USS Juliet (1862)

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History
United States
Laid downdate unknown
Launched1862
Acquired1 November 1862
Commissioned14 December 1862
Decommissioned30 June 1865
Stricken1865 (est.)
Fatesold, 17 August 1865
General characteristics
Displacement157 tons
Length155 ft 6 in (47.40 m)
Beam30 ft 2 in (9.19 m)
Draught5 ft (1.5 m)
Propulsion
Speed4 mph
Complementnot known
Armamentsix 24-pounder howitzers
Armourtinclad

USS Juliet (1862) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

Built in Pennsylvania and purchased in Ohio[]

Juliet was built at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in 1862 and purchased by the Navy at Cincinnati, Ohio, 1 November 1862. After receiving armorplate protection, she commissioned 14 December, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Edward Shaw in command.

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron[]

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron and ordered to the vicinity of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Juliet helped clear the Yazoo River of torpedoes (mines) 23 December in preparation for General William Tecumseh Sherman's valiant but unsuccessful attack on the Chickasaw Bluffs, which protected Vicksburg. She remained in the Yazoo River until 2 January 1863 when she followed the transports and other gunboats downstream, covering their withdrawal to the Mississippi River.

Assigned by Admiral Porter as an escort vessel[]

On 6 January Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter assigned Juliet to 1st Division of Light Draft Gunboats where she served the Mississippi Squadron as an escort vessel maintaining communications along the river and protecting the vital flow of shipping which sustained military and naval strength throughout the campaigns and cut the Confederacy in two with the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.

Participating in the Red River expedition[]

The most dangerous service during the faithful tinclads’ career came during the Red River Expedition. Admiral Porter's gunboats, in cooperation with General Banks, had ascended the Red River in an effort to replant the United States flag on Texas soil as a check against French interference in Mexico and to encourage the re-establishment of loyal state governments in Louisiana and Arkansas.

While the Union ships were at Springfield Landing making preparations to clear away the sunken hulk of an old steamer which had stopped their progress toward Shreveport, Louisiana, a messenger arrived with word that General Banks had suffered a severe defeat near Mansfield and was falling back to Grand Ecore. Reluctantly Porter ordered the gunboats to reverse course.

Passing Confederate batteries under fire[]

During the passage down, the Northern gunboats were severely punished by fire from Confederate shore batteries. On 26 and 27 April Juliet again and again fought off cannon and musketry, suffering 16 casualties including 2 killed and heavy damage to the ship. Skillful repair work under the most trying conditions kept the vessel afloat and finally enabled her to pass the batteries.

Repaired, recommissioned, and returned to duty[]

After repairs at Cairo, Illinois, Juliet recommissioned 6 September and returned to duty with the Mississippi squadron, serving as an escort and patrol vessel.

Post-war decommissioning, sale and short civilian career[]

After the end of the war, Juliet decommissioned at Mound City, Illinois, 30 June 1865, and was sold at public auction there to Philip Wallach 17 August 1865. Redocumented Goldina (or Goldena)[1] that day, she was stranded 31 December 1865 on the between the Arkansas River and the White River in Arkansas[1] and abandoned.

References[]

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  1. ^ a b Gaines, W. Craig, Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks, Louisiana State University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8071-3274-6, p. 10.

See also[]

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