Potomac Flotilla


The Potomac Flotilla, or the Potomac Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to disrupt Confederate communications and shipping in the same.

History

American Civil War

On April 22, 1861 Commander James H. Ward, who was the commander of the receiving ship USS North Carolina at the New York Navy Yard, wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells to put forth a plan for the protection of the Chesapeake Bay area. Ward suggested a "Flying Flotilla" of light draft vessels to operate in the Chesapeake and its tributaries. His commander Captain Samuel L. Breese, commandant of the New York Navy Yard, endorsed his plan. Wells accepted this proposal and wrote back to Ward and Breese on April 27, 1861 authorizing them to begin carrying out Ward's plan. On May 1, 1861 the first vessels for the new flotilla were acquired. On May 16, 1861 Ward set out from the New York Navy Yard with three vessels, the Thomas Freeborn, Reliance and Resolute. He arrived at the Washington Navy Yard on May 20, 1861 on board his flagship, the Thomas Freeborn.
On June 27, 1861 Ward's flotilla engaged the Confederates at Mathias Point, Virginia. While he was sighting the bow gun of the Thomas Freeborn, Ward was shot through the abdomen and died within an hour due to internal hemorrhaging. He was the first United States Naval officer to be killed during the war.
After the death of Ward the flotilla was led by a succession of short-term commanders until the fall of 1862 when Commodore Andrew A. Harwood took command. He was in turn succeeded by Commander Foxhall A. Parker on December 31, 1864.
On July 18, 1865 the Navy Department ordered Parker to disband the flotilla on July 31, 1865. Most of the flotilla's remaining vessels were sent to the Washington Navy Yard to be decommissioned.

Name of the Flotilla

It wasn't until August 1861 that the flotilla became known as the Potomac Flotilla. The designation of Flying Flotilla was dropped when Ward's force arrived in the theatre of operations. The flotilla was then referred to by a variety of names, including: Flotilla, Potomac River; Potomac Blockade; Flotilla in the Chesapeake; etc. In early August 1861 the flotilla commander and the Navy Department began to consistently refer to the command as the Potomac Flotilla.

Operations

1861
Engagement with the Confederate batteries at Aquia Creek, Virginia, 29 May – 1 June 1861
Affair at Mathias Point, Virginia, 27 June 1861
Engagement with the Confederate batteries at Potomac Creek, Virginia, 23 August 1861
Engagement with the Confederate battery at Freestone Point, Virginia, 25 September 1861
1862
Engagement at Cockpit Point, Virginia, 3 January 1862
Expedition up the Rappahannock River to Tappahannock, Virginia, 13–15 April 1862
Expedition up the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg, Virginia, 20 April 1862
Expeditions to Gwynn's Island and Nomini Creek, Virginia, 3–4 Nov, 1862
Engagement at Port Royal, Virginia, 4 December 1862
Engagement at Brandywine Hill, Rappahannock River, Virginia, 10–11 December 1862
1863
Destruction of salt works on Dividing Creek, Virginia, 12 January 1863
Destruction of Confederate stores at Tappahannock, Virginia, 30 May 1863
Capture of U. S. steamers Satellite and Reliance, 16 August 1863
1864
Expedition to the Northern Neck of Virginia, 12 January 1864
Expedition up the Rappahannock River, Virginia, 18–21 April 1864
Expedition to Carter's Creek, Virginia, 29 April 1864
Expedition to Mill Creek, Virginia, 12–13 May 1864
Expedition up the Rappahannock River, Virginia, 16–19 May 1864
Expedition to the Northern Neck of Virginia, 11–21 June 1864
Expedition to Milford Haven and Stutt's Creek, Virginia, 24 September 1864
1865
Expedition to Fredericksburg, Virginia, 6–8 March 1865
Expedition up the Rappahannock River, 12–14 March 1865
Operations in Mattox Creek, Virginia, 16–18 March 1865

