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CSS Pickens

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Model of Pickens's sister ship Jefferson Davis
Model of USRC Jefferson Davis, a sister ship of Pickens from the Cushing-class.
History
United States
NameRobert McClelland
NamesakeRobert McClelland
BuilderJ. M. Hood, Somerset, Massachusetts
LaunchedJuly 11, 1853
ChristenedApril 18, 1853
Commissioned1853
Fatesurrendered to Louisiana authorities, January 31, 1861
History
Confederate States
NamePickens
Commissioned1853
In serviceFebruary 18, 1861
Fateburned to prevent capture, April 25, 1862
General characteristics
Class and typeTemplate:Sclass-
Displacement152 to 174 short tons (136 to 155 long tons)
Length92 ft (28.0 m)
Beam22 ft (6.7 m)
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)
Complement13+

CSS Pickens (originally known as USRC Robert McClelland) was a Cushing-class schooner revenue cutter that saw service for the United States and Confederate States of America. Built as Robert McClelland in Somerset, Massachusetts, in 1853, she served along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas before transferring its crew and officers to USRC Washington in 1859 and heading to New York for repairs. In 1860, Robert McClelland reported to South West Pass, Mississippi, and was permanently assigned to New Orleans, Louisiana, later that year. After the 1861 secession of Louisiana, her commander turned her over to the state. She entered Confederate service on February 18 and was renamed Pickens. Pickens played a minor role in the Battle of the Head of Passes before being burned to prevent capture on April 25, 1862, after Union Navy forces entered New Orleans.

Service history

United States service

Originally a United States revenue cutter,[1] Robert McClelland was a topsail schooner built by J. M. Hood in Somerset, Massachusetts, with Captain N. L. Coste supervising the construction; the fitting-out process was to occur in New York. A Cushing-class schooner, she had a length of 92 feet (28 m), a beam of 22 feet (6.7 m), and a draft of 9 feet (2.7 m). She displaced between 152 short tons (136 long tons) and 174 short tons (155 long tons) and had a crew of at least 13 men. Reports placed her armament at between one and five guns.[2] She did not have engines[3] and was powered by sail.[4] The vessel was christened on April 18, 1853, launched on July 11, and was commissioned at some point during 1853. All of the Cushing-class vessels were named after figures in the Franklin Pierce administration, with Robert McClelland being named after the Secretary of the Interior, Robert McClelland.[2]

She left for Mobile, Alabama, on November 23, and reached the place on December 7. As of January 14, 1854, Robert McClelland was reported to have been sent to Bermuda to transport dispatches to vessels located there. She then traveled along the coastlines of Texas and Louisiana. On May 29, 1859, an order arrived for the ship to send her crew and officers to the cutter USRC Washington and then go to New York to be repaired; she arrived on July 11. On September 1, 1860, she arrived at South West Pass, Mississippi with orders to exchange officers and crew with Washington; Robert McClelland was permanently assigned to New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 8, 1860.[2]

Confederate service

The state of Louisiana seceded from the Union on January 26, 1861,[5] and Captain J. G. Breshwood, Robert McClelland's commanding officer, refused to take the ship north. United States Secretary of the Treasury John Adams Dix ordered Second Lieutenant Samuel B. Caldwell to take command of the ship and treat Breshwood as a mutineer if necessary,[6] but Breshwood surrendered the ship to Louisiana authorities on January 31,[2] and it entered Confederate service on February 18.[6][7] Breshwood and the ship's two lieutenants, Caldwell and Thomas Fister, entered the Confederate States Revenue Service and were reassigned to Robert McClelland, which was renamed Pickens.[8]

On September 20, USS Water Witch entered the Mississippi River. Pickens and CSS Ivy were stationed at Head of Passes and withdrew to Fort Jackson. Water Witch fired 23 rounds at the two ships before bombarding riverbank positions; she withdrew back to the Gulf of Mexico that evening, followed by Ivy.[9] When Commodore George N. Hollins gathered all available naval forces for an attack on Union vessels at Head of Passes, Pickens was one of the ships that gathered at Fort Jackson on October 11. Hollins's fleet, lead by the ironclad CSS Manassas, advanced downriver on the morning of October 12. Pickens was at the rear of the fleet, as its lack of engines would make it difficult to maneuver in battle conditions.[10] Along with CSS Jackson, Pickens guided fire rafts towards the Union positions during the battle.[11] When Hollins and most of his ships moved upriver to Kentucky,[4] Pickens and Washington, which had also been surrendered in 1861,[12] remained behind at New Orleans. While the two ships primarily took taxes from blockade runners, they could conceivably help defend the city.[4] During 1861 and early 1862, Pickens served on the lower part of the Mississippi River.[13] On April 24, 14 Union Navy ships under the command of Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut forced their way past Forts Jackson and Fort St. Philip, arriving at New Orleans on April 25.[14] On April 25, Pickens was burned to prevent its capture. During the burning, a sailor boarded the ship and removed its Confederate and old United States flags.[15]

References

  1. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 14.
  2. ^ a b c d "McClelland (Robert McClelland), 1853". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2021-08-22. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  3. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 51.
  4. ^ a b c Chatelain 2020, p. 76.
  5. ^ "The Civil War". Louisiana State Museum. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Revenue Cutter & Lighthouse Service in the Civil War" (PDF). US Department of Defense. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. ^ Silverstone 2006, p. 173.
  8. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 14–15.
  9. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 45–46.
  10. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 50–51.
  11. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 53.
  12. ^ Wilson 2015, p. 297.
  13. ^ Civil War Naval Chronology 1961, p. 283.
  14. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 58–59.
  15. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 172–173.

Sources

  • 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.
  • Civil War Naval Chronology, 1861–1865. Washington, D.C.: Naval History Division. 1961.
  • Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (2006). Civil War Navies 1855–1883. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-97870-5.
  • Wilson, Walter E. (2015). "The Civil War Blockade Running Adventures of the Louisiana Schooner William R. King". The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 56 (3): 294–314.
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