.jpg) Polaris atWashington Navy Yard | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSPeriwinkle |
| Operator | Union Navy |
| Acquired | December 9, 1864 (1864-12-09) |
| Commissioned | January 15, 1865 |
| Homeport | Norfolk Navy Yard |
| History | |
| Name | USSPolaris |
| Namesake | Alpha Ursae Minoris |
| Operator | Hall scientific expedition |
| Acquired | June 9, 1871 |
| Commissioned | June 29, 1871 |
| Homeport | Washington Navy Yard |
| Sunk | October 24, 1872 (1872-10-24), offEtah[citation needed] |
| General characteristics (1864) | |
| Type | Screw steamer |
| Displacement | 383 tons |
| Length | 140 feet (43 meters) |
| Beam | 28 feet (9 meters) |
| Draft | 10+1⁄2 feet (3 meters) |
| Depth of hold | 12 feet (4 meters) |
| Sail plan | Two-mast schooner rig |
| Complement | 37 officers and men |
USSPolaris, originally called theAmerica, was an 1864screw steamer procured by theUnion Navy asUSS Periwinkle during the final months of theAmerican Civil War. She served the Union Navy's struggle against theConfederate States as agunboat.
After the war, the ship was retained by theU.S. Navy. She was renamedPolaris in 1871 and became the designated vessel of theHall scientific expedition to theNorth Pole. It was on this voyage that she proceeded into Arctic waters, only to have her hull crushed by the ice in October 1872.
America, a heavy screwtugboat built atPhiladelphia, in 1864, was purchased by theUnion Navy December 9, 1864, from John W. Lynn; renamedPeriwinkle; and commissioned early in January 1865, acting Master Henry C. Macy in command.
The two-masted,schooner-rigged, white oak tug joined thePotomac Flotilla on January 15, 1865, as a gunboat, operating primarily in theRappahannock River.
In mid-March, a fleet ofoyster schooners operating in the area was threatened by a Confederate enemy force, andPeriwinkle withUSS Morse, blockaded the mouths of the Rappahannock andPiankatank rivers to protect them. The Flotilla also interrupted contraband business between lower Maryland and Virginia, and cleared the rivers of mines, and fought guerillas ashore.
After theCivil War ended,Periwinkle continued to serve with the flotilla until June 1865. Next, ordered toNorfolk, Virginia, she operated out of theNorfolk Navy Yard until placed in ordinary during 1867.
In late 1870, she was selected for service with theHall scientific expedition, led byCharles Francis Hall, and was sent to theWashington Navy Yard for refitting. Renamed USSPolaris in early-1871, she arrived at theNew York Navy Yard on June 9 to complete loading of stores and provisions for the expedition. She set sail in July 1871.
Aiming for theNorth Pole, she reached82° 29′N latitude, then thefurthest point north reached by a vessel.Polaris was caught in the ice on the homeward voyage in October 1872, and carried for some distance before being crushed. Her crew was subsequently rescued, including a party of 18 people led by George Emory Tyson, who had debarked to land provisions after the hull of thePolaris had begun to leak, only to have the section of the ice floe they were on break away from the section holding thePolaris.
The lost party floated for 196 days and were subsequently rescued separately from the vessel.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
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