USS Prairie Bird-- Part 1: Acquired by U.S. Navy

From Wikipedia.

This is the Union gunboat that came to the rescue of the passengers of the Army transport R.M. Runyan in the Mississippi Rover on July 23, 1864.

Acquired by U.S. Navy 19 December 1862.  Commissioned January 1863.  171 tons,  159.10 feet, 29.3 foot beam.  eight 24-pdr. guns.   Classified as a tinclad.

Served on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.  Was built as the civilian ship Mary Miller and renamed the USS Prairie Bird, commissioned January 1863 with Acting Master J.C. Moore in command.

In mid-February 1863, she assisted the USS Juliet, grounded 20 miles below Island No. 10 and then to Memphis where she escorted a provision ship to the Yazoo River.  There, the Prairie Bird joined the Mississippi Squadron.

--Old B-Runner

200 Years As a State for Illinois; Medal of Honor Recipient Charles Asten-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

(September 14, 1834  to September 14, 1885)

Was a quarter gunner born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada,  He entered the U.S. Navy in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1864, he was serving on board the USS Signal, a U.S. Navy tinclad on the Red River during that campaign.On May 4, 1864, the Signal was ordered to proceed up the Red River with dispatches from Major General Nathaniel Banks.

After going about twenty miles the ship encountered large numbers of Confederates along the banks of the river and a hot action ensued.  The Signal was also with the USS Covington and the Army transport  John Warner.  The action continued into the night.  On May 5, 1864, the Signal was disabled and the crew, including Asten reluctantly abandoned their ship.

They were captured on land.

--Old B-R'er

Maine Sailor Died Down South on a River: William L. Heard

From the October 24, 2016, BDN Portland (Maine) "This Civil War sailor from Portland died on a river down south" by Troy R. Bennett.

William Heard was promoted to the rank of ensign in the Union Navy on January 31, 1863 while he was serving with the Mississippi Squadron.

In the spring of 1864, his ship, the USS Covington, a 126-foot, 224 ton sidewheel gunboat converted from a passenger steamer and fitted with metal siding (making it a tinclad) and mounting 8 guns, was ordered to escort a troop transport down the Red River from Alexandria, Louisiana.  The USS Signal also accompanied it.

Twenty-five miles out of Alexandria, near Dunn's Bayou, the three Union ships came under heavy fire from Confederate artillery and troops massed along the shoreline.  The fight lasted all day.

The Union transport and the Signal were captured.  The Covington was set afire by its crew.  Most escaped upriver back to Alexandria.

But William L. Heard was not so lucky.  He was killed in this retreat.

His body was brought back home and buried next to his brother George (who had died earlier in the war).  Their bodies are at Western Cemetery.

--Old B-Runner

USS Naiad

From Wikipedia.

The USS Naiad Tinclad #53, was launched in 1863 and bought by the Navy at Cinconnati,  3 March 1863 and commissioned 3 April 1863.  It was 158 feet long, had a 30.4 foot beam, stern steam wheel, mounting eight 24-pdrs.

The Naiad operated along the Mississippi River and its tributaries and often engaged Confederate shore batteries which were prone to popping up at various points to disrupt Union communications and supplies.

On June 15-16, 1864, the Naiad and other Union vessels engaged Confederate batteries at Ratliff's Landing, Louisiana, and today, 150 years ago, a battery at Rowe's Landing, Louisiana.

Constant patrolling by the Naiad and her sister tinclads and other small Union ships did a lot toward keeping Union supply and communication lines open.

The Naiad was decommissioned and sold into civilian service as the princess at Cairo, Illinois, on 30 June 1865.  It his a snag and sank in 1868 near Napoleon, Missouri.

Old B-Runner

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150 Years Ago-- September 2, 1864: Fighting on the Mississippi River

SEPTEMBER 2ND, 1864:  The small, 8-gun paddle-wheeler USS Naiad, engaged a Confederate battery near Rowe's Landing, Louisiana, and, after a brisk exchange, silenced it.

--Old B-Runner