| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Laid down | unknown date |
| Launched | 1861 |
| Acquired | 20 December 1861 |
| Commissioned | 1 February 1862 |
| Decommissioned | 14 June 1865 |
| Fate | Sold, 12 July 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 127 tons |
| Draft | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 10knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Armament | two 30-pounder rifledParrott guns |
USSZouave was asteamer acquired by theUnion Navy during theAmerican Civil War. She was needed by the Navy to be part of the fleet of ships to prevent blockade runners from entering ports in theConfederacy.
Zouave—a screw steamer built in 1861 atAlbany, New York—was purchased by the Navy on 20 December 1861 atNew York City and soon thereafter was delivered to the Navy atHampton Roads, Virginia, for duty in theNorth Atlantic Blockading Squadron. On 1 February 1862, she was placed in commission, Acting Master Henry Reaney in command—and assigned the tasks of patrolling the mouth of theJames River at night and serving as a tender for frigatesUSS Congress andUSS Cumberland during daylight hours.
Shortly after noon on 8 March, the tug was moored to a wharf atNewport News, Virginia, when thequartermaster spotted some black smoke near the mouth of theElizabeth River.Zouave got underway and headed across Hampton Roads to investigate. Soon observers on the tug could make out "what to all appearances looked like the roof of a very big barn belching forth smoke as from a chimney on fire." After aConfederate flag came in view, the men onZouave concluded that the strong looking craft was the long expected Southern ironcladCSS Virginia—the rebuiltMerrimack—finally emerging to challenge the Union blockaders.Zouave then opened up with her 30-pounderParrott rifle and fired about a half-dozen rounds before she was recalled by a signal hoisted on boardCumberland. By this time, the Union warships in Hampton Roads and batteries at Newport News had also opened fire on the Southernironclad. WhenVirginia reached a position abreast ofCongress, she fired a broadside into that Union frigate and headed straight forCumberland.
At this point,Zouave was in between the fire ofVirginia, that of her escortsPatrick Henry andJamestown, and the "friendly" Union guns based ashore at Newport News andFort Monroe. She kept firing at the Southern ships until she was signaled byCongress to come alongside. The tug quickly obeyed and began the difficult process of taking the blazing frigate in tow. AsZouave was attempting to pullCongress into shoal water where she might be safe from further attacks,Virginia pulled astern of the retreating Union ships and subjected them to broadside after broadside. WhenCongress grounded, she hoisted a white flag to indicate her surrender.
Zouave cut her towlines; backed up; and, upon pulling free, resumed her firing. Lookouts on the tug thus spotted a signal onMinnesota—which had also grounded but was still in the fight—asking for assistance. While the tug was heading for that plucky Union blockader, she was hit "by a shot which carried away our rudder-post and one of the blades of her propeller wheel." Unable to steer and move straight towardVirginia,Zouave backed up and used her hawser "over our port quarter" to keep moving towardUSS Minnesota. During the passage,USS Whitehall arrived on the scene and assistedZouave to her destination. The battle-damaged tug lay alongsideMinnesota throughout the night, ready to assist the Union ships insofar as she was able. The next day,Zouave was upstaged by the newly arrivedUSS Monitor during that novel ironclad's epic battle withVirginia. On 11 March, she proceeded, in tow, to theBaltimore Navy Yard for repairs.
Zouave returned toHampton Roads on 3 May 1862. She spent the next six months deployed in Hampton Roads and surrounding waters on guard duty as an armed tug. She also carried out picket and dispatch assignments. On 26 October 1862,Zouave received instructions to hailUSS Delaware, then cruising between thePiankatank andYork Rivers,Virginia, and ordering her to report to Hampton Roads to prepare for duty in theNorth Carolina sounds. On 29 October 1862 atRip Raps, Virginia, afterDelaware failed to acknowledgeZouave's recognition signal,Zouave mistakenly fired onDelaware, taking the steamer for a Confederate blockade runner. Returning to Hampton Roads,Zouave andUSS Young America towed monitorUSS Passaic to theWashington Navy Yard for repairs on 30 November 1862. On 18 January 1863,Zouave captured the small schoonerJ. C. MoCabe and six prisoners in the James River; and, on the night of 11 and 12 April 1863, she participated in a reconnaissance ofJamestown Island in the James. She served as part of the Union force capturing the formidable Confederate position atHill's Point on theNansemond River, Virginia, on 20 April 1863. This relieved Union army positions nearSuffolk, Virginia, of Southern pressure.
Zouave steamed toBaltimore, Maryland, for repairs in May 1863.Zouave deteriorated steadily during the remaining two years of the war. On 29 February 1864, she was detailed toAtlanta, Georgia,[dubious –discuss] to guard against possible attacks by Confederatetorpedo boats. In April 1864,Zouave sailed to Baltimore for repairs. She soon returned toHampton Roads, only to be ordered to theNorfolk Navy Yard for more repairs on 4 August 1864.Zouave remained in the yard through early December 1864, then was deployed in the James River until the war's end. After a final round of repairs at Norfolk, the tug proceeded to theNew York Navy Yard on 1 June 1865.Zouave was decommissioned atNew York on 14 June 1865 and was sold atpublic auction there to M. O. Roberts on 12 July 1865.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundUSS Zouave here.