USS ''Tallapoosa'' was a wooden-hulled, double-ended 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 ...

. She was outfitted with heavy guns for intercepting blockade runners and howitzers for shore bombardment. ''Tallapoosa'' remained in service after the war and served in various capacities, including schoolship for midshipmen of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. She was sold in

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in 1892.

Built by the New York Navy Yard

''Tallapoosa'' – the first

U.S. 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 o ...

ship to have that name—was built at the New York Navy Yard by C. W. Booz of

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on similar plans as . She was launched on 17 February 1863 and commissioned on 13 September 1864, Lieutenant Commander Joseph E. DeHaven in command.

Civil War service

Searching for CSS Tallahassee

As ''Tallapoosa'' was being fitted out,

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 ...

cruiser ''Tallahassee'' was cruising off the Atlantic coast destroying Union shipping from the

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. Hence, the Union double-ender got underway late in October and spent her first days at sea in seeking the Southern commerce raider. Her quest took her from

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to Halifax, then south to the Virginia Capes, then back north again to the coast of Nova Scotia. On 4 November, ''Tallapoosa'' encountered a southeasterly gale, which battered the ship for the next two days, disabled both her rudders, and caused other damage. She finally made port at Boston, Massachusetts on the morning of the 7th.

Assigned to the East Gulf blockade

Following repairs at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

which lasted over a month and one-half, ''Tallapoosa'' was assigned to the

East Gulf 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 ...

. Her most notable duty during this assignment occurred on 11 January 1865 when she assisted in salvaging material and equipment from screw frigate which had run aground in the

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on an uncharted reef near Green Turtle Cay off Grand Abaco Island.

Post-war service

After the American Civil War ended, ''Tallapoosa'' served in the Gulf Squadron—cruising in the

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and the

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—until 1867 when she was laid up at the

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Admiral Farragut on board

Reactivated in 1869, the ship became a dispatch vessel, beginning a role which soon brought ''Tallapoosa'' one of her more interesting missions. In January 1870, she carried Admiral

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. F ...

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, where he met at the end of that

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turreted battleship's voyage across the

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to return to the United States the remains of philanthropist

George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry g ...

who had died in

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. Early the following summer, the double-ender carried Farragut from New York City to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to visit the commandant of the navy yard. It was hoped that the cool sea breezes of

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would improve the aged and ailing admiral's health. As ''Tallapoosa'' neared Portsmouth on 4 July, she fired an Independence Day salute to her famous passenger, the Navy's highest ranking and most respected officer. Upon hearing the warship's guns, Farragut left his sick-bed, donned his uniform, and walked to the man-of-war's quarterdeck. There he commented, "It would be well if I died now, in harness. ..." A month and 10 days later, Farragut died at Portsmouth.

Schoolship for the Naval Academy

In 1872, ''Tallapoosa'' moved to Annapolis, Maryland, to serve as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

at the United States Naval Academy. The following year, she became a transport. While she performed this duty, her years of service began to show, and it became apparent that she needed extensive repair work. Hence, the ship was largely rebuilt at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1874 and 1875. There, revitalized and configured as a single-ender, the veteran warship resumed her role as a dispatch vessel and continued performing as such for almost a decade.

Raised after sinking

Shortly before midnight on 24 August 1884, ''Tallapoosa'' collided with schooner ''J. S. Lowell'' in

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and sank about from

Vineyard Haven Vineyard Haven is a community within the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts on the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 2,114 as of the 2010 census. The area was ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. After the ship had been raised and repaired by the Merritt Wrecking Company, she was recommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 11 January 1886. Assigned to the

South Atlantic Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When th ...

, ''Tallapoosa'' departed New York on 7 June 1886, bound for

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Sold in Uruguay

''Tallapoosa'' served along the coast of South America until 30 January 1892 when she was condemned as unfit for further service. She was sold at public auction at Montevideo, Uruguay, on 3 March 1892.

References

External links

USS ''Tallapoosa'' (1864-1892)U.S.S. Tallapoosa Financial Records, 1886-1888 MS 257
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Tallapoosa Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in Brooklyn Steamships of the United States Navy Sassacus-class gunboats American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Dispatch boats of the United States Navy Transports of the United States Navy United States Naval Academy Training ships of the United States Navy 1863 ships Maritime incidents in August 1884 Ships sunk in collisions Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast