Some More on the USS Emma

Last month, I was writing about this ship that was at both battles of Fort Fisher.

From Civil War Navies 1855-1883

The Emma was launched just four days before her sister ship, the Gertrude, both named for the daughters of owner Thomas S. Begbie.    Both built by  Barclay Curle of Glasgow, Scotland.

Both had relatively short careers before being captured.  The Emma was captured 24 July 1863 by the USAT  Arago and the Gertrude by  the USS Vanderbilt  off Eleutrea on 16 April 1863.

Both were condemned in prize court and bought by the U.S. Navy and used in the blockade.

The Emma was involved in both battles of Fort Fisher and on  11 Feb 1865 bombarded Masonboro Inlet.  She captured the blockade runner Ella 3 December  1864.  Became the merchant ship Gaspe  in 1866 and wrecked  at Longlois, Canada on  14 Jan. 1872.

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Rear Admiral S.P. Lee reported that the USS Emma had arrived at Newport News from New York on the afternoon of  November 7, 1863.

--Old B-Runner

USS Emma-- Part 3: Captured as a Blockade Runner Then Served as a Blockader

The Emma was a single screw steamer built in  Glasgow, Scotland,  for Thomas  S. Begbie. The Emma and her sister ship, the Gertrude, were named for Begbie's two daughters.  The Emma was captured on 24 July 1863 by the  Army transport  SS Argo off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina, on her third voyage.  

It was purchased by the U.S. Navy from the New York City prize court on 30 September 1863 and fitted out at the New York Navy Yard; and put to sea on 4 November 1863, Acting Master  G.B. Livingston in command.

Arriving in Newport News on 7 November 1863, the Emma was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron where she served for the rest of the war.  Enforcing the blockade, she played an important role in the final Union victory.

She joined in the destruction of the blockade runner Ella off Wilmington on 6 December 1864 and the two attacks on Fort Fisher December 24 and 25, 1864, and January 13-15, 1865.

--Old B-Runner

Glasgow, Scotland's Role in the War-- Part 2: The Advance and Atlanta

Public opinion ion Glasgow was split between support of the Confederacy and the Union.  Surely, their was big money to be made in supplying the South with blockade runners so that was a big economic one.  However, dislike of slavery brought forth Union sentiment.

The blockade runners brought in cannons, rifles and munitions inbound and cotton and tobacco was sent outbound.  A total of 355 runners ran aground and another 1,000 were captured.

But even just a couple trips through the blockade would pay for a blockade runner.  The blockade runner Advance, built in Greenock, made 20 successful runs before being captured and later joining the Union fleet.  What better thing to capture a fast blockade runner than a former blockade runner.

The CSS Atlanta, a Govan-built ironclad ship, originally named the Fingal, ran the blockade only once before it ran aground.  This ship later was turned into a Confederate ironclad and then served in the Union Navy.

--Old B-Runner

Glasgow, Scotland's Role in the War-- Part 1: The Blockade Runners

From the November 23, 2017, Scotsman  "How Glasgow found itself at centre of American Civil War" David Walsh.

One big thing was the blockade runners.  many were from the Clyde River.

Blockade runners were fuel efficient, had shallow but spacious hulls, maneuverability and speed.

Dozens of Glasgow-built paddlewheel steamers took part in the enterprise.  At first these ships were ones that were already in operation in Scotland and the British Isles, but then ships started being built specifically to run the blockade.

This caused there to be even more jobs along the Clyde River.

Exploring the Wreck of a Blockade-Runner: The Montana

From the April 29, 2013, Bernews.

Bermuda's Department of Conservation Service and the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute offer guided tours of the wreck of a ship of many names:  Nola, Gloria, Paramount and Montana.

It was  built in Glasgow, Scotland, and was a 236-foot long paddle wheel steamer capable of 15 knots.  It hit a shallow reef off Bermuda and sank in December 1863.  The ship is located in 30 feet of water and ius partially intact.

Of 71 blockade-runners operating in and out of Bermuda, the Union Navy had captured or sunk 43 by 1864.

The Montana wreck consists of two boilers and twp paddle wheel frames lying on their sides.  Its site is alongside the Constellation, a World War II ship wreck that inspired Peter Benchley's Bermuda thriller "The Deep."

So, not only did blockade-runners have to worry aboout Union ships, but also reefs, shallow water and other situations.

--Old B-Runner