The Potomac Flotilla, also called the Potomac Squadron, was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to disrupt Confederate communications and shipping there.

Potomac Flotilla
Attack on the Confederate Batteries at Aquia Creek by the Potomac Flotilla.
Active1861 - 1865
Country United States
Branch United States Navy
Typenaval squadron

History

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American Civil War

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On April 22, 1861 Commander James H. Ward, who was the commanding officer of the receiving ship USS North Carolina at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn New York, wrote to United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells to put forth a plan for the protection of the Chesapeake Bay area. Ward suggested a "Flying Flotilla" of light-draft vessels to operate in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River, and their tributaries. His commander, Captain Samuel L. Breese, commandant of the New York Navy Yard, endorsed his plan. Wells accepted this proposal and wrote back to Ward and Breese on 27 April 1861 authorizing them to begin carrying out Ward's plan. On 1 May 1861 the first vessels for the new flotilla were acquired. On 16 May 1861 Ward set out from the New York Navy Yard with three vessels, USS Thomas Freeborn, USS Reliance, and USS Resolute. He arrived at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on 20 May 1861 on board his flagship,Thomas Freeborn.[1]

On 27 June 1861 Ward's flotilla engaged the Confederates at Mathias Point, Virginia. While he was sighting the bow gun of Thomas Freeborn, Ward was shot through the abdomen and died within an hour due to internal hemorrhaging. He was the first United States Navy officer to be killed during the American Civil War.[2]

After the death of Ward the flotilla was led by a succession of short-term commanders until the fall of 1862 when Commodore Andrew A. Harwood took command. He was in turn succeeded by Commander Foxhall A. Parker on 31 December 1864.[3]

The Civil War ended in April 1865, and on 18 July 1865 the United States Department of the Navy ordered Parker to disband the flotilla, effective 31 July 1865. Most of the flotilla's remaining vessels were sent to the Washington Navy Yard to be decommissioned.[4]

Name of the flotilla

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It was not until August 1861 that the flotilla became known as the Potomac Flotilla. The designation of "Flying Flotilla" was dropped when Ward's force arrived in the theater of operations. The flotilla was then referred to by a variety of names, including: Flotilla, Potomac River; Potomac Blockade; Flotilla in the Chesapeake; etc. In early August 1861 the flotilla commander and the Department of the Navy began to consistently refer to the command as the Potomac Flotilla.[5]

Operations

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1861
Engagement with the Confederate batteries at Aquia Creek, Virginia, 29 May – 1 June 1861
Affair at Mathias Point, Virginia, 27 June 1861
Engagement with the Confederate batteries at Potomac Creek, Virginia, 23 August 1861
Engagement with the Confederate battery at Freestone Point, Virginia, 25 September 1861

1862
Engagement at Cockpit Point, Virginia, 3 January 1862
Expedition up the Rappahannock River to Tappahannock, Virginia, 13–15 April 1862
Expedition up the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg, Virginia, 20 April 1862
Expeditions to Gwynn's Island and Nomini Creek, Virginia, 3–4 Nov, 1862
Engagement at Port Royal, Virginia, 4 December 1862
Engagement at Brandywine Hill, Rappahannock River, Virginia, 10–11 December 1862

1863
Destruction of salt works on Dividing Creek, Virginia, 12 January 1863
Destruction of Confederate stores at Tappahannock, Virginia, 30 May 1863
Capture of U. S. steamers USS Satellite and USRC Reliance, 16 August 1863

1864
Expedition to the Northern Neck of Virginia, 12 January 1864
Expedition up the Rappahannock River, Virginia, 18–21 April 1864
Expedition to Carter's Creek, Virginia, 29 April 1864
Expedition to Mill Creek, Virginia, 12–13 May 1864
Expedition up the Rappahannock River, Virginia, 16–19 May 1864
Expedition to the Northern Neck of Virginia, 11–21 June 1864
Expedition to Milford Haven and Stutt's Creek, Virginia, 24 September 1864

