The U.S. Navy lost two ships in the west over two days back 150 years ago. neither one was due to to action with Confederates. The USS Preble caught fire and blew up due to carelessness of a sailor and the tug USS Lily was swept by current into the ram of the USS Choctaw.
I had never heard of either, so time to look them up. Again, there is not a lot of information on either ship, even less on the Lily.
Thanks Wikipedia.
The USS Lily was a steam tugboat acquired by the government by purchase May 5, 1862 and used by the Quartermaster Corps on western rivers and then transferred to the Navy in September of that year. Then, it was assigned to Admiral Porter's Mississippi Squadron. According to Gulf Wrecks, it weighed 50 tons and was built as the Jessie Benton and usually referred to as the Jessie until the Navy acquired it and renamed it the Lily.
It was sunk in the Yazoo River, near Vicksburg as actions there were ramping up for attack.
It is believed that the Lily was raised at some point thereafter.
Old B-Runner
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