The second USS ''Metacomet'' was a wooden sidewheel steamer in 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 ...

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 ...

. The ship was named for

Metacomet Metacomet (1638 – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...

Indians. ''Metacomet'' was launched on 7 March 1863 by Thomas Stack,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, and commissioned at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on 4 January 1864 under the captaincy of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

James E. Jouett. USS Metacomet captures CSS Selma

Civil War

''Metacomet'' joined the

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

in the blockade of Mobile Bay and captured British blockade runner ''Donegal'' on 6 June. On the 30th, ''Glasgow'' forced

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 ...

''Ivanhoe'' ashore near

Fort Morgan Fort Morgan can apply to any one of several places in the United States: *Fort Morgan (Alabama), a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay *Fort Morgan, Alabama, a nearby community *Fort Morgan (Colorado), a frontier military post located in present-day Fo ...

, whose guns protected the ship from destruction by the Union. Unsuccessful in efforts to destroy her by long-range fire from ''Metacomet'' and ,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

David Farragut ordered a boat expedition to attempt the task. Under cover of darkness, boats from ''Metacomet'' and slipped in close to shore and burned the steamer. ''Metacomet'' and 17 other ships entered Mobile Bay in a double column on 5 August 1864. In the ensuing battle ''Metacomet'' and other Union ships captured

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 ...

ram , a major threat to the blockaders at Mobile. Farragut's ships maintained a heavy fire on Fort Morgan and Confederate gunboats, capturing . ''Metacomet'' then rescued survivors from Union

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

, sunk by a Confederate torpedo. Six ''Metacomet'' sailors were awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for helping rescue the crew of the ''Tecumseh'': Seaman James Avery, Quarter Gunner Charles Baker, Ordinary Seaman

John C. Donnelly John C. Donnelly (1839–1895) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Born in 1839 in England, Donnelly immigra ...

, Captain of the Forecastle John Harris, Seaman Henry Johnson, and Landsman Daniel Noble. A further two sailors, Boatswain's Mate Patrick Murphy and Coxswain

Thomas Taylor Thomas Taylor may refer to: Military *Thomas H. Taylor (1825–1901), Confederate States Army colonel *Thomas Happer Taylor (1934–2017), U.S. Army officer; military historian and author; triathlete *Thomas Taylor (Medal of Honor) (born 1834), Am ...

, were awarded the medal for their conduct during the battle. and
After the battle, all Confederate and Union wounded were transferred to ''Metacomet'', which was then allowed to leave for the U.S. Naval Hospital in Pensacola after passing Fort Morgan under a flag of truce. After offloading the wounded, ''Metacomet'' steamed to the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

coast and captured blockade runner ''Susanna'' off Campechy Banks on 28 November, and took

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 ...

''Sea Witch'' and

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 ...

''Lilly'' off Galveston on 31 December 1864 and 6 January 1865, respectively. Mines, then called "torpedoes", remained a danger to shipping in waters near Mobile, so ''Metacomet'' returned there to drag the Bay and Blakely Channel from 9 March-12 April. Returning north after the end of the conflict, ''Metacomet'' decommissioned at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on 18 August and was sold there to

John Roach & Sons John Roach & Sons was a major 19th-century American shipbuilding and manufacturing firm founded in 1864 by Irish-American immigrant John Roach. Between 1871 and 1885, the company was the largest shipbuilding firm in the United States, building m ...

on 28 October.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Metacomet Steamships of the United States Navy Ships built in Brooklyn Ships of the Union Navy Sassacus-class gunboats American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States 1863 ships