USS ''Reindeer'' was a steamer purchased by the

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

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 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 ...

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. Post-war she was converted into a

dispatch vessel Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message w ...

and served that function until finally decommissioned.

Built in Cincinnati in 1863

''Reindeer'', a wooden, stern-wheel ''gunboat (No. 35)'' built at

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, in the spring of 1863 as ''Rachel Miller'', was purchased by the Navy there on 13 June 1863 and placed in service early in July 1863.

Civil War service

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron

Reindeer joined 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 ...

just as

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

and Navy efforts to open the entire

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 ...

system to Federal shipping finally reached fruition with the capture of the South's river strongholds at

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 ...

, and

Port Hudson, Louisiana Port Hudson is an unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is known primarily as the location of an American Civil War battle, the siege of Port Hudson, in 1863. ...

Opening of the Confederate waterways to Union Navy control

This achievement of Northern arms opened a new phase of the Civil War in the West. Control of the vast inland waterways, which meandered through the Confederacy, gave Union commanders strategic lines of supply and communication for campaigns which would pierce into the South's heartland to deprive the Confederacy of its centers of strength. To counter this strategy, Southern generals attempted to deprive the North of the use of these vital rivers. Lacking a powerful naval arm to challenge Federal forces afloat, the South resorted to guerrilla raids and cavalry forays against Union bases along the riverbanks and on supply ships which plied the rivers bringing Mr. Lincoln's soldiers food, clothing, ammunition, and the other necessities of war.

Supporting the effort to suppress Morgan’s Raiders

It was ''Reindeer's'' job to protect Northern shipping from Southern raiders. After Confederate Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan crossed the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

and invaded the North with some 2,500 troops early in July, ''Reindeer'' joined a group of Union gunboats which patrolled the river for 10 days to prevent his crossing back to the southern bank and escaping. Aided by Union troops under Major General

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...

, they chased Morgan for almost 500 miles before they caught up with him at

Buffington Island Buffington Island is an island in the Ohio River in Jackson County, West Virginia near the town of Ravenswood, United States, east of Racine, Ohio. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Buffington Island took place on July 19, 1863, just ...

on the 19th and captured about half of the invading force.

Reindeer finally officially commissioned

The crisis passed, ''Reindeer'' returned to Cincinnati for a belated commissioning ceremony on 25 July 1863. She operated along the Ohio from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, to

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the larges ...

, watchful against guerrilla batteries as she patrolled the river and escorted transports and supply ships.

Reassigned to Cumberland River operations

On 15 November, the gunboat was transferred to the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

for similar duty. In the months that followed, she frequently engaged Confederate batteries which fired upon her from temporary positions along the riverbanks as she reconnoitered the upper Cumberland and supported Army operations in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

which would ultimately culminate in General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

's death thrust through

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

to the sea. She also participated in the Battle of Nashville December, 2nd, 4th and 15th, 1864. On 11 April 1864, ''Reindeer'' became a dispatch vessel for the Navy base at

Mound City, Illinois Mound City is a city and the county seat of Pulaski County, Illinois, United States. It is located along the Ohio River just north of its confluence with the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 588. History Mound Ci ...

, and served in that capacity until she decommissioned on 7 August 1865.

Post-war disposal and subsequent civilian career

She was sold at

public auction In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

on 17 August 1865 to J. A. Williamson, et al., and was redocumented as ''Mariner'' on 5 October 1865. The ship operated as a merchantman until she was stranded and destroyed at

Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...

, on 9 May 1867.

References

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