1865
Expedition to Fredericksburg, Virginia, 6–8 March 1865
Expedition up the Rappahannock River, 12–14 March 1865
Operations in Mattox Creek, Virginia, 16–18 March 1865

Ships of the flotilla

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When Commander James H. Ward departed the New York Navy Yard on 16 May 1861 his flotilla consisted of three vessels. The size of the flotilla steadily increased until it reached a strength that hovered between 15 and 25 vessels.[6]

Ship Rate Type Notes
USS Casco 4th Ironclad monitor Casco class
USS Chimo 4th Ironclad monitor Casco class
USS Mahopac 4th Ironclad monitor Canonicus class
USS Saugus 4th Ironclad monitor Canonicus class
USS Pawnee 2nd Screw sloop
USS Seminole 3rd Screw sloop
USS Wachusett 3rd Screw sloop Commander Wilkes' Flagship
USS Allegheny 4th Screw sloop Receiving Ship at Baltimore
USRC Harriet Lane 3rd Sidewheel gunboat Revenue cutter from United States Revenue-Marine
USS Mahaska 3rd Sidewheel gunboat
USS Port Royal 3rd Sidewheel gunboat
USS Anacostia 4th Screw gunboat
USS Aroostook 4th Screw gunboat
USS Crusader 4th Screw gunboat
USS Currituck 4th Screw gunboat
USS Dawn 4th Screw gunboat
USS Don 4th Screw gunboat Blockade runner captured by USS Pequot 4 March 1864 off Beaufort, North Carolina.
USS Dragon 4th Screw gunboat
USS E. B. Hale 4th Screw gunboat
USS Eureka 4th Screw gunboat Steamer captured by USS Anacostia 20 April 1862 on the Rappahannock River, Virginia.
USS Fuchsia 4th Screw gunboat
USS Little Ada 4th Screw gunboat Blockade runner captured by USS Gettysburg 9 July 1864 in South Santee River, South Carolina.
USS Mystic 4th Screw gunboat
USS Penguin 4th Screw gunboat
USS Pocahontas 4th Screw gunboat
USS Teaser 4th Screw gunboat ex-Confederate captured by USS Maratanza 4 July 1862 on the James River, Virginia
USS Tulip 4th Screw gunboat Sunk by boiler explosion off Ragged Point, Virginia, 11 November 1864
USS Valley City 4th Screw gunboat
USS Western World 4th Screw gunboat
USS Wyandotte 4th Screw gunboat
USS Adela 4th Sidewheel gunboat Blockade runner captured by USS Quaker City 7 July 1862 off New Providence in the Bahamas
USS Banshee 4th Sidewheel gunboat Blockade runner captured by USAT Fulton and USS Grand Gulf on 21 November 1863 off Wilmington, North Carolina
USS Ceres 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Coeur de Lion 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Commodore Barney 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat
USS Commodore Read 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat
USS Delaware 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Jacob Bell 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Isaac N. Seymour 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS John L. Lockwood 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Mercury 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Morse 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat
USS Mount Washington 4th Sidewheel gunboat Known as USS Mount Vernon until 4 November 1861
USS Nansemond 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Satellite 4th Sidewheel gunboat Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, scuttled at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 August 1863
USS Stepping Stones 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat
USS Thomas Freeborn 4th Sidewheel gunboat Commander Ward's Flagship
USS Underwriter 4th Sidewheel gunboat
USS Union 4th Screw auxiliary
USS Baltimore 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Ordnance vessel, Washington Navy Yard
USS Cactus 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Supply ship
USS Ella 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Picket and dispatch vessel
USS Ice Boat 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Icebreaker
USS King Philip 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Dispatch vessel, known as USS Powhatan until 4 November 1861
USS Philadelphia 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Transport ferry
USS Wyandank 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Storeship
USS Juniper 4th Screw tug
USS Leslie 4th Screw tug
USS Moccasin 4th Screw tug
USS Periwinkle 4th Screw tug
USS Primrose 4th Screw tug
USS Reliance 4th Screw tug Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, scuttled at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 August 1863
USS Rescue 4th Screw tug
USS Resolute 4th Screw tug
USS Tigress 4th Screw tug Sunk 10 September 1861 in collision with merchant ship State of Maine off Indian Head, Maryland
USS Verbena 4th Screw tug
USS Watch 4th Screw tug Known as USS A. C. Powell until August 1862, known as USS Alert from August 1862 to 2 February 1865
USS Young America 4th Screw tug ex-Confederate, captured 24 April 1861 by USS Cumberland at Hampton Roads, Virginia
USS General Putnam 4th Sidewheel tug Also known as USS William G. Putnam
USS Heliotrope 4th Sidewheel tug
USS Island Belle 4th Sidewheel tug Tug and dispatch boat
USS Yankee 4th Sidewheel tug
E. H. Herbert - Tug Chartered vessel
Edwin Forrest - Tug Chartered vessel
James Murray - Tug Chartered vessel
USS Bibb - Sidewheel steamer from United States Coast Survey
USS Corwin - Sidewheel Steamer from United States Coast Survey
USS Adolph Hugel 4th Sailing schooner mortar schooner
USS Arletta 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS Dan Smith 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS George Mangham 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS Matthew Vassar 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS Racer 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS Sophronia 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS T. A. Ward 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS William Bacon 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner
USS Bailey - Sailing schooner from United States Coast Survey
Chaplin 4th Sailing schooner
USS Dana - Sailing schooner from United States Coast Survey
USS Howell Cobb - Sailing schooner from United States Coast Survey
USS Alpha 4th Screw picket boat Known as Picket Boat No. 1 until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864.
USS Beta 4th Screw picket boat Known as both USS Bazely and as Picket Boat No. 2 until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. Hit a torpedo (mine) and was destroyed 25 December 1864 by retreating Union troops to prevent Confederate capture.
USS Gamma 4th Screw picket boat Known as Picket Boat No. 3 until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864.
USS Delta 4th Screw picket boat Known as Picket Boat No. 4 until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864.
USS Epsilon 4th Screw picket boat Known as Picket Boat No. 5 until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864.
USS Zeta 4th Screw picket boat Known as Picket Boat No. 6 until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864.

