USS ''Tensas'' was a small 41-ton steamer captured by the Union Navy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. After ''Tensas'' was acquired by the Union Navy, she was outfitted with two large 24-pounder howitzers, a type of gun especially useful for riverbank bombardment, and was then sent to the Mississippi River Squadron for the duration of the war.

Service with the Confederacy

''Tom Sugg''—a wooden-hulled side-wheel steamer built in 1860 at

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

—was outfitted as a side-wheel gunboat and served under the name ''Tom Sugg''. She operated as a merchant river boat in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

on the White River carrying

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and general cargo. After the outbreak of the Civil War, she transported arms and horses for Confederate troops near the White River.

Capture by Union Navy forces

On 14 August 1863, ascended the Little Red River and captured ''Tom Sugg'' and ''Kaskaskia'' at Searcy's Landing. This blow destroyed Confederate river transportation in northern Arkansas and ultimately diminished the flow of supplies to Southern troops east of the Mississippi River.

Service with the Union Navy

The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Department purchased the side-wheel gunboat from the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Prize Court on 29 September 1863, and she was commissioned as ''Tensas'' on 1 January 1864 at Mound City, Illinois, Acting Master E. C. Van Pelt in command.

Post-war decommissioning

Tensas was decommissioned on 7 August 1865. She was sold at

public auction In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

on 17 August 1865 at Mound City, Illinois, to E. B. Trinidad.

Discovery of Its Wreck?

In 2006 the remains of a sunken vessel believed to be the ''Tensas'' were found in Bayou Teche at

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, L ...

. (E. B. Trinidad, the person to whom the vessel had been sold in 1865, was a Bayou Teche steamboat captain.) Part of the vessel in question sits ashore on private land and part sits in state waters. Now an archaeological site, the ship's resting spot is protected by pilings.

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