- USS Linden (1860)
USS "Linden" (1860) was a steamer acquired by the
Union Navy during theAmerican Civil War . She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries."Linden", a wooden sidewheel steamer, was built in
1860 atBelle Vernon, Pennsylvania ; purchased by the Navy atCincinnati, Ohio ,20 November 1862 ; and commissioned atCairo, Illinois ,3 January 1863 , actingMaster Thomas E. Smith in command.Assigned to Mississippi River operations
"Linden" departed Cairo
9 January escorting charter steamer "Home" and five coal barges toMemphis, Tennessee . Afterconvoy duty up and down theMississippi River , "Linden" was ordered to cooperate with GeneralUlysses S. Grant in cutting a canal between the Red and Black Rivers throughTensas Bayou . The project was pressed vigorously but as Porter later noted:“...there were miles of forest to work through and trees to be cut down. The swift current drove the steamers (Army transports) against the trees and injured them so much that this plan had to be abandoned.”
Supporting the siege of Vicksburg
Throughout the winter and spring of
1863 , "Linden", continued to support operations against the Confederate river stronghold at Vicksburg. She remained above the fortress when AdmiralDavid Dixon Porter and his gunboats dashed under Vickburg’s guns to support Grant’s campaign from below. On29 April with seven other Union Navy ships, three mortar boats and 10 large Army transports, "Linden" began a feigned attack on the Confederate batteries atHaynes Bluff on theYazoo River above Vicksburg. The movement was designed to prevent southern reinforcement ofGrand Gulf where Grant was about to land his troops after crossing the Mississippi River. That day the expedition proceeded as far asChickasaw Bayou . On the 30th the task force moved up the Yazoo River, and landed troops who marched up “...the levee, making quite a display, and a threatening one also.” Naval gunfire supported the demonstration until Grant had safely ferried his men across the river and landed atBruinsburg, Mississippi . Then the diversionary troops withdrew from Haynes Bluff, reembarked, and the expedition returned to the mouth of the Yazoo River.Grant threatens Vicksburg “in reverse”
Grant then daringly abandoned his supply lines, drove deep into
Mississippi , and defeated converging Confederate forces in detail in several spectacular victories before turning back toward the river to threaten Vicksburg in reverse. At mid-May, Admiral Porter ordered "Linden" back up the Yazoo to assist the Army in encircling the southern river stronghold and to supply the Union Army. When Confederate troops were cut off atSnyder’s Bluff , the Union ships pushed on to Haynes Bluff which the South was evacuating. When these heavy works fell, the gunboat again advanced and began to shell the hill batteries at Vicksburg. On18 May "Linden" while escorting five Army transports on the Mississippi silenced a masked battery at Island No. 82; then covered troops who landed and destroyed buildings in the area. On21 May , "Linden", "Baron De Kalb", "Choctaw", "Forest Rose", and "Petrel" ascended the Yazoo River toYazoo City, Mississippi , and forced the Confederate Navy to destroy three “powerful steamers, rams, and a fine Navy Yard” to prevent their capture. On the 20th "Linden" and "Forest Rose" reconnoitered Quiver River,Mississippi , and a boat expedition from the ships captured and burned "Dew Drop" and "Emma Bett".Vicksburg surrenders on the Fourth of July
The tireless efforts of both Navy and Army bore fruit when Vicksburg’s dogged defenders finally hauled down the Confederate flag
4 July giving theUnited States one of its greatest birthday presents, freedom to navigate the Mississippi River from source to theGulf of Mexico . In the coming months "Linden" performed valuable but unspectacular service on reconnaissance and convoy missions on the Mississippi River and its tributaries."Linden" sinks after striking a snag in the river
On
22 February 1864 , while attempting to aid transport "Ad. Hines", "Linden" struck a snag 15 miles up theArkansas River and sank.References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l6/linden-i.htm USS Linden]
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