As I already mentioned in the most recent Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago, the USS Adirondack sank this date. Part of the reason it sank had to do with what I wrote about on August 24th, and that was the commissioning of the CSS Alabama. The Adirondack was hurrying back to Nassau to look for the Confederate ship.
I had never heard of the USS Adirondack before this. I had to do some research. Thanks to good old Wikipedia and ShipwreckExpo.com for the information.
The Adirondack was an Ossipee-Class wooden screw steamer built in 1861 at the New York Navy Yard and launched Feb. 22, 1862 and commissioned in June so it had a very short navy career. It was 203 feet long, had a 38-foot beam, weighed 1240 tons, mounting 2X11-inch smoothbore, 4X32-pdr smoothbores, 2X24-pdr. smoothbores and 1X12-pdr smoothbore cannons. A crew of 160 manned the ship.
While assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading squadron, it had been looking for the CSS Florida and had been recalled to Port Royal only to be immediately ordered back to Nassau with the coming of the CSS Alabama.
En route, the ship ran aground on Little Bahama Bank in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. Efforts to break loose failed and the ship began to break up. The crew was rescued by the Canadaiguia.
The scattered remains of the ship are in between ten and thirty feet of water and it has become a favorite dive spot. Divers can see the two huge 10,000 pound 11-inch bore cannons and twelve smaller ones scattered about. Seaworms have eaten most of the wood.
So, That's the Story of the Adirondack. --Old B-Runner
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