USS Mercedita (1861)

USS ''Mercedita'' was a wooden steamer that served as a gunboat in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

Service history

''Mercedita'' was built at Brooklyn, New York in 1861. She was purchased by the Union Navy on 31 July 1861 from J. C. Jewett & Co., and commissioned at New York on 8 December 1861, Commander Henry S. Stellwagen in command. ''Mercedita'' joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron on 3 January 1862, and the next day chased two vessels attempting to run the blockade; ''Julia'' and an unidentified ship ran aground trying to escape and were set afire by their crews. In March, ''Mercedita'' was ordered to Apalachicola, Florida to relieve in West Pass. There she destroyed the Confederate batteries at St. Vincent Island, Florida on 21 March. She and captured Apalachicola on 3 April. ''Mercedita'' pursued blockade runner ''Magnolia'' on 12 April, but during the chase Confederate ships ''Whitmore'' and ''Florida'' slipped through the blockade. ''Mercedita'' captured blockade runner ''Bermuda'' on 27 April and schooners ''Victoria'' and ''Ida'' on 12 July.

In September, she transferred to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and arrived at Charleston, South Carolina on 19 September. She served on the blockade of Charleston Harbor until the end of January 1863. On the night of 31 January, CSS ''Palmetto State'' and ''Chicora'', both Confederate ironclad rams, slipped out of the main ship channel of the harbor. They hoped to recapture British iron propeller ''Princess Royal'', taken by Union blockaders two days earlier with two powerful steam engines for new Confederate ironclads aboard. ''Mercedita'' was the first Union ship the southern raiders encountered, and ''Palmetto State'' succeeded in ramming her, ripping a hole in her keel, piercing her boiler, and leaving her in a sinking condition. Challenged "Surrender or I'll sink you," ''Mercedita'' – unable to move or bring her guns to bear – struck her colors. However, the Confederate rams – eager for further action – accepted paroles for ''Mercedita''s officers and crew and sped off to attack , and before retiring to Charleston.

''"A Lieutenant’s commission in the Confederate States Navy was conferred on me, with orders to report for duty on the ironclad Chicora at Charleston. My duties were those of a deck officer, and I had charge of the first division. On the occasion of the attack upon the blockading squadron ... It was my part, on the memorable morning, to aim and fire one effective shell into the Keystone State while running down to attack us, which (according to Captain LeRoy’s report), killing twenty-one men and severely wounding fifteen, caused him to haul down his flag in token of surrender. The enemy now kept at a respectful distance while preparing their ironclad vessels to sail up more closely. Our Navy Department continued slowly to construct more of these rams, all on the same general plan, fit for little else than harbor defense."'' -- William T. Glassell, Lt. CSN

Hardly captured before abandoned, ''Mercedita'' made temporary repairs before proceeding to Port Royal, South Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for complete repairs. In April, she was attached to the West Indies Squadron, to escort California steamers over part of their route, from New York to Aspinwall, Panama. Later that spring, she joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and operated from Beaufort, North Carolina for much of the remainder of the year. Joining the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in March 1865, she saw only brief action with it. In May, she searched for . When the conflict ended, the Union Navy resumed its peacetime activities, protecting American citizens and their property throughout the world. ''Mercedita'' went to Santo Domingo on 3 August to protect Americans there. Arriving at Ciudad de Santo Domingo on 11 August, the ship found the country in an unsettled political state, but there was no sign of the reported Spanish man-of-war on the southern coast. ''Mercedita'' departed Santo Domingo on 14 August, touching at Kingston, Jamaica on 17 August for coal ''en route'' home. Decommissioned on 14 October 1865, ''Mercedita'' was sold at public auction at New York on 25 October, and redocumented in merchant service on 9 November. She was converted to a brigantine on 16 June 1879.

References

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Ships of the Union Navy
Ships built in Brooklyn
Steamships of the United States Navy
Gunboats of the United States Navy
1861 ships