor condition. Many of the existing active ships were too large to enter ports that would need to be blockaded. The Union found itself needing a large number of new ships in order to fulfill the new operation's goals.[3][a]
Varuna, a wooden-hulled screw steamship, was named aftera Vedic deity associated with the skies and seas.[5] She was built by Charles Mallory & Sons ofMystic, Connecticut, on their own account,[6] in anticipation of finding a buyer for her inmerchant service on the trade route betweenNew York City andNew Orleans, Louisiana.[5][6]Cornelius S. Bushnell ofNew Haven, Connecticut, eventually acquired a half-share in the $135,000 ship (equivalent to $4,720,000 in 2024), while Charles Mallory retained ownership of the other half.[7][8][9] The vessel waslaid down in late January or early February 1861 andlaunched the following September, but while still under construction, she was purchased on behalf of the Union Navy at New York City on 31 December[5][10] for the sum of $127,460—the price reduction representing the difference between completing her for naval rather than merchant service.[7][8]
Varuna was 218 feet (66 m) long, and had abeam of 34 feet 8 inches (10.57 m).[10] Herdepth of hold was 18 feet 3 inches (5.56 m).[5] According to theDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) the ship had a tonnage of 1,300 tons,[5] while other sources give a figure of 1,247tons burthen.[6][10][11] The vessel was powered byvibrating-lever engines[7][b]—a new type ofmarine steam engine, patented byJohn Ericsson,[14] which at the time were also being fitted tothe first generation of U.S. Navyironclad warships.[15]Varuna's engines, which drove a single screw propeller, were designed to deliver a service speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) at adraft of 12 feet (3.7 m)[6]—a fast speed for a steamship of the period.[c] Both engines andboilers were built by the Reliance Machine Company of Mystic.[6]
Varuna's crew numbered 157. She was armed with eight 8-inch (20 cm)Dahlgren guns[17] and two 30-pound (14 kg)Parrott rifles.[18][d] Gaines describesVaruna as either asloop or acorvette,[18] whileDANFS describes her as ascrew gunboat.[5]
Varuna wascommissioned in February 1862.[10] On 10 February, she was briefly ordered to wait in New York City while theironcladUSSMonitor was completed, so that she could escortMonitor toHampton Roads. By the end of the day, the order had been revoked, andVaruna was assigned to theWest Gulf Blockading Squadron. On her way to join the squadron,Varuna called at the port ofPort Royal, South Carolina. As the Union commander at Port Royal,Flag OfficerSamuel Du Pont, was absent[5] on an expedition south along the Confederate coastline,[20]Varuna's captain,CommanderCharles S. Boggs, temporarily took command of the area.Varuna would not reach the West Gulf Blockading Squadron until 6 March.[5]
In January, the commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Flag OfficerDavid Glasgow Farragut, had been tasked with capturing New Orleans for the Union. Farragut would have both a fleet of warships taken from blockade duties and theMortar Flotilla. In late February, he arrived atShip Island,[21] a strategic island off the coast ofMississippi,[22] and after preparations, the advance up the Mississippi towards New Orleans began on 15 April. Themortars of the Mortar Flotilla began bombarding two Confederate forts downriver from New Orleans – Fort Jackson andFort St. Philip – on 18 April, with the shelling continuing for another five days. Union vessels were able to breach a barricade erected in the river on 20 April, and at 02:00 on 24 April, Farragut's ships began moving against the two forts, bringing on theBattle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.[23]
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Farragut assigned 17 warships for the attack on the forts, dividing them into three groups.Varuna was one of eight ships in the first group, which was tasked with moving up the eastern side of the river to engage Fort St. Philip.[24] Before the action, Farragut had anchor chains fastened to the outside of the ships, serving as a form of makeshift armor for the parts of the ships that contained their engines and machinery.[25] Confederate fire opened at around 03:40.[26]Varuna steamed past the forts quickly,[27] with the ship's crew attempting to raise additional steam by burning barrels of pork. Visibility was severely limited for both sides during the Union ships' rush upriver.Varuna fired upon several Confederate vessels visible to either side,[28] before encountering and firing into an engagement between other ships.[29]Varuna's fire causedfriendly fire casualties on theUnadilla-class gunboatCayuga.[30][31] Having broken formation,Varuna continued upriver at full steam, despite having engine trouble with lowboiler pressure.[32] Now the leading Union ship, she was spotted by the State of Louisiana gunboatGovernor Moore.[33]Varuna could be identified by red identification light she had on hermasthead, as the Confederate vessels used blue lights for this purpose.[34]
The two ships then began a chase upriver.[35] The commander ofGovernor Moore ordered lights similar to thoseVaruna displayed on his ship as a ruse. When the Confederate vessel caught up withVaruna shortly before daylight, the decoy lights were taken down andGovernor Moore opened fire.[36]Governor Moore fired with thechase gun on herbow, whileVaruna fired with herstern chase gun.[34] The gunboatCSSJackson briefly fired into the melee, but she then continued upriver to New Orleans.[35]Varuna tried to turn to face herbroadside towardsGovernor Moore, but the move was countered; the two ships fired into each other at a range of 40 yards (37 m).Governor Moore approached yet closer, but found that her forward gun could not be depressed enough to rakeVaruna's deck, so her captain ordered the gun fired through her own deck,[34] with the hole serving as agun port.[5] A second shot through the hole killed three men aboardVaruna and wounded others.[35]
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At this point, the two ships were about 10 feet (3.0 m) apart, but their crews could barely see each other due to dense smoke.[34] It was now about 06:00, and the ships were at a point about 9 miles (14 km) upriver from the forts.[37]Varuna turned tostarboard to allow for a broadside to be fired from that side of the ship.[35] The broadside caused great destruction onGovernor Moore's deck,[34] butGovernor Moore rammedVaruna, knocking out the Union ship's engines.Governor Moore then backed off and rammedVaruna again.[35]Varuna was now sinking rapidly, and steered towards the riverbank.[38] Another gunboat then arrived and rammedVaruna.[39][e]Varuna sank within 15 minutes, with her guns still firing as she went down. For their actions in the engagement, eight sailors aboard the vessel were later awarded theMedal of Honor.[39]Varuna's survivors were rescued byOneida.[43]Governor Moore in turn wasscuttled not long after her victory overVaruna;[44] over three-quarters of her crew had been killed or wounded.[35]
Theexecutive officer ofVaruna,LieutenantCharles Swasey, claimed after the battle thatVaruna's guns had set four Confederate ships afire, and Boggs additionally claimedGovernor Moore as a victim ofVaruna.[45] Boggs wrote in his official report dated 29 April that four members of the ship's crew were killed and nine wounded, and that four of theMarines aboard were also wounded;[46] while the report of Acting AssistantPaymaster Charles Fitch dated 6 May reports that three men fromVaruna were confirmed to have been killed.[47] Gaines lists the vessel's casualties as three killed and twelve wounded.[18] Swasey attributed the vessel's sinking to her design as a merchant vessel, which Swasey considered to be inadequate for a warship.[48]
As Union vessels moved upriver, they passed the wreck ofVaruna, whose flags were still visible above the water. The shipsdipped their colors as they passed by the wreck site.[49] By mid-morning, Farragut had 13 of his ships upriver past the forts. Most of the Confederate ships present had been sunk, and the two forts surrendered on 28 April, after their garrisons mutinied. After neutralizing Confederate defenses atChalmette on 25 April, the Union vessels entered New Orleans. The fall of the city was a major defeat for the Confederates.[50]DANFS states thatVaruna "contributed greatly" to the Union victory, andGeorge Henry Boker wrote a poem commemorating the vessel.[5] Her wreck was partially visible in 1885, and a 1981 expedition led byClive Cussler located a signal with agradiometer near where she is believed to have sunk.[18]
