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Model of Pickens's sister ship Jefferson Davis
Model ofUSRCJefferson Davis,asister shipofPickensfrom theCushing-class.
History
United States
NameRobert McClelland
NamesakeRobert McClelland
BuilderJ. M. Hood,Somerset, Massachusetts
LaunchedJuly 11, 1853
ChristenedApril 18, 1853
Commissioned1853
FateSurrendered toLouisianaauthorities, January 31, 1861
Confederate States of AmericaConfederate States
NamePickens
In serviceFebruary 18, 1861
Fateburned to prevent capture, April 25, 1862
General characteristics
Class and typeCushing-classschooner
Displacement152 to 174short tons(136 to 155long tons)
Length92 ft (28.0 m)
Beam22 ft (6.7 m)
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)
PropulsionSail
Complement13+
Armament1 to 5 cannons

CSSPickens(originally known asUSRCRobert McClelland) was aCushing-classschoonerrevenue cutterthat saw service in the navies of the United States andConfederate States of America.Built asRobert McClellandinSomerset, Massachusetts,in 1853, she served along the coasts ofLouisianaandTexasbefore transferring her crew and officers toUSRCWashingtonin 1859 and heading to New York for repairs. In 1860,Robert McClellandreported to South West Pass, Mississippi, and was permanently assigned toNew Orleans, Louisiana,later that year. After the 1861secession of Louisiana,her commander turned her over to the state. She entered Confederate service on February 18 and was renamedPickens.Pickensplayed a minor role in theBattle of the Head of Passesbefore being burned to prevent its capture on April 25, 1862, afterUnion Navyforces entered New Orleans.

Service history[edit]

United States service[edit]

Originally aUnited States revenue cutter,[1]Robert McClellandwas atopsail schoonerbuilt by J. M. Hood inSomerset, Massachusetts,withCaptainN. L. Coste supervising the construction; thefitting-outprocess was to occur in New York. ACushing-classschooner,she had a length of 92 feet (28 m), abeamof 22 feet (6.7 m), and adraftof 9 feet (2.7 m). She displaced between 152short tons(136long tons) and 174 short tons (155 long tons) and had a crew of at least 13 men. Reports placed her armament at between one and five guns.[2]She did not have engines[3]and was powered by sail.[4]The vessel waschristenedon April 18, 1853, launched on July 11, and wascommissionedat some point during 1853. All of theCushing-class vessels were named after figures in theFranklin Pierce administration,withRobert McClellandbeing named after theSecretary of the Interior,Robert McClelland.[2]

She left forMobile, Alabama,on November 23, and reached there on December 7. As of January 14, 1854,Robert McClellandwas reported to have been sent toBermudato transport dispatches about the wreck of the steamerSan Franciscoto vessels located there.[2]San Franciscohad sunk with heavy loss of life while transporting passengers, including members of the3rd Artillery Regiment,fromNew York CitytoSan Francisco.[5]She then patrolled the coastlines ofTexasandLouisiana.On May 29, 1859, an order arrived for the ship to send her crew and officers to the cutterUSRCWashingtonand then go to New York to be repaired; she arrived on July 11. On September 1, 1860, she returned to South West Pass, Mississippi with orders to exchange officers and crew withWashington;Robert McClellandwas permanently assigned toNew Orleans, Louisiana,on November 8, 1860.[2]

Confederate service[edit]

The state of Louisianaseceded from the Unionon January 26, 1861,[6]and Captain J. G. Breshwood,Robert McClelland's commanding officer, refused to take the ship north.United States Secretary of the TreasuryJohn Adams DixorderedSecond LieutenantSamuel B. Caldwell to take command of the ship and treat Breshwood as amutineerif necessary.[7]This order was not received,[8]and Breshwood surrendered the ship to Louisiana authorities on January 31.[2]She enteredConfederateservice on February 18.[7][9]Breshwood and the ship's twolieutenants,Caldwell and Thomas Fister, entered theConfederate States Revenue Serviceand were reassigned toRobert McClelland,which was renamedPickens.[10]She was armed with three cannons during her Confederate service:[11]a 8-inch (20 cm)Columbiadand four 24-poundercarronades.[12]

