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USS Delaware

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this ship’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Ship Information (from DANFS)1,2:

Name: USS Delaware Type: Sidewheel Steamer Tonnage: 357
Length: 161’ Beam: 27’ Draught: 6’, Light: 4’6”
Speed: Max: 13 knots Complement: 65 men Class: N/A
Armament: 1 9” Dahlgren Smoothbore, 1 32-pdr. 57 cwt., 1 12-pdr. Rifle, 1 12-pdr Smoothbore
Namesake: An Indian tribe, the first state in the Union, a bay, and a river.

Images:

NH 96590 USRC Louis McLane3

 

Captain(s):
Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson
RoswellHLamsonUSNavyv15p7434

Acting Master J. H. Eldridge
Captain Image

Captain 3
Captain Image

 

First Offensive Order of Battle (June 13-18, 1864): James River, Va. | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (June 17, 1864)5,6

  • Captain: Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson (June 13, 1864)7
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:
  • Note: The USS Delaware was on the James River on the evening of June 13, 1864.8
  • Note: On June 17, 1864, this ship is noted as on “advance guard duty; Trent’s Reach” and “above Wilson’s Wharf” on the James River.9

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

  • Captain:
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:

Third Offensive Order of Battle (July 1-31, 1864): Fourth Division (James River) | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (July 31, 1864)10

  • Captain:
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle (August 1-31, 1864): Fourth Division (James River) | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (August 1 & 17, 1864)11,12

  • Captain:
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle (September 1-October 13, 1864): Second Division (Hampton Roads and James River) | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (September 1 & 16 and October 1, 1864)13,14,15

  • Captain:
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:
  • Note: On October 1, 1864, this ship is noted as in “James River.”16

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

  • Captain:
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle (November 1-December 31, 1864): James River, Va. | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (November 1 and December 5 & 15, 1864)17,18,19

  • Captain: Acting Master J. H. Eldridge (November 1 and December 5 & 15, 1864)20,21,22
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:
    • 1 x 9” Dahlgren Smoothbore, 1 x 32-pdr. 57 cwt., 1 x 12-pdr. Rifle, 1 x 12-pdr Smoothbore (November 30, 1864)23
    • 4  x “guns” (December 15, 1864)24
  • Notes:
    • On November 12, 1864, this ship was on picket duty in the James River at “Dutch Gap” and was classified as a “purchased steamer.”25
    • On December 15, 1864, this ship is noted as a “Class 4” vessel.26

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle (January 1-February 28, 1865): James River, Va. | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (January 1 & 15 and February 1, 15 & 25, 1865)27,28,29,30,31

  • Captain: Acting Master J. H. Eldridge (January 1 & 15 and February 1 & 15, 1865)32,33,34,35
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament: 4 x “guns” (January 1 & 15 and February 1 & 15, 1865)36,37,38,39
  • Note: On January 1 & 15 and February 1 & 15, 1865, this ship is noted as a “Class 4” vessel.40,41,42,43

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle (March 1-April 2, 1865): James River, Va. | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (March 18, 1864) (Ordered to North Carolina Sounds on or before April 1, 1865) 44,45

  • Captain: Acting Master J. H. Eldridge (March 18 and April 1, 1865)46,47
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament: 4 x “guns” (March 18 and April 1, 1865)48,49
  • Note: On March 18 and April 1, 1865, this ship is noted as a “Paddle Class” vessel.50,51

 

Siege of Petersburg Battles:

  • TBD

 

Siege of Petersburg Involvement:52

The fourth Delaware, a side wheel steamer, was built in 1861 at Wilmington, Del.; purchased by the Navy 14 October 1861, Lieutenant S. P. Quackenbush in command…

[SOPO Editor’s Ntote: This ship’s earlier Civil War service has been omitted.]

On 27 March 1864 she returned to the waters of Virginia, to patrol and perform picket duty, transport men and ordnance stores, and clear the rivers of torpedoes until the end of the war. Arriving at Washington Navy Yard 27 July 1865, Delaware was decommissioned there 5 August 1865 and sold on 12 September to the Treasury Department.

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. “DANFS.” Naval History and Heritage Command, www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html. ↩
    2. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Volume 1, p. 73 ↩
    3. “NH 96590 USRC Louis McLane.” Naval History and Heritage Command, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-96000/NH-96590.html. (U.S. Revenue Cutter, 1865) Photographed during the last decades of the 19th Century. Built for commercial use in 1861, this steamer had Civil War service as USS Delaware during 1861-1865. She became the Revenue Cutter Delaware in August 1865 and was renamed Louis McLane in 1873. Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Historian. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. ↩
    4. Roswell H. Lamson image.  MOLLUS-Mass Civil War Photograph Collection, Vol. 15, Page 743.  United States Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA. ↩
    5. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 157–158 ↩
    6. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume X, p. 145 ↩
    7. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 10, p. 145 ↩
    8. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 10, p. 145 ↩
    9. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 157–158 ↩
    10. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 324–325 ↩
    11. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 370–371 ↩
    12. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, p. 326 ↩
    13. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 410–412 ↩
    14. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 462–463 ↩
    15. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 514–515 ↩
    16. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume X, pp. 514–515 ↩
    17. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 39–40 ↩
    18. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 140–142 ↩
    19. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
    20. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 39–40 ↩
    21. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 140–142 ↩
    22. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
    23. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Volume 1, p. 73 ↩
    24. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
    25. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, p. 61 ↩
    26. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
    27. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
    28. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
    29. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
    30. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 20–21 ↩
    31. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 54–55 ↩
    32. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
    33. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
    34. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
    35. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 20–21 ↩
    36. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
    37. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
    38. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
    39. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 20–21 ↩
    40. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
    41. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
    42. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
    43. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 20–21 ↩
    44. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
    45. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
    46. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
    47. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
    48. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
    49. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
    50. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
    51. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
    52. “Delaware IV (Side-wheel Steamer).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/delaware-iv.html. ↩

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