USS ''R. R. Cuyler'' was a 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 ...

. She was outfitted 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 ...

and was assigned to the

Union blockade 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 ...

of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. She was named for the president of the Central Georgia Railroad.

Built in New York in 1860

''R. R. Cuyler'' was built in 1860 by Samuel Sneeden of

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 * '' ...

for H. B. Cromwell & Company, served on that company's New York,

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, and

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

line until laid up in March 1861 at the start of the American Civil War. Then chartered by the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

, she transported New York State

militiamen A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

and returned to New York where she was acquired by the navy in May 1861, although not formally purchased until August.

Civil War service

Assigned to the Gulf blockade

In early June, ''R. R. Cuyler'' departed

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under the command of Captain Francis B. Ellison. On the 9th, she arrived at

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 ...

, whence she proceeded north for blockade duty off

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. Although plagued by the presence of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

among her crew, ''R. R. Cuyler'' participated in the capture and burning of ''Finland'' in

Apalachicola Bay Apalachicola may refer to: * Apalachicola people, a group of Native Americans who lived along the Apalachicola River in present-day Florida Places *Apalachicola, Florida *Apalachicola River *Apalachicola Bay *Apalachicola National Forest *Apalachi ...

on 26 August. On 22 November, while operating near and in 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 ...

, she intercepted and assisted in the capture of the steamers ''A. J. View'' and ''Henry Lewis''. In December, the

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 ...

s ''Advocate'', ''Express'', and ''Osceola'' and the

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 ...

s ''Delight'' and ''Olive'' met a similar fate. On 20 January 1863, off Mobile Bar, ''R. R. Cuyler'' seized the schooner ''J. W. Wilder''. Two months later, she captured the schooner ''Grace E. Baker'' off

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and on 3 May, the schooner ''Jane'' at sea. Stationed off

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...

during May, ''R. R. Cuyler'' captured the steamer ''Eugenie'' and the schooners ''Hunter'' and ''Isabel''. On 14 July, the steamer ''Kate Dale'' joined her list of prizes. After that capture, the gunboat was ordered to join in the search for the

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 ...

raider ''Tallahassee''. While proceeding on that mission on 4 December, she stopped and captured the steamer ''Armstrong'' and after a search revealed contraband cargo, seized the vessel.

Reassigned to the North Atlantic blockade

''R. R. Cuyler'' joined the

North 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 ...

off

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

, for duty through the close of the Civil War. She joined in attacks on

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear River' ...

in the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

24 and 25 December 1864, and participated in the capture of

Fort Anderson Fort Anderson can refer to: *Fort Anderson (Kentucky) ; A Union fort used in the American Civil War and site of the Battle of Paducah, Kentucky *Fort Anderson (North Carolina) ; A Confederate fort used in the American Civil War *Fort Anderson Locate ...

nearby 18 and 19 February 1865.

Post-war sale and subsequent career

Following the end of the Civil War, ''R. R. Cuyler'' returned to New York City, where she was decommissioned on 1 July 1865 and sold at auction on 15 August to Russel Sturgis of New York. In December 1866, she was purchased by the

Republic of Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and, after arrival at Cartagena, renamed ''El Rayo''. She remained in Cartagena Harbor, the subject of a diplomatic dispute following a change of government, from February to September 1867. In mid-September, she was blown from her moorings during a storm and grounded on a

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

, where she was abandoned.

Commemoration

One of the 30-pound cannon that was part of the armament of ''R. R. Cuyler'' was presented to the town of Oyster Bay,

, by the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...

and unveiled by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

in June 1903. The cannon can be seen today in Townsend Park in Oyster Bay.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:R. R. Cuyler Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in New York City Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States New York (state) in the American Civil War 1860 ships Ships of Colombia Maritime incidents in September 1867 Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea