Potomac Flotilla

{{Infobox military unit |unit_name= Potomac Flotilla |image=Attack on the Confederate Batteries at Aquia Creek, June 1, 1861.jpg |image_size=300px |caption=''Attack on the Confederate Batteries at Aquia Creek by the Potomac Flotilla.'' |dates=1861 - 1865 |country= {{flag|United States}} |allegiance= |branch= [[File:United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg|23px]] [[United States Navy]] |type= [[Squadron (naval)|naval squadron]] |role= |size= |command_structure= |garrison= |garrison_label= |nickname= |patron= |motto= |colors= |colors_label= |march= |mascot= |equipment= |equipment_label= |battles= |anniversaries= |decorations= |battle_honours= |disbanded=  |commander1= |commander1_label= |commander2= |commander2_label= |commander3= |commander3_label= |commander4= |commander4_label= |notable_commanders=  |identification_symbol= |identification_symbol_label= |identification_symbol_2= |identification_symbol_2_label= |identification_symbol_3= |identification_symbol_3_label= |identification_symbol_4= |identification_symbol_4_label= }}

The '''Potomac Flotilla''', also called 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 [[Tributary|tributaries]], and to disrupt [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] communications and shipping there.

==History== ===American Civil War===

On April 22, 1861 [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[James H. Ward]], who was the [[commanding officer]] of the [[receiving ship]] {{USS|North Carolina|1820|6}} at the [[New York Navy Yard]] in [[Brooklyn]] [[New York (state)|New York]], wrote to [[United States 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 (hull)|draft]] vessels to operate in the Chesapeake Bay, the [[Potomac River]], and their [[Tributary|tributaries]]. His commander, [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] [[Samuel Livingston Breese|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 27 April 1861 authorizing them to begin carrying out Ward's plan. On 1 May 1861 the first vessels for the new flotilla were acquired. On 16 May 1861 Ward set out from the New York Navy Yard with three vessels, {{USS|Thomas Freeborn|1861|6}}, {{USS|Reliance|1860|6}}, and {{USS|Resolute|1860|6}}. He arrived at the [[Washington Navy Yard]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], on 20 May 1861 on board his [[flagship]],''Thomas Freeborn''.<ref>''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4'' (1896), pp. 420, 430, 443, 458, 467, 471.</ref>

On 27 June 1861 Ward's flotilla engaged the Confederates at Mathias Point, [[Virginia]]. While he was sighting the [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] gun of ''Thomas Freeborn'', Ward was shot through the abdomen and died within an hour due to internal hemorrhaging. He was the first United States Navy officer to be killed during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4'' (1896), pp. 539–41.</ref>

After the death of Ward the flotilla was led by a succession of short-term commanders until the fall of 1862 when [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[Andrew A. Harwood]] took command. He was in turn succeeded by [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Foxhall A. Parker, Jr.|Foxhall A. Parker]] on 31 December 1864.<ref>''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4'' (1896), pp. 541, 570–1, 575, 757–8, 760–1. ''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 5'' (1897), pp. 3, 72, 75, 82, 84, 379.</ref>

The Civil War ended in April 1865, and on 18 July 1865 the [[United States Department of the Navy]] ordered Parker to disband the flotilla, effective 31 July 1865. Most of the flotilla's remaining vessels were sent to the [[Washington Navy Yard]] to be [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]].<ref>''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 5'' (1897), pp. 576, 578.</ref>

===Name of the flotilla=== It was not 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 theater 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 Department of the Navy began to consistently refer to the command as the Potomac Flotilla.<ref>''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4'' (1896), pp. 488, 504, 509, 511, 596–600.</ref>

===Operations=== '''1861''' [[Battle of Aquia Creek|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|Tappahannock]], Virginia, 13–15 April 1862 Expedition up the Rappahannock River to [[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]], Virginia, 20 April 1862 Expeditions to Gwynn's Island and Nomini Creek, Virginia, 3–4 Nov, 1862 Engagement at [[Port Royal, Virginia|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 {{USS|Satellite|1854|6}} and [[USS Reliance (1860)|USRC ''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 flotilla== When Commander James H. Ward departed the New York Navy Yard on 16 May 1861 his flotilla consisted of three vessels. The size of the flotilla steadily increased until it reached a strength that hovered between 15 and 25 vessels.<ref>''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4'' (1896), pp. xv-xvi, 458, 508, 570, 666. ''ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 5'' (1897), pp. xv-xvi, 60–1, 75, 100, 108, 204–5, 245–6, 260, 287, 361–2, 391, 366–7, 374, 380, 398, 408–9, 461, 496, 502, 506, 508, 515, 531, 548–9, 567, 571–4.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" ! Ship || Rate || Type || Notes |- | {{USS|Casco|1864|6}} || 4th || [[Ironclad warship|Ironclad]] [[Monitor (warship)|monitor]] || [[Casco-class monitor|''Casco'' class]] |- | {{USS|Chimo|1864|6}} || 4th || Ironclad monitor || ''Casco'' class |- | {{USS|Mahopac|1863|6}} || 4th || Ironclad monitor || [[Canonicus-class monitor|''Canonicus'' class]] |- | {{USS|Saugus|1863|6}} || 4th || Ironclad monitor || ''Canonicus'' class |- | {{USS|Pawnee|1859|6}} || 2nd || [[Screw sloop]] || |- | {{USS|Seminole|1859|6}} || 3rd || Screw sloop || |- | {{USS|Wachusett|1861|6}} || 3rd || Screw sloop || Commander Wilkes' Flagship |- | {{USS|Allegheny|1847|6}} || 4th || Screw sloop || Receiving Ship at [[Baltimore]] |- | {{USRC|Harriet Lane|1857|6}} || 3rd || [[Paddle steamer|Sidewheel]] [[gunboat]] || [[Revenue cutter]] from [[United States Revenue Cutter Service|United States Revenue-Marine]] |- | {{USS|Mahaska|1861|6}} || 3rd || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Port Royal|1862|6}} || 3rd || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Anacostia|1856|6}} || 4th || [[Propeller|Screw]] gunboat || |- | {{USS|Aroostook|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Crusader|1858|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Currituck|1843|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Dawn|1857|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Don|1862|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || [[Blockade runner]] captured by {{USS|Pequot|1863|6}} 4 March 1864 off [[Beaufort, North Carolina|Beaufort]], [[North Carolina]]. |- | {{USS|Dragon|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|E. B. Hale|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Eureka|1862|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || [[Steamship|Steamer]] captured by {{USS|Anacostia|1856|6}} 20 April 1862 on the [[Rappahannock River]], [[Virginia]]. |- | {{USS|Fuchsia|1863|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Little Ada|1864|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || Blockade runner captured by {{USS|Gettysburg|1858|6}} 9 July 1864 in [[South Santee River]], [[South Carolina]]. |- | {{USS|Mystic|1853|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Penguin|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Pocahontas|1852|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Teaser|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || ex-Confederate captured by {{USS|Maratanza|1861|6}} 4 July 1862 on the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], Virginia |- | {{USS|Tulip|1862|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || Sunk by [[boiler]] explosion off [[Ragged Point Light|Ragged Point]], Virginia, 11 November 1864 |- | {{USS|Valley City|1859|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Western World|1856|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Wyandotte|1853|6}} || 4th || Screw gunboat || |- | {{USS|Adela|1862|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || Blockade runner captured by {{USS|Quaker City|1854|6}} 7 July 1862 off [[New Providence]] in [[the Bahamas]] |- | {{USS|Banshee|1862|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || Blockade runner captured by [[United States Army Transport|USAT]] ''Fulton'' and {{USS|Grand Gulf|1863|6}} on 21 November 1863 off [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]], [[North Carolina]] |- | {{USS|Ceres|1856|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Coeur de Lion|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Commodore Barney|1859|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || ex-[[ferryboat]] |- | {{USS|Commodore Read|1857|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || ex-ferryboat |- | {{USS|Delaware|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Jacob Bell|1842|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Isaac N. Seymour|1860|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|John L. Lockwood|1854|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Mercury|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Morse|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || ex-ferryboat |- | {{USS|Mount Washington|1846|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || Known as USS ''Mount Vernon'' until 4 November 1861 |- | {{USS|Nansemond|1862|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Satellite|1854|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, [[Scuttling|scuttled]] at [[Port Royal, Virginia|Port Royal]], Virginia, 28 August 1863 |- | {{USS|Stepping Stones|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || ex-ferryboat |- | {{USS|Thomas Freeborn|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || Commander Ward's Flagship |- | {{USS|Underwriter|1852|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel gunboat || |- | {{USS|Union|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw [[Auxiliary ship|auxiliary]] || |- | {{USS|Baltimore|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel auxiliary || [[Materiel|Ordnance]] vessel, [[Washington Navy Yard]] |- | {{USS|Cactus|1863|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel auxiliary || Supply ship |- | {{USS|Ella|1859|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel auxiliary || [[Picket (military)|Picket]] and [[Dispatch boat|dispatch vessel]] |- | {{USS|Ice Boat|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel auxiliary || [[Icebreaker]] |- | {{USS|King Philip|1845|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel auxiliary || Dispatch vessel, known as USS ''Powhatan'' until 4 November 1861 |- | {{USS|Philadelphia|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel auxiliary || Transport ferry |- | {{USS|Wyandank}} || 4th || Sidewheel auxiliary || [[Storeship]] |- | {{USS|Juniper|1864|6}} || 4th || Screw [[Tugboat|tug]] || |- | {{USS|Leslie|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || |- | {{USS|Moccasin|1864|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || |- | {{USS|Periwinkle|1864|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || |- | {{USS|Primrose|1863|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || |- | {{USS|Reliance|1860|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, scuttled at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 August 1863 |- | {{USS|Rescue|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || |- | {{USS|Resolute|1860|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || |- | {{USS|Tigress|1861|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || Sunk 10 September 1861 in collision with merchant ship ''State of Maine'' off [[Indian Head, Maryland|Indian Head]], [[Maryland]] |- | {{USS|Verbena|1864|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || |- | [[USS Alert (1861)|USS ''Watch'']] || 4th || Screw tug || Known as USS ''A. C. Powell'' until August 1862, known as USS ''Alert'' from August 1862 to 2 February 1865 |- | {{USS|Young America|1855|6}} || 4th || Screw tug || ex-Confederate, captured 24 April 1861 by {{USS|Cumberland|1842|6}} at [[Hampton Roads]], Virginia |- | {{USS|General Putnam|1857|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel tug || Also known as USS ''William G. Putnam'' |- | {{USS|Heliotrope|1863|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel tug || |- | {{USS|Island Belle|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel tug || Tug and [[dispatch boat]] |- | {{USS|Yankee|1861|6}} || 4th || Sidewheel tug || |- | ''E. H. Herbert'' || - || Tug || Chartered vessel |- | ''Edwin Forrest'' || - || Tug || Chartered vessel |- | ''James Murray'' || - || Tug || Chartered vessel |- | {{USS|Bibb|1853|6}} || - || Sidewheel steamer || from [[United States Coast Survey]] |- | {{USS|Corwin|1849|6}} || - || Sidewheel Steamer || from United States Coast Survey |- | {{USS|Adolph Hugel|1860|6}} || 4th || Sailing [[schooner]] || [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] schooner |- | {{USS|Arletta|1860|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|Dan Smith|1861|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|George Mangham|1854|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|Matthew Vassar|1861|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|Racer|1861|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|Sophronia|1861|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|T. A. Ward|1861|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|William Bacon|1863|6}} || 4th || Sailing schooner || Mortar schooner |- | {{USS|Bailey|1856|6}} || - || Sailing schooner || from United States Coast Survey |- | ''Chaplin'' || 4th || Sailing schooner || |- | {{USS|Dana|1861|6}} || - || Sailing schooner || from United States Coast Survey |- | {{USS|Howell Cobb|1861|6}} || - || Sailing schooner || from United States Coast Survey |- |''[[USS Alpha (1864)|USS Alpha]]'' |4th |Screw [[picket boat]] |Known as ''Picket Boat No. 1'' until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. |- |''[[USS Bazely (1863)|USS Beta]]'' |4th |Screw picket boat |Known as both ''USS Bazely'' and as ''Picket Boat No. 2'' until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. Hit a torpedo (mine) and was destroyed 25 December 1864 by retreating Union troops to prevent Confederate capture. |- |''[[USS Gamma]]'' |4th |Screw picket boat |Known as ''Picket Boat No. 3'' until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. |- | ''[[USS Delta (1864)|USS Delta]]'' || 4th || Screw picket boat ||Known as ''Picket Boat No. 4'' until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. |- |''[[USS Epsilon]]'' |4th |Screw picket boat |Known as ''Picket Boat No. 5'' until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. |- | ''[[USS Zeta]]'' || 4th || Screw picket boat ||Known as ''Picket Boat No. 6'' until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. |}

==Commanders==

{| class="wikitable" ! Flotilla commander || From || To || Notes |- | [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[James H. Ward|James Harmon Ward]] || late April 1861 || 27 June 1861 || [[Killed in action]] 27 June 1861 |- | Commander [[Stