USS Cayuga Civil War Union Navy Ship

USS Cayuga
American Civil War Union Naval Ship

USS Cayuga (1862-1865)

USS Cayuga , a 691-ton Unadilla class screw steam gunboat, was built at East Haddam, Connecticut. Commissioned in February 1862, she was assigned to the Gulf of Mexico for combat operations against the Confederacy and served there throughout the Civil War. In April 1862, Cayuga participated in the operations leading to the capture of the lower Mississippi and the port of New Orleans. She led the Federal fleet during its daring night run past Forts Jackson and Saint Phillip on 24 April.

Following post-battle repairs at New York, Cayuga was active during Rear Admiral Farragut's operations above New Orleans. In August 1862, she participated in bombardments of Baton Rouge and Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and in an engagement with CSS Arkansas. Late in the year, she was present during the occupation of Baton Rouge.

In 1863-65, Cayuga mainly served along the Gulf coast, where she captured several sailing blockade runners. Members of her crew went ashore on a reconnaissance at Sabine Pass, Texas, on 18 April 1863, but were ambushed by the enemy. The ship's Commanding Officer was mortally wounded and six men captured. In early July 1865, after the end of the Civil War, Cayuga left the Gulf for the last time. She was decommissioned at New York late in that month and was sold in October 1865. She subsequently became the merchant ship Veteran .

Wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett

"The Splendid Naval Triumph on the Mississippi, April 24th, 1862"

Colored lithograph, published by Currier & Ives, 1862.
The original print bears the following descriptive text: "Destruction of the Rebel gunboats, rams and iron clad batteries by the Union Fleet under Flag Officer Farragut. The attack was commenced on the 18th of April and continued until the 25th resulting in the capture of Forts Jackson, St. Phillip, Livingston, Pike and the city of New Orleans, as well as the destruction of all the enemy gunboats, rams, floating batteries (iron clad), fire rafts, booms and chains. The enemy with their own hands destroying cotton and shipping valued at from eight to ten millions of dollars. 'The sight of this night attack was awfully grand, the river was lit up with blazing rafts filled with pine knots and the ships seemed to be fighting literally amidst flames and smoke.'".
In this view, ships are identified as (starting at top left center, up the river, running down to the right, then across toward the left): Confederate steamers; USS Cayuga (leading the Union column), USS Pensacola , burning confederate steamer, USS Varuna, USS Oneida , USS Mississippi (engaging the ram Manassas ), USS Richmond , USS Kineo , USS Hartford (flagship, in collision with a fire raft), USS Brooklyn and USS Winona .
A Confederate fire raft is in the lower right. Fort St. Phillip is shown at right and Fort Jackson at left.

DVD	DVD	Book	Book
Quest for the Monitor The first group of non-governmental divers to dive the Monitor. All diving operations were conducted under the close supervision of NOAA.This was beautifully photographed by veteran lensman Ric O'Donnell and narrated and written by Jackie Stone. The video shows a lot of action both on the deck of the dive boat as well as wonderfully clear underwater views of the Monitor	Raise the Alabama Known as "the ghost ship." During the Civil War, the CSS Alabama sailed over 75,000 miles and captured more than 60 Union vessels. But her career came to an end in June of 1864 when she was sunk by the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Northern France, where the Alabama had gone for repairs.RAISE THE ALABAMA! descends into the murky depths of the English Channel with the marine archeology team led by the renowned Gordon Watts. 200 feet beneath these foreign waters, the legendary Confederate ship is surrendering her secrets, despite weather conditions that make it safe to dive only a few days a year. The program also documents the Alabama's extraordinary career, from her construction in Liverpool to the surprise attacks that made her the scourge of Union shipping and the valiant, 90-minute battle with the Kearsarge	War, Technology, and Experience aboard the USS Monitor David Mindell has combined a sensitive and incisive reading of the documentary evidence with insightful historical analysis to illuminate not only his central theme, the experience of battle in an emerging machine age, but also the process of invention, negotiation, and politics that brought the Monitor into existence and the quite different process of narration, memory, and imagination that invested the ship and its exploits so heavily with symbolic meaning.	Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy Ringle is among the first to examine the many aspects of sailors' lives during the American Civil War. He examines topics such as the recruiting efforts of the U.S. Navy, compensation and promotion, training, entertainment, and disease to name but a few. The extensive research and sheer fact that this is one of the first books to examine this aspect of CW naval history makes it a must for any American naval library

American Military Gear Recruiter and History
United States Marines gear history and support of Semper Fi Fund

The Complete DVD History of U.S. Wars (1700-2004)
War has always been part of the American experience. From the time the first colonists set foot upon North America's shores, they were in conflict with the Native inhabitants. One hundred years later the colonies suddenly found themselves an extension of the conflicts in Europe. Less than a century later, the Revolutionary War freed the fledgling United States from its British overlords and European entanglements. Born and nurtured in war, America grew in strength and power until at the beginning of the 21st century it was the foremost military power in the world.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress
US Naval Archives

USS Cayuga American Civil War Union Naval Ship

USS Cayuga (1862-1865)

USS Cayuga
American Civil War Union Naval Ship