USS Jacob Bell
Colored lithograph of the Jacob Bell, published circa the 1860s.
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| History | |
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  United States
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| Name: | USS Jacob Bell |
| Namesake: | Co-proprietor of the shipbuilder |
| Builder: | Brown & Bell (New York) |
| Completed: | 1842 |
| Acquired: | 22 Aug 1861, for $12,000 |
| Commissioned: | 22 Aug 1861 |
| Decommissioned: | 13 May 1865 at the Washington Navy Yard |
| Struck: | 1865 (est.) |
| Fate: | Lost at sea, 6 November 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 229 |
| Length: | 141 ft 3 in (43.05 m) |
| Beam: | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 8 ft 1 in (2.46 m) |
| Propulsion: | steam engine, side wheel-propelled |
| Complement: | 49 |
| Armament: |
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USS Jacob Bell was a sidewheel steamer acquired by the Union Navy for use during the American Civil War. She was one of the oldest vessels so acquired. Her duties included river patrols, guard duty, and other duties as assigned.
Jacob Bell, built by Brown & Bell at New York City in 1842, was purchased at New York City from O. T. Glover and F. R. Anthony 22 August 1861; and commissioned the same day, Lt. Edward P. McCrea in command.
Jacob Bell immediately sailed for the Potomac River, where the following day she joined steamer USS Ice Boat (1861) in shelling a Confederate battery at the mouth of Potomac Creek. She remained in the Potomac enforcing the blockade of the Virginia coast, reconnoitering along the shore of the Potomac and in its tributaries for Confederate fortifications and shelling any batteries found.
In April 1862 Jacob Bell accompanied five other Union ships to the Rappahannock River to gather information for Major General George B. McClellan, who was then launching his Peninsular Campaign and pondering over potential advantages of a second beachhead. The Union ships ascended the Rappahannock River to Tappahannock (Urbana), Virginia, 50 miles by land from Richmond, Virginia.
Jacob Bell became even more closely involved in the affairs of General McClellan's Army of the Potomac when she was transferred to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron for duty on the James River. She arrived Hampton Roads 28 May and the following day proceeded with USS Mahaska (1861) to Fort Powhatan. A party which went ashore 30 May found no evidence that the forts had been occupied. The next day USS Aroostook (1861) joined the two ships in ascending the James to a point 3 miles below Drewry's Bluff, finding no obstructions or batteries on the passage but suffering some annoyance from riflemen on the left bank. The three ships promptly returned to their anchorage off Turkey Island.
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Wikipedia