USS ''Massachusetts'' was a large steamer acquired by the

U.S. 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 of ...

prior to 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 used by the

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

as a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

in the blockade of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s. At war's end, she was outfitted as a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

and served in that capacity until finally decommissioned.

Service history

''Massachusetts'', an iron-screw steamer built in 1860 at Boston, Massachusetts, was purchased by the Union Navy on May 3, 1861, from the Boston & Southern Steamship Company. The ship was commissioned three weeks later, at

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...

, under the command of

Melancton Smith Melancton Smith (May 7, 1744 – July 29, 1798) was a merchant, lawyer and a New York delegate to the Continental Congress. Praised for his intelligence, liberality, and reasonableness, Smith had attained considerable respect in the State of ...

. Assigned to the

Gulf Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

, USS ''Massachusetts'' steamed south May 10, 1861, to anchor off

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

, departing there June 8 for

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. The next day she took her first prize,

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ship ''Perthshire'', near Pensacola. She captured ''Achilles'' June 17 and 2 days later took ''Naham Stetson'' off Pass a L’Outre in coastal

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. On June 23, she captured the Mexican

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Brilliant'' and the Confederate blockade-running schooners ''Trois Freres'', ''Olive Branch'', ''Fanny'', and ''Basile'' in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. While ''Massachusetts'' was absent, the South had fortified

Ship Island Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands (West Ship Island and East Ship Island) in 1969. In early 2019, t ...

, and the batteries fired on her when she returned from Pensacola. She engaged the Confederate guns until she ran out of ammunition. On July 13 she seized schooner ''Hiland'' near Ship Island, and next day engaged steamers ''Arrow'' and ''Oregon'' off

Chandeleur Islands The Chandeleur Islands (french: Îles Chandeleur) are a chain of uninhabited barrier islands approximately long, located in the Gulf of Mexico, marking the outer boundary of the Chandeleur Sound. They form the easternmost point of the state of Lo ...

, forcing them to withdraw. USS ''Massachusetts'' captured blockade-running sloop ''Charles Henry'' near Ship Island August 7 and gained information on

Fort Pike Fort Pike State Historic Site is a decommissioned 19th-century United States fort, named after Brigadier General Zebulon Pike. It was built following the War of 1812 to guard the Rigolets pass in Louisiana, a strait from the Gulf of Mexico, via L ...

, which guarded the entrance to

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from west ...

for the South. After repairs in early September, ''Massachusetts'' fortified Chandeleur Islands and set up a light there September 13. A landing party from the ship took possession of Ship Island September 17, thereby providing the Union Navy with a valuable shelter during storms and the base from which Admiral

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. Fa ...

would launch his attack on

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Returning to Ship Island September 20, USS ''Massachusetts'' attacked, causing the South to burn the barracks and desert Ship Island passage. USS ''Massachusetts'' operated near strategically important Ship Island through the remainder of the year. She thwarted Confederate efforts to transport freight through the passage December 2, captured a small fishing boat December 12, and turned back ''Oregon'', ''Pamlico'', ''Gray Cloud'', and ''Florida'' at

Mississippi Sound The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from Waveland, Mississippi, to the Dauphin Island Bridge, a distance of about . The sound is sepa ...

December 19. Early in 1862 ''Massachusetts'' steamed northward to decommission at

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February 28. Fitted out as a transport and supply ship, she recommissioned April 16 and operated along the Atlantic coast until decommissioning at New York City December 3. USS ''Massachusetts'' recommissioned March 10, 1863, and, but for a brief period late that summer, served the

South Atlantic Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

through the end of the war. She captured

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

''Parsis'' in

Wassaw Sound Wassaw Sound is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Georgia, United States near Savannah at the mouth of the Wilmington River. American Civil War naval battle It was the location of an American Civil War naval battle between the CSS Atlan ...

March 12 and with ''Commodore Perry'' captured

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...

''Caledonia'' May 30, 1864, south of Cape Fear after a 2-hour chase. In August she aided steamers ''Gettysburg'' and ''Keystone State'' in the capture of Confederate steamer ''Lilian''. On March 19, 1865, USS ''Massachusetts'' struck a torpedo (

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

), which failed to explode, in

Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston H ...

. She was decommissioned September 22, 1865, at

and was sold there, at

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October 1, 1867. Documented February 11, 1868, as ''Crescent City'', she served American commerce until 1872.

References

External links

Photo gallery
at Naval Historical Center
Internal Rules and Regulations of the U.S.S. ''Massachusetts'', 1864, MS 542
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in Boston Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States 1860 ships Stores ships of the United States Navy