Ships of the Squadron

When Commander James H. Ward departed from New York Navy Yard on May 16, 1861 his flotilla consisted of three vessels. The strength of the flotilla would be steadily increased until it reached a strength that hovered between fifteen and twenty-five vessels.
ShipRateTypeNotes
Casco4thIronclad MonitorCasco class
Chimo4thIronclad MonitorCasco class
Mahopac4thIronclad MonitorCanonicus class
Saugus4thIronclad MonitorCanonicus class
Pawnee2ndScrew Sloop
Seminole3rdScrew Sloop
Wachusett3rdScrew SloopCommander Wilkes' Flagship
Allegheny4thScrew SloopReceiving Ship at Baltimore
Harriet Lane3rdSidewheel Gunboatfrom United States Revenue Cutter Service
Mahaska3rdSidewheel Gunboat
Port Royal3rdSidewheel Gunboat
Anacostia4thScrew Gunboat
Aroostook4thScrew Gunboat
Crusader4thScrew Gunboat
Currituck4thScrew Gunboat
Dawn4thScrew Gunboat
Don4thScrew GunboatBlockade runner captured by USS Pequot 4 March 1864 off Beaufort, North Carolina.
Dragon4thScrew Gunboat
E. B. Hale4thScrew Gunboat
Eureka4thScrew GunboatSteamer captured by USS Anacostia 20 April 1862 in Rappahannock River, Virginia.
Fuchsia4thScrew Gunboat
Little Ada4thScrew GunboatBlockade runner captured by USS Gettysburg 9 July 1864 in South Santee River, South Carolina.
Mystic4thScrew Gunboat
Penguin4thScrew Gunboat
Pocahontas4thScrew Gunboat
Teaser4thScrew Gunboatex-Confederate captured by USS Maratanza 4 July 1862 in James River, Virginia
Tulip4thScrew GunboatSunk by boiler explosion off Ragged Point, Virginia, 11 November 1864
Valley City4thScrew Gunboat
Western World4thScrew Gunboat
Wyandotte4thScrew Gunboat
Adela4thSidewheel GunboatBlockade runner captured by USS Quaker City 7 July 1862 off New Providence in the Bahamas
Banshee4thSidewheel GunboatBlockade runner captured by USAT Fulton & USS Grand Gulf 21 November 1863 off Wilmington, North Carolina
Ceres4thSidewheel Gunboat
Coeur de Lion4thSidewheel Gunboat
Commodore Barney4thSidewheel Gunboatex-Ferryboat
Commodore Read4thSidewheel Gunboatex-Ferryboat
Delaware4thSidewheel Gunboat
Jacob Bell4thSidewheel Gunboat
Isaac N. Seymour4thSidewheel Gunboat
John L. Lockwood4thSidewheel Gunboat
Mercury4thSidewheel Gunboat
Morse4thSidewheel Gunboatex-Ferryboat
Mount Washington4thSidewheel GunboatKnown as USS Mount Vernon to 4 November 1861
Nansemond4thSidewheel Gunboat
Satellite4thSidewheel GunboatCaptured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, sunk at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 August 1863
Stepping Stones4thSidewheel Gunboatex-Ferryboat
Thomas Freeborn4thSidewheel GunboatCommander Ward's Flagship
Underwriter4thSidewheel Gunboat
Union4thScrew Auxiliary
Baltimore4thSidewheel AuxiliaryOrdnance Vessel, Washington Navy Yard
Cactus4thSidewheel AuxiliarySupply Ship
Ella4thSidewheel AuxiliaryPicket & Dispatch Vessel
Ice Boat4thSidewheel AuxiliaryIcebreaker
King Philip4thSidewheel AuxiliaryDispatch Vessel, known as USS Powhatan to 4 November 1861
Philadelphia4thSidewheel AuxiliaryTransport Ferry
Wyandank4thSidewheel AuxiliaryStoreship
Juniper4thScrew Tug
Leslie4thScrew Tug
Moccasin4thScrew Tug
Periwinkle4thScrew Tug
Primrose4thScrew Tug
Reliance4thScrew TugCaptured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, sunk at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 August 1863
Rescue4thScrew Tug
Resolute4thScrew Tug
Tigress4thScrew TugSunk 10 September 1861 in collision with merchant ship State of Maine off Indian Head, Maryland
Verbena4thScrew Tug
Watch4thScrew TugKnown as USS A. C. Powell until Aug 1862, known as USS Alert from August 1862 to 2 February 1865
Young America4thScrew Tugex-Confederate, captured 24 April 1861 by USS Cumberland in Hampton Roads
Zeta4thScrew Tug
General Putnam4thSidewheel TugAlso known as USS William G. Putnam
Heliotrope4thSidewheel Tug
Island Belle4thSidewheel TugTug & Dispatch Boat
Yankee4thSidewheel Tug
E. H. Herbert-TugChartered Vessel
Edwin Forrest-TugChartered Vessel
James Murray-TugChartered Vessel
Bibb-Sidewheel Steamerfrom United States Coast Survey
Corwin-Sidewheel Steamerfrom United States Coast Survey
Adolph Hugel4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
Arletta4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
Dan Smith4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
George Mangham4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
Matthew Vassar4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
Racer4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
Sophronia4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
T. A. Ward4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
William Bacon4thSailing SchoonerMortar Schooner
Bailey-Sailing Schoonerfrom United States Coast Survey
Chaplin4thSailing Schooner
Dana-Sailing Schoonerfrom United States Coast Survey
Howell Cobb-Sailing Schoonerfrom United States Coast Survey
Picket Boat No. 4-Screw Picket Boat
Picket Boat No. 6-Screw Picket Boat

Commanders

Squadron CommanderFromToNotes
Commander James Harmon Wardlate April 186127 June 1861Killed in Action
Commander Stephen Clegg Rowan27 June 186110 July 1861Commander pro tem
Commander Thomas Tingey Craven10 July 18612 December 1861
Lieutenant Abram D. Harrell2 December 18616 December 1861Commander pro tem
Lieutenant Robert Harris Wyman6 December 1861early July 1862-
Lieutenant Commander Samuel Magawearly July 18621 September 1862Commander pro tem
Commodore Charles Wilkes1 September 186210 September 1862
Commodore Andrew Allen Harwood10 September 186231 December 1863
Commander Foxhall Alexander Parker, Jr.31 December 186331 July 1865-