USS ''Silver Lake'' 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.

Built in Pennsylvania in 1862

''Silver Lake'', a wooden stern-wheel steamer built in 1862 at

California, Pennsylvania California is a borough on the Monongahela River in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area since 1950. The population was 5,479 as of the 2020 census and was estimated at 5,453 in 2021. Cali ...

, was purchased by the Navy on 15 November 1862 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 ...

, for service in 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 ...

and commissioned on 24 December 1862, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Robert K. Riley in command.

Civil war operations

Ordered to support Union troops at Fort Donelson

On 24 January 1863, ''Silver Lake'' and were ordered to join three other ships in 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 ...

to stop Confederate forces from crossing. The expedition, under the command of Lt. Cpmdr. LeRoy Fitch and consisting of ''Silver Lake'', ''Lexington'', , , , and , proceeded up the

to support Union forces surrounded by Confederate units at Fort Donelson. Arriving after dark on the evening of 3 February 1863, the Union ships caught the enemy by surprise. The Confederates besieging the fort had taken positions which exposed them to fire from the gunboats. Heavy casualties were inflicted. Fire was so well directed, that the Confederate force could not even carry off a captured caisson and retreated without firing a shot. The ships were then stationed in the area to prevent the return of the Southern forces.

Shelling the town of Florence, Alabama

''Silver Lake'', ''Lexington'', and ''Robb'' shelled enemy forces from the town of

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...

, on 31 March 1863, destroying the cotton works.

Destroying the town of Palmyra, Tennessee

Still under the command of Lt. Comdr. Fitch, ''Silver Lake'', ''Lexington'', ''Brilliant'', ''Robb'', and ''Springfield'' destroyed the city of Palmyra, Tennessee, on 3 April 1863 in retaliation for Confederate guerrilla forces firing upon a Union convoy.

Silencing the Confederate batteries near Bell’s Mills, Tennessee

left On the evening of 2 December 1864, an expedition in which ''Silver Lake'' was included, surprised Southern batteries near Bell's Mills, Tennessee. On the two following days, the expedition silenced the batteries and recaptured three transports taken by the Confederates on the 2d. On 6 December, ''Silver Lake'', , ''Fairplay'', and the ironclad engaged enemy batteries near Bell's Mills. Seeing that the lighter armed vessels would be destroyed by enemy fire, Fitch ordered the gunboats to return to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

Post-war decommissioning, sale, and civilian career

''Silver Lake'' was decommissioned on 11 August 1865 at Mound City, Illinois, and 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 ...

to J. H. Kenniston on 17 August 1865. She was redocumented as ''Mary Hein'' and had her rig changed to sidewheel by 28 September 1865. Fire destroyed the ship in the Red River on 27 February 1866.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Lake Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in California, Pennsylvania Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States 1862 ships