Commanders

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Flotilla commander From To Notes
Commander James Harmon Ward late April 1861 27 June 1861 Killed in action 27 June 1861
Commander Stephen Clegg Rowan 27 June 1861 10 July 1861 Commander pro tem
Commander Thomas Tingey Craven 10 July 1861 2 December 1861
Lieutenant Abram D. Harrell 2 December 1861 6 December 1861 Commander pro tem
Lieutenant Robert Harris Wyman 6 December 1861 early July 1862
Lieutenant Commander Samuel Magaw early July 1862 1 September 1862 Commander pro tem
Commodore Charles Wilkes 1 September 1862 10 September 1862
Commodore Andrew Allen Harwood 10 September 1862 31 December 1863
Commander Foxhall Alexander Parker, Jr. 31 December 1863 31 July 1865

References

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  • In these notes the abbreviation ORN is used for the work Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
Notes
  1. ^ ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4 (1896), pp. 420, 430, 443, 458, 467, 471.
  2. ^ ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4 (1896), pp. 539–41.
  3. ^ ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4 (1896), pp. 541, 570–1, 575, 757–8, 760–1. ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 5 (1897), pp. 3, 72, 75, 82, 84, 379.
  4. ^ ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 5 (1897), pp. 576, 578.
  5. ^ ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4 (1896), pp. 488, 504, 509, 511, 596–600.
  6. ^ ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4 (1896), pp. xv-xvi, 458, 508, 570, 666. ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 5 (1897), pp. xv-xvi, 60–1, 75, 100, 108, 204–5, 245–6, 260, 287, 361–2, 391, 366–7, 374, 380, 398, 408–9, 461, 496, 502, 506, 508, 515, 531, 548–9, 567, 571–4.
Bibliography
  • Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 4. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1896).
    Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 5. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1897).
  • Silverstone, Paul H. Warships of the Civil War Navies. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1989). ISBN 0-87021-783-6
  •   This article incorporates public domain material from Commander James H. Ward. Naval History and Heritage Command.