USS Rachel Seaman (1861)
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States
|
|
| Laid down: | date unknown |
| Launched: | date unknown |
| Acquired: |
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| Commissioned: |
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| Decommissioned: | 22 May 1865 |
| Struck: | 1865 (est.) |
| Fate: | sold, 30 May 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 303 tons |
| Length: | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
| Propulsion: | schooner sail |
| Speed: | not known |
| Complement: | not known |
| Armament: | two 32-pounder guns |
USS Rachel Seaman was a wooden schooner purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
Rachel Seaman was armed as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America. She also served as a storeship as the war came to an end.
Rachel Seaman was purchased by the Union Navy at Philadelphia 21 September 1861, and was commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 16 November 1861, Acting Master Quincey A. Hooper in command.
The schooner sailed for the Gulf of Mexico between 4 and 10 November and reported to Flag Officer McKean off Fort Pickens, Florida on the 29th for duty in the Gulf Blockading Squadron. After briefly serving in Mississippi River Sound and the Mississippi passes, Rachel Seaman arrived off Galveston, Texas on 30 December and patrolled the Texas coast. On 11 January 1862, with gunboat USS Midnight, the schooner shelled Confederate batteries at Pass Cavallo and a week later engaged Confederate cannon at Velasco, Texas.
In the summer she performed blockade duty off Mobile Bay, Alabama, but in September returned to the Texas coast. On the 25th, with the USS Kensington and USS Henry Janes, she bombarded Sabine Pass, Texas, forcing the Confederate garrison to spike their guns and abandon the works there. The next day, landing parties took possession of the fort.
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Wikipedia