USS ''Ivy'' was a steamer acquired 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 ...

. She was assigned by the Navy as a gunboat to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries. ''Ivy'' also was assigned the role of

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

and dispatch boat; towards the end of the war she was assigned the role of coal barge tender.

Built in St. Louis, Missouri in 1862

''Ivy'', a screw tug, was built as ''Terror'' by the Army at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, in 1862; transferred to the Navy 30 September 1862 and renamed ''Ivy''.

Civil War operations

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron

Assigned to the

Mississippi Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was ...

, ''Ivy'' took part as

and dispatch boat in the winter operations around Vicksburg 1862–63. In the important attack on Fort Hindman 9–11 January 1863, she served as Rear Admiral

David D. Porter David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank of ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

. As the more powerful

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...

pounded the fort in support of General William Tecumseh Sherman's attack, ''Ivy'' came alongside both and to help quench fires started by shore fire. In a memorandum in the office of

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, Gideon Welles noted:

The officers and crew behaved with great coolness, though under a brisk fire of musketry.

The naval attack, directed from ''Ivy'', resulted in Sherman's capture of the fort, a severe blow to the Confederate cause in the West.

Passing under the lethal Vicksburg batteries on the Mississippi

''Ivy'' was also present for the passage of the

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...

, batteries by Admiral

David Dixon Porter David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank o ...

's ships 16–17 April 1863. Lashed to the side of the powerful , ''Ivy'' steamed boldly past Vicksburg, opening operations south of the city to Porter and contributing importantly to the fall of Grand Gulf and eventually to the capture of Vicksburg. In May the tug accompanied the gunboats up the Red River. The ships reached abandoned Fort De Russy 5 May and 2 days later took Alexandria, only to be forced back downstream by low water. The fort was partially destroyed and Porter returned to Grand Gulf to continue the assault on Vicksburg. The tug remained near Vicksburg, often as Porter's

, until after its fall 4 July 1863, and subsequently acted as a dispatch boat and tug on the river and as a receiving ship for

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. Ivy entered the Red River again in 1864 when the major part of Admiral Porter's fleet was caught by low water above the rapids at Alexandria. She assisted gunboat ''Ozark'' over the rapids 13 May 1864 and returned to the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

with the fleet amid frequent Confederate attacks from shore.

Final operations of the war and decommissioning

For the remainder of the war ''Ivy'' was used to tend and pump coal barges at Donaldsonville, Louisiana. She was sold at Mound City, Illinois, 17 August 1865 to W. G. Priest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivy Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in St. Louis Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy Tugs of the United States Navy Dispatch boats of the United States Navy Colliers of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States 1862 ships