USS Dawn: Operations in Georgia

From Civil War Shipwrecks.

An unknown Confederate schooner was set afire below  the Coffee Bluff Confederate battery in the Little Ogeechee River on November 7, 1862, as the USS Wissahickon and USS Dawn approached.

From Civil War Naval Chronology.

NOVEMBER 19, 1862

The USS Wissahicon, Lieutenant Commander John L. Davis, and USS Dawn, Acting Lieutenant John S. Barnes, engaged Fort McAllister, Georgia, on the Ogeechee River.  The Wissahickon was hit and temporarily  disabled in the exchange of fire.

Persistent and vigilant actions of this nature by the Union navy, pinned down Confederate  manpower that could have been used in land actions elsewhere.

The Wissahickon and Dawn at the time had the mission  of blockading the CSS Nashville in Ossabow Sound, Georgia, and preventing her from becoming another commerce raider like the CSS Alabama.

--Old B-Runner

USS Dawn-- Part 3: Operations of the James River and the Battle of Wilson's Wharf

The Dawn was out of commission at New York from 9 July to 2 December 1863 for repairs. She departed on 10 December to her new duties with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and cruised the James River from 14 December to 25 March 1865.  There, she performed picket duties and kept Confederate batteries from operating along the river.

On 24 May 1864 she played a major role in defending Wilson's Wharf, Virginia, near Charles City.  The garrison there  consisted of 1,100 United States Colored Troops (USCT) under the command of Bigadier General Edward A. Wild.  They were attacked by a 2,500 man force of Confederates under the command of Major Genral Fitzhugh Lee (nephew of Robert E. Lee).

The stout resistance of the USCT soldiers and the Dawn turned the tide and the Confederates were driven back.  Wilson's Wharf and the soon to be completed Fort Pochahontas remained in Union hands for the duration of the war.

The Dawn was placed out of commission on 17 June 1865 at Portsmouth Navy Yard and later taken to Boston Navy yard and sold 1 November.

--Old B-Runner

USS Dawn-- Part 2: Potomac Flotilla and South Atlantic Blockading Squadron

The Dawn was assigned to duty with the Potomac Flotilla and sailed from New York May 11 and  took station at the mouth of the York River until September 24.  During that time, she captured three ships with contraband goods and passengers.  After repairs at the Washington Navy Yard,  she was sent to the Rappahannock River.

From  7 February to 27 April 1862 she had a new boiler installed at New York City, then stood out for Port Royal, South Carolina, for service in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.  

Arriving on station  14 May, she patrolled  the coastal and inland waters of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, frequently exchanging fire with enemy shore batteries and joining in  the attacks on Fort McAllister of 27 January- 1 February 1863.

She also  assisted in the capture of several blockade runners, inclusing the Confederate privateer Nashville with a valuable cargo of cotton.

--Old B-Runner

USS Dawn

From Wikipedia.

This is David Franklin's ship whom I have been writing about earlier this month.

It was a steam operated  vessel acquired by the Union Navy.  It was built in 1857 by Samuel Sneden of New York City; chartered on 26 April 1861 and purchased 12 October 1861.  Outfitted in  New York Navy Yard and commissioned on 9 May 1861.  Commander W. Chandler was in command.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Length:   154 feet

Beam:  28 feet

Draft:  12 feet

Speed:  8 knots

Complement:  60

Armament:  two 32-pounder guns

--Old B-Runner

Black Navy Veteran Finally Gets Tombstone, David Franklin-- Part 2: Service on the USS Dawn

Not much is known about David Frankin's early life except that he was born free in New York in 1840.  He enlisted in the Union Navy on Nocvember 13, 1863 at age 23.

The young  sailor was assigned to the USS Dawn as an officers' steward and cook.  The steamer Dawn  was 154-feet long and  had a crew of 63 with 3 officers.  Seventeen percent of the crew were Blacks.  It was a part of te North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and spent most of its time on the James River.

On May 24, 1864, about 2,500 Confederates attacked the Union supply depot at Wilson's Wharf, Virginia.  They were repulsed by two black regiments totalling 1,100 men, with the help of the USS Dawn's guns.  The Confederates lost 200 men and Union just 40.

Franklin was discharged from Union service on March 31, 1865.

What happened to him after the war is lost to hostory until he appears on the roster as a member of a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) camp in Tacoma, Washington.  An 1899 Tacoma city directory lists him as a  broiler at Donnelly Cafe, which was attched to the Hotel Donnelly.

--Old B-Runner

USS Atlanta-- Part 2: Service on the James River

The newly commissioned USS Atlanta was sent to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and spent most of her time stationed on the James River where she supported operations against  Richmond and defended against forays by the Confederate ironclads.

That would have been interesting had the USS Atlanta had come to battle one of the Confederate ironclads.

On May 21, 1864, the Atlanta and gunboat Dawn fired on and dispersed Confederate cavalry attacking Fort Powhatan, as I wrote about yesterday.

In February 1865, she was deployed further upriver after the Battle of Trent's Reach to better blockade  the Confederate ironclads at Richmond.

After the war ended, the Atlanta was decommissioned in Philadelphia June 21, 1865, and placed in reserve at League Island.

--Old B-Runner

May 21, 1864: Ironclad USS Atlanta Opens Fire on Confederate Cavalry

MAY 21ST, 1864:  Gunfire from the ironclad steamer USS Atlanta, Acting Lieutenant Thomas J. Woodward, and the USS Dawn, Acting Lieutenant  John W. Simmons, dispersed Confederate cavalry attacking Fort Powhatan on the James River, Virginia.

Dawn, a wooden steamer, remained above the fort during the night to prevent another attack.

The USS Atlanta was the former CSS Atlanta captured by the Union Navy  17 June 1863 near Savannah.    Seeing such a clearly Confederate ironclad firing at them must have been quite disconcerting to the Confederate cavalry.

--Old B-Runner