On September 20, thesidewheel steamerUSSWater Witchentered theMississippi River.[13][14]Pickensand the armedtowboatCSSIvywere stationed atHead of Passesand withdrew toFort Jackson.Water Witchfired 23 rounds at the two ships while they retreated before bombarding riverbank positions once left alone; she withdrew back to theGulf of Mexicothat evening, passively followed byIvy.[15]Union vessels entered the Mississippi in late September and early October. After occupying the Head of Passes, the Union naval force identified a location for a shore fortification and began preparing the site.[16]WhenCommodoreGeorge N. Hollinscollected all available naval forces for an attack on Union vessels at Head of Passes,Pickenswas one of the ships that gathered at Fort Jackson on October 11. Hollins's fleet, led by theironcladCSSManassas,advanced downriver on the morning of October 12.Pickenswas at the rear of the fleet, as her lack of engines would make it difficult to maneuver in battle conditions.[17]Along with thegunboatCSSJackson(which had been converted from atugboat),Pickensguidedfire raftstowards the Union positions during the battle.[18]In the ensuingBattle of the Head of Passes,the Union ships abandoned the area in haste, with two temporarily running aground during the retreat. The Confederates destroyed a supply of wood earmarked for the planned fortification, captured the supply shipJoseph H. Toone,and lightly damaged thesloop-of-warUSSRichmond.Manassassuffered significant damage during the fighting.[19]

The fighting did not change the overall strategic situation, as the Union ships simply blockaded the outlets between Head of Passes and the Gulf of Mexico.[19]When Hollins and most of his ships moved upriver toKentuckybeginning in November,[20]PickensandWashington,which had also been surrendered in 1861,[21]remained behind at New Orleans. While the two ships primarily took taxes fromblockade runners,they were left behind as a potential defense force for the city.[4]During the rest of 1861 and early 1862,Pickensserved on the lower part of the Mississippi River.[22]On April 24, 14Union Navyships under the command ofFlag OfficerDavid Glasgow Farragutforced their way past Forts Jackson andFort St. Philip,arriving at New Orleans on April 25.[23]The same day,Pickenswas burned to prevent her capture. During the burning, a sailor boarded the ship and removed her Confederate and old United States flags.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^Chatelain 2020,p. 14.
  2. ^abcde"McClelland (Robert McClelland), 1853".United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived fromthe originalon 2021-08-22.Retrieved22 August2021.
  3. ^Chatelain 2020,p. 51.
  4. ^abChatelain 2020,p. 76.
  5. ^"The Wreck of the Steam Ship" San Francisco "Disabled on Her Voyage from New York to San Francisco, Dec. 24th, 1853 and in a Sinking Condition".Metropolitan Museum of Art.Retrieved5 September2021.
  6. ^"The Civil War".Louisiana State Museum. 23 January 2014.Retrieved22 August2021.
  7. ^ab"Revenue Cutter & Lighthouse Service in the Civil War"(PDF).US Department of Defense.Retrieved22 August2021.
  8. ^Hannings 2010,p. 16.
  9. ^Silverstone 2006,p. 173.
  10. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 14–15.
  11. ^Scharf 1887,p. 267.
  12. ^Hearn 1995,p. 84.
  13. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 45–46.
  14. ^"Water Witch III (SwStr)".Naval History and Heritage Command. October 25, 2015.Retrieved5 September2021.
  15. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 27, 45–46.
  16. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 46–47.
  17. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 50–51.
  18. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 18, 53.
  19. ^abChatelain 2020,pp. 52–58.
  20. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 75–76.
  21. ^Wilson 2015,p. 297.
  22. ^Civil War Naval Chronology1961,p. 283.
  23. ^Kennedy 1998,pp. 58–59.
  24. ^Chatelain 2020,pp. 172–173.

Sources[edit]

  • Chatelain, Neil P. (2020).Defending the Arteries of Rebellion: Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865.El Dorado Hills, California: Savas Beatie.ISBN978-1-61121-510-6.
  • Civil War Naval Chronology, 1861–1865.Washington, D.C.: Naval History Division. 1961.
  • Hannings, Bud (2010).Every Day of the Civil War: A Chronological Encyclopedia.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co.ISBN978-0-7864-4464-9.
  • Hearn, Chester G. (1995).The Capture of New Orleans 1862.Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press.ISBN0-8071-1945-8.
  • Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998).The Civil War Battlefield Guide(2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin.ISBN978-0-395-74012-5.
  • Scharf, John Thomas (1887).History of the Confederate Navy from Its Organization to the Surrender of Its Last Vessel.New York: Rogers & Sherwood.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (2006).Civil War Navies 1855–1883.New York: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-97870-5.
  • Wilson, Walter E. (2015). "The Civil War Blockade Running Adventures of the Louisiana SchoonerWilliam R. King".The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association.56(3): 294–314.
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