USS Shawmut

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Ship Information (from DANFS)¹,²:

Images:

³

Captain(s):
Lieutenant Commander George U. Morris
Captain Image

Lieutenant Commander John G. Walker
Captain Image

Captain 3
Captain Image

First Offensive Order of Battle (June 13-18, 1864):

• Not present at the Siege of Petersburg.

Second Offensive Order of Battle (June 19-30, 1864):

• Not present at the Siege of Petersburg.

Third Offensive Order of Battle (July 1-31, 1864):

• Not present at the Siege of Petersburg.

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle (August 1-31, 1864):

• Not present at the Siege of Petersburg.

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle (September 1-October 13, 1864):

• Not present at the Siege of Petersburg.

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle (October 14-31, 1864):

Delivered to the US Navy, presumably at New York City (October 16, 1864)⁴

Not present at the Siege of Petersburg. (Source needed.)

• Captain:
• Crew Strength:
• Armament:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle (November 1-December 31, 1864):

Commissioned at the New York Navy Yard (November 1, 1864)⁵

Not present at the Siege of Petersburg. (Source needed.)

• Captain: Lieutenant Commander George U. Morris (November 1, 1865)⁶
• Crew Strength:
• Armament: 1 x 100-pdr. Parrott rifle, 2 x 9″ Dahlgren Smoothbores, 1 x 30-pdr. Parrott rifle, 2x  24-pdr. howitzers, 2 x 12-pdr. rifles (November 9, 1864)⁷

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle (January 1-February 28, 1865):

• Not present at the Siege of Petersburg. (Source needed.)

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle (March 1-April 2, 1865):

White House, Va. (York River) | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (March 18, 1865)⁸

Ordered to New York Navy Yard (March 20, 1865)⁹

• Captain: Lieutenant Commander John G. Walker (March 18, 1865)¹⁰
• Crew Strength:
• Armament: 1 x 100-pdr. Parrott rifle, 2 x 9″ Dahlgren Smoothbores, 1 x 30-pdr. Parrott rifle, 2x  24-pdr. howitzers, 2 x 12-pdr. rifles (March 31, 1865)¹¹
• Note: On March 18, 1865, this ship is noted as a “Screw Class” vessel.¹²

Siege of Petersburg Battles:

• TBD

Siege of Petersburg Involvement:¹³

The first Shawmut, a screw gunboat begun on 2 February 1863 by the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard, was launched on 17 April 1863; sponsored by Miss Lucy Hall; departed Portsmouth on 20 October 1863; was towed to New York where her engine and machinery were installed by the South Brooklyn Works; was delivered to the Navy on 16 October 1864; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 1 November 1864, Lt. Comdr. George U. Morris in command.

Two days later, Shawmut got underway to search for Confederate Navy commerce raider, Tallahassee (renamed Olustee), which had recently preyed upon Northern shipping off the Delaware capes. After cruising in Nova Scotian waters without seeing or hearing of her quarry, Shawmut returned to the Portsmouth Navy Yard on the 20th [November 1864].

On 9 January 1865, the gunboat was ordered to proceed to Wilmington, N.C., to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She participated in the attack on and capture of Fort Anderson, N.C., from 18 to 20 February. On the latter day, a boat from Shawmut was destroyed by a torpedo (the Civil War term for a mine) as it swept waters in the area.

In March, as Grant’s operations around Richmond approached their climax, Shawmut was called back to Hampton Roads and stationed in the York River “to keep open free navigation between White House and the mouth of the York River.” With the fall of Richmond and Lee’s surrender, Shawmut was ordered north and decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 17 April 1865.

Bibliography:

Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

Sources: