Ships of The Squadron
When Commander James H. Ward departed from New York Navy Yard on May 16, 1861 his flotilla consisted of three vessels. The strength of the flotilla would be steadily increased until it reached a strength that hovered between fifteen and twenty-five vessels.
| Ship | Rate | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casco | 4th | Ironclad Monitor | Casco class |
| Chimo | 4th | Ironclad Monitor | Casco class |
| Mahopac | 4th | Ironclad Monitor | Canonicus class |
| Saugus | 4th | Ironclad Monitor | Canonicus class |
| Pawnee | 2nd | Screw Sloop | |
| Seminole | 3rd | Screw Sloop | |
| Wachusett | 3rd | Screw Sloop | Commander Wilkes' Flagship |
| Allegheny | 4th | Screw Sloop | Receiving Ship at Baltimore |
| Harriet Lane | 3rd | Sidewheel Gunboat | from United States Revenue Cutter Service |
| Mahaska | 3rd | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Port Royal | 3rd | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Anacostia | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Aroostook | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Crusader | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Currituck | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Dawn | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Don | 4th | Screw Gunboat | Blockade runner captured by USS Pequot 4 Mar 1864 off Beaufort, North Carolina. |
| Dragon | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| E. B. Hale | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Eureka | 4th | Screw Gunboat | Steamer captured by USS Anacostia 20 Apr 1862 in Rappahannock River, Virginia. |
| Fuchsia | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Little Ada | 4th | Screw Gunboat | Blockade runner captured by USS Gettysburg 9 Jul 1864 in South Santee River, South Carolina. |
| Mystic | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Penguin | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Pocahontas | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Teaser | 4th | Screw Gunboat | ex-Confederate captured by USS Maratanza 4 Jul 1862 in James River, Virginia |
| Tulip | 4th | Screw Gunboat | Sunk by boiler explosion off Ragged Point, Virginia, 11 Nov 1864 |
| Valley City | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Western World | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Wyandotte | 4th | Screw Gunboat | |
| Adela | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | Blockade runner captured by USS Quaker City 7 Jul 1862 off New Providence in the Bahamas |
| Banshee | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | Blockade runner captured by USAT Fulton & USS Grand Gulf 21 Nov 1863 off Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Ceres | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Coeur de Lion | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Commodore Barney | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | ex-Ferryboat |
| Commodore Read | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | ex-Ferryboat |
| Delaware | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Jacob Bell | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Isaac N. Seymour | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| John L. Lockwood | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Mercury | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Morse | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | ex-Ferryboat |
| Mount Washington | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | Known as USS Mount Vernon to 4 Nov 1861 |
| Nansemond | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Satellite | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 Aug 1863 in Rappahannock River, sunk at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 Aug 1863 |
| Stepping Stones | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | ex-Ferryboat |
| Thomas Freeborn | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | Commander Ward's Flagship |
| Underwriter | 4th | Sidewheel Gunboat | |
| Union | 4th | Screw Auxiliary | |
| Baltimore | 4th | Sidewheel Auxiliary | Ordnance Vessel, Washington Navy Yard |
| Cactus | 4th | Sidewheel Auxiliary | Supply Ship |
| Ella | 4th | Sidewheel Auxiliary | Picket & Dispatch Vessel |
| Ice Boat | 4th | Sidewheel Auxiliary | Icebreaker |
| King Philip | 4th | Sidewheel Auxiliary | Dispatch Vessel, known as USS Powhatan to 4 Nov 1861 |
| Philadelphia | 4th | Sidewheel Auxiliary | Transport Ferry |
| Wyandank | 4th | Sidewheel Auxiliary | Storeship |
| Juniper | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Leslie | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Moccasin | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Periwinkle | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Primrose | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Reliance | 4th | Screw Tug | Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 Aug 1863 in Rappahannock River, sunk at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 Aug 1863 |
| Rescue | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Resolute | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Tigress | 4th | Screw Tug | Sunk 10 Sep 1861 in collision with merchant ship State of Maine off Indian Head, Maryland |
| Verbena | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| Watch | 4th | Screw Tug | Known as USS A. C. Powell until Aug 1862, known as USS Alert from Aug 1862 to 2 Feb 1865 |
| Young America | 4th | Screw Tug | ex-Confederate, captured 24 Apr 1861 by USS Cumberland in Hampton Roads |
| Zeta | 4th | Screw Tug | |
| General Putnam | 4th | Sidewheel Tug | Also known as USS William G. Putnam |
| Heliotrope | 4th | Sidewheel Tug | |
| Island Belle | 4th | Sidewheel Tug | Tug & Dispatch Boat |
| Yankee | 4th | Sidewheel Tug | |
| E. H. Herbert | - | Tug | Chartered Vessel |
| Edwin Forrest | - | Tug | Chartered Vessel |
| James Murray | - | Tug | Chartered Vessel |
| Bibb | - | Sidewheel Steamer | from United States Coast Survey |
| Corwin | - | Sidewheel Steamer | from United States Coast Survey |
| Adolph Hugel | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| Arletta | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| Dan Smith | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| George Mangham | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| Matthew Vassar | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| Racer | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| Sophronia | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| T. A. Ward | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| William Bacon | 4th | Sailing Schooner | Mortar Schooner |
| Bailey | - | Sailing Schooner | from United States Coast Survey |
| Chaplin | 4th | Sailing Schooner | |
| Dana | - | Sailing Schooner | from United States Coast Survey |
| Howell Cobb | - | Sailing Schooner | from United States Coast Survey |
| Picket Boat No. 4 | - | Screw Picket Boat | |
| Picket Boat No. 6 | - | Screw Picket Boat |
Read more about this topic: Potomac Flotilla
Famous quotes containing the words ships and/or squadron:
“Give blue-eyed men their swivel chairs
To whirl in tall buildings.
Allow them many ships at sea,
And on land, soldiers
And policemen.”
—Arna Bontemps (1902–1973)
“Well gentlemen, this is it. This is what we’ve been waiting for. Tonight your target is Tokyo. And you’re gonna play ‘em the Star Spangled Banner with two-ton bombs. All you’ve got to do is to remember what you’ve learned and follow your squadron leaders. They’ll get you in, and they’ll get you out. Any questions? All right that’s all. Good luck to you. Give ‘em hell.”
—Dudley Nichols (1895–1960)