USS Whitehall (1850)
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States
|
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| Laid down: | 1850 |
| Launched: | 1850 |
| Acquired: | 10 October 1861 |
| Commissioned: | est. 1861 |
| Decommissioned: | destroyed, 1862 |
| Struck: | 1862 |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 326 tons |
| Length: | 126 ft (38 m) |
| Beam: | 28 ft 2 in (8.59 m) |
| Draught: | 8 ft (2.4 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Complement: | unknown |
| Armament: |
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USS Whitehall (1850) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was assigned blockade duty; however, her condition was not always considered seaworthy, and she was plagued with condition problems.
Whitehall—a side-wheel gunboat and converted ferry built in 1850 at Brooklyn, New York—was purchased by the Navy there on 10 October 1861 and was commissioned soon thereafter at the New York Navy Yard, Acting Master Francis P. Allen in command.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Whitehall sailed for Port Royal, South Carolina; but her unseaworthy condition prevented her completing the voyage south. She put into Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in early November for emergency repairs and stopped again at Hampton Roads for the same purpose a few days later. Whitehall left Newport News, Virginia, for Port Royal on 5 November—only to be forced back to Hampton Roads by high seas on 6 November. On 7 November, carpenters examining Whitehall declared her unseaworthy. Nevertheless, she was badly needed at Port Royal and proceeded south towed by USS Connecticut on 12 November 1861. Again Whitehall turned back, reentering Hampton Roads on 13 November 1861. That same day, she was ordered to Baltimore, Maryland, for an extensive overhaul.
Whitehall was reassigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in Hampton Roads on 29 November 1861. She departed the Virginia Capes on 6 December 1861, bound for Annapolis, Maryland, to pick up arms and provisions for the squadron and returned to Hampton Roads, On 29 December 1861, Whitehall and eight other steamers engaged CSS Sea Bird in the roads shortly after the Confederate steamer had captured a water schooner and attacked the Army steamer, Express, which had been towing it. After an action lasting one-half hour, Sea Bird withdrew from the battle and retired under the protection of Confederate shore batteries. Whitehall and USS Morse covered Union forces as they withdrew.
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Wikipedia