CSS General Polk
 USS Cayuga attacks the Confederate fleet. The CSS General Polk is the sidewheel steamer that sits alongside the Cayuga.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Confederate States | |
| Name | General Polk |
| Namesake | Leonidas Polk |
| Builder | New Albany, Indiana |
| Launched | 1862 |
| Commissioned | 20 April 1862 |
| Fate | Burned to prevent capture, 26 June 1862 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | paddle steamer |
| Displacement | 1,628 long tons (1,654 t) |
| Length | 285 ft (86.9 m) |
| Beam | 48 ft (14.6 m) |
| Draught | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion | Side wheels |
| Speed | 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) |
| Complement | 154 officers and enlisted men |
| Armament |
|
The CSS General Polk (known casually as the Polk) was a vessel of the Confederate navy during the American Civil War. Originally a side-wheel river steamer built in 1852 named either Ed Howard or merely Howard, she was purchased for $8,000 by the Confederacy in 1861 and outfitted for service as a timberclad river gunboat. Under the command of Flag Officer George N. Hollins, she fought at the Battle of Lucas Bend as well as at the Battle of Kentucky Bend shortly after. She also served in defence of Columbus, Kentucky and the Mississippi River. Being given to Lieutenant Jonathan H. Carter thereafter, she served at New Madrid, Missouri before returning to New Orleans. Following Union victory she was burned near Yazoo City on June 26, 1862.[1]
Service history[edit]
In 1852, the sidewheel steamer Ed Howard was launched at New Albany, Indiana. She was 280 feet (85 m) long and had a beam of 35 feet (11 m),[2] along with a draft of less than 6 feet (2 m).[3] She had a tonnage of 390 tons.[2][4] With the formation of the Confederate States of America and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the Confederacy began the task of creating a navy from scratch.[5] The Ed Howard was at New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1861, and was purchased by the Confederate government,[2] for $8,000 by Commodore George N. Hollins. Confederate general Leonidas Polk desired the vessel for use on the upper reaches of the Mississippi River, and Ed Howard was in turned named General Polk after him. Polk requested and received the assignment of First Lieutenant Jonathan H. Carter to command of the vessel.[3] The vessel was also known solely as Polk.[4]
The work to convert General Polk from a civilian steamship into a warship took place at Algiers, Louisiana. Part of the labor requirements were met by leasing slave labor, and over $9,000 of materials were required to complete the conversion, which was slowed by the weather. The bow and stern of the ship were armored with iron bars. Carter wanted General Polk to be armed with true rifled cannon, but none were available so the Confederate authorities converted old smoothbore 32-pounder guns into rifled pieces.[6] At various points during her military service, General Polk's armament varied between three and seven cannons.[4] Between the cost of purchase, conversion, and repairs, General Polk cost the Confederacy $60,459.99.[7] General Polk was commissioned in early November,[3] and on November 10 left New Orleans for Columbus, Kentucky, which had been occuppied by Polk's Confederate army forces. She arrived there on November 20.[8] On November 10, General Polk, along with two other Confederate gunboats, met the approach of three Union vessels and followed them back towards Fort Holt. January 11, 1862, saw General Polk, the floating battery CSS New Orleans, the army-operated gunboat CSS Grampus, and fourth vessel whose identity is not certain, skirmished with two Union ironclads in the Battle of Lucas Bend.[9]
In early March 1862, the Confederates abandoned Columbus. The naval forces at Columbus, under the command of Hollins, withdrew to New Madrid, Missouri.[10] Union troops captured Point Pleasant, Missouri, on March 6, and began establishing an artillery position there. General Polk and the gunboat CSS Pontchartrain fired on the position at Point Pleasant on March 7, but were unable to silence it. Further Confederate attempts to silence the guns through March 9 also failed.[11] On March 13, Union forces opened fire on the Confederate positions at New Madrid with heavy artillery. General Polk was struck by four shots, and the Confederates decided to withdraw.[12] General Polk and the gunboat CSS Livingston escorted a transport for the evacuation of one of the Confederate defensive positions, Fort Thompson.[13] On March 18, General Polk joined five other Confederate ships in a failed attempt to silence a Union battery that had taken up a position across the Mississippi River from Tiptonville, Tennessee, at Riddle's Point. General Polk was hit by a Union shot that passed all the way through the vessel, with the exit hole being below the waterline. The damage caused the ship to have to be withdrawn from the fighting.[14]
Notes[edit]
- ^ "General Polk". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Silverstone 1989, p. 244.
- ^ a b c Chatelain 2020, p. 67.
- ^ a b c "General Polk". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 7–11.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 67–68.
- ^ Official Records 1921, p. 253.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 92–94.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 96–97.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, pp. 60–63.
- ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, pp. 63–64.
- ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, pp. 98–99.
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. ISBN 978-1-61121-510-6.
- Daniel, Larry J.; Bock, Lynn N. (1996). Island No. 10: Struggle for the Mississippi Valley. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0816-4.
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 2. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1921.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1989). Warships of the Civil War Navies. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-783-6.
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