The wreck of the USS Columbine was recently discovered and identified by sport divers according to the Wreck Site.
Bill Rivers, on his site, said that he started researching the USS Columbine in October 2003. In November that year, the wreckage was discovered and was identified in 2005 by an archaeologist. The reason it took so long to figure out the Columbine's location is because the Horse Landing of today is not at the site it was back then.
Most of the underwater work has been done and research suggests that soldiers and sailors killed during the battle may still be at the bottom of the river.
There is a long article about the search for the Columbine in the Dec. 18, 2005, Florida Times Union "Waiting for the Truth to Surface" by Roger Bull.
--Old B-R'er
Showing posts with label Battle of Horse Landing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Battle of Horse Landing. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
The USS Columbine and Battle of Horse Landing-- Part 2
Union Colonel William H. Noble of the 13th Connecticut was wounded and captured.
The Columbine's rudder was damaged and a steam pipe wrecked so it could no longer be steered and ran aground after 45 minutes of engagement. Its commander, Acting Ensign Frank Sandburn went ashore and surrendered to Captain John Jackson Dickison.
One landsman and three black seamen jumped overboard, swam to shore and made a five day escape to St. Augustine. I imagine the blacks really didn't want to be captured by the Confederates. More than half of the Columbine's crew were wounded and the official records indicate that one was killed. The surrendered enlisted men were sent to Andersonville and officers to Macon, Georgia.
Dickison burned the Columbine to prevent it from being captured by the USS Ottawa which was operating five miles upstream.
The capture and destruction of the Columbine was one of the few instances where a Union warship was destroyed by Confederate land forces in Florida. Also, during the spring of 1864, Confederates also sank four other Union ships in the St. John's River with underwater mines called torpedoes at the time.
--Old B-Runner
The Columbine's rudder was damaged and a steam pipe wrecked so it could no longer be steered and ran aground after 45 minutes of engagement. Its commander, Acting Ensign Frank Sandburn went ashore and surrendered to Captain John Jackson Dickison.
One landsman and three black seamen jumped overboard, swam to shore and made a five day escape to St. Augustine. I imagine the blacks really didn't want to be captured by the Confederates. More than half of the Columbine's crew were wounded and the official records indicate that one was killed. The surrendered enlisted men were sent to Andersonville and officers to Macon, Georgia.
Dickison burned the Columbine to prevent it from being captured by the USS Ottawa which was operating five miles upstream.
The capture and destruction of the Columbine was one of the few instances where a Union warship was destroyed by Confederate land forces in Florida. Also, during the spring of 1864, Confederates also sank four other Union ships in the St. John's River with underwater mines called torpedoes at the time.
--Old B-Runner
Monday, May 19, 2014
The USS Columbine and Battle of Horse Landing-- Part 1
From Wikipedia.
The USS Columbine was a 117-foot side-wheel steamer, originally built as a tugboat in New York City in 1850 by the name of A.H. Schultz with a 6-foot draft, crew of 25 and mounted two 20-pdr Parrott rifles. It was purchased by the U.S. Navy 12 December 1862 and assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
From January to February it was off Port Royal, SC and March 9-12, was on an expedition up St. John's River in Florida.
THE BATTLE OF HORSE LANDING, FLORIDA
In May 1864, Confederate spy Lola Sanchez alerted Southerners that the Union forces were planning a secret attack and the 2nd Florida Cavalry under Captain John Jackson Dickison, crossed the St. John's River and set a trap with a cannon from the Milton Light Artillery.
On the morning of May 22nd, the Union force was ambushed in skirmish that came to be known as the Battle of Horse Landing.
Old B-Runner
The USS Columbine was a 117-foot side-wheel steamer, originally built as a tugboat in New York City in 1850 by the name of A.H. Schultz with a 6-foot draft, crew of 25 and mounted two 20-pdr Parrott rifles. It was purchased by the U.S. Navy 12 December 1862 and assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
From January to February it was off Port Royal, SC and March 9-12, was on an expedition up St. John's River in Florida.
THE BATTLE OF HORSE LANDING, FLORIDA
In May 1864, Confederate spy Lola Sanchez alerted Southerners that the Union forces were planning a secret attack and the 2nd Florida Cavalry under Captain John Jackson Dickison, crossed the St. John's River and set a trap with a cannon from the Milton Light Artillery.
On the morning of May 22nd, the Union force was ambushed in skirmish that came to be known as the Battle of Horse Landing.
Old B-Runner
Loss of USS Columbine
MAY 23RD, 1864: The USS Columbine was captured after a heated engagement with Confederate batteries and riflemen at Horse Landing, near Palatka, Florida, on the St. John's River. The 130-ton side-wheel steamer Columbine was operating in support of Union troops and lost steerage control and ran aground on a mud bank, where she was riddled by accurate Confederate fire.
With some 20 men killed or wounded, the Columbine surrendered. Shortly afterwards, the ship was destroyed by the Confederates to prevent its capture by the USS Ottawa which was also cooperating with the Army on the same operation and had itself been fired on the night before and suffered damage, but no casualties. It had forced the Confederate battery at Brown's Landing to withdraw.
Rear Admiral Dahlgren wrote: "The loss of the Columbine will be felt most inconveniently; her draft was only 5 or 6 feet, and having only two such steamers, the services of which are needed elsewhere, can not replace her.
--Old B-R'er
With some 20 men killed or wounded, the Columbine surrendered. Shortly afterwards, the ship was destroyed by the Confederates to prevent its capture by the USS Ottawa which was also cooperating with the Army on the same operation and had itself been fired on the night before and suffered damage, but no casualties. It had forced the Confederate battery at Brown's Landing to withdraw.
Rear Admiral Dahlgren wrote: "The loss of the Columbine will be felt most inconveniently; her draft was only 5 or 6 feet, and having only two such steamers, the services of which are needed elsewhere, can not replace her.
--Old B-R'er
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