USS ''Naumkeag'' was a steamer purchased 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 used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol

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 ...

waterways. ''Naumkeag'', a wooden stern-wheel steamboat built at

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, early in 1863, was purchased by the Navy at

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

, 14 April 1863 from Allen Collier; and commissioned at Mound City, Illinois, 16 April 1863, Lt. Comdr. George Brown in command.

The Union effort to control the rivers of the Confederacy

The Civil War in the west was largely a struggle to control 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 ...

and its tributaries which united vast reaches of the Confederacy. As determined Federal forces wiped out Southern naval power on these inland waters, and finally won unbroken possession of the Mississippi Valley with the conquest of Vicksburg, the South selected cavalry raids and guerilla tactics as the most promising means of snatching their fruits of victory from the North.

The terror tactics of Confederate General John Morgan

On 7 July 1863, three days after

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

surrendered, Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan, CSA, attacked Union positions on the upper Ohio and captured Union steamers ''John T. McCombs'' and ''Alice Dean''. He crossed the river at

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and raced east through southern

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and

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—burning bridges, tearing up railroads, destroying Federal public property, and terrifying the countryside.

In pursuit of General Morgan

Learning of the attack the next day, Lt. Comdr. Le Royo Fitch, the Union naval commander in the region, ordered his ships up river in pursuit of the raiders. ''Naumkeag'' joined the chase on the 10th. On the 19th, the gunboats caught up with Morgan at a ford above

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some 250 miles east of

, and attacked, forcing the Southerners to flee up river leaving their wounded and foot soldiers behind to be captured. The Union ships followed Morgan’s troops until stopped by shallow water.

Final operations, decommissioning and civilian career

''Naumkeag'' continued to operate on the western rivers through the end of the war. She decommissioned at Mound City, Illinois, 11 August 1865, and was sold at

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there to Charles F. Dumont 17 August 1865. She redocumented as ''Montgomery'' 16 September 1865 and served on the rivers of the South until destroyed by fire at Erie, Alabama, 19 January 1867.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naumkeag Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in Cincinnati Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States 1863 ships

The Union effort to control the rivers of the Confederacy

The terror tactics of Confederate General John Morgan

In pursuit of General Morgan

Final operations, decommissioning and civilian career

See also

References