The first USS ''Silver Cloud'' was a steamer acquired 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 in support of the Union Navy 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 ...

waterways.

Commissioned at Cairo, Illinois, in 1863

''Silver Cloud''—a wooden-hulled stern wheel steamer built in 1862 at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, was taken over by the Navy on 1 April 1863 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 ...

; commissioned there on 4 May 1863; and was formally purchased by the Navy on 19 May 1863.

Civil War operations

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron

The gunboat (''Tinclad No. 28''), commanded by Acting Master Augustus F. Thompson, 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 ...

after it had succeeded in opening 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 to navigation by Union ships—naval, military, and merchant. However, since the South was not yet beaten, it was still necessary for the ships to patrol the rivers to protect Union shipping from attacks by guerrilla bands.

Destroying boats along the Tennessee River

Early in May 1863, her first assignment took her up the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

as far as

Eastport, Mississippi Eastport is an unincorporated community in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. During the 1840s and 1850s, Eastport became an important river port and boasted a population of 2,000 and many businesses. In 1857, the railroad missed Eastp ...

, to destroy every boat found along the way which might be used by the Confederates to cross the river. She and her consorts , , , and also carried Army troops to

Linden, Tennessee Linden is a town in and the county seat of Perry County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,015 at the 2000 census and 908 at the 2010 showing a loss of 107. Linden was officially incorporated in 1850.Osceola, Arkansas Osceola is a city in, and a dual county seat of, Mississippi County, Arkansas, Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. Located along the Mississippi River within the Arkansas Delta, the settlement was founded in 1837 and incorporated in 1853. ...

. In mid-January 1864, she carried Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, to

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 ...

. On 14 April, she assisted and ''Platte Valley'' in driving Confederate cavalry and infantry from

Fort Pillow, Tennessee Fort Pillow State Historic Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre (6.6 km²) Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overl ...

, which Major General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

had captured two days before. Late in May, she assisted , after that river monitor had run aground at

Helena Bar, Arkansas Helena may refer to: People * Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

Post-war operations

After the Confederacy collapsed, ''Silver Cloud'' operated briefly on the rivers helping to return conditions to normal.

Decommissioning, sale, and subsequent maritime career

She was decommissioned at Mound City, Illinois, on 13 July 1865 and 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 ...

there on 17 August 1865 to J. H. Sterritt. The ship was converted from a stern to a side wheeler and redocumented on 7 October 1865. She was snagged and lost on 27 February 1866 in

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...

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 ...

References

External links

Guide to the Officer Appointments and Orders of the USS ''Silver Cloud'', 1862-1865 MS 395
held by Special Collection & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Cloud Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in Brownsville, Pennsylvania Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States 1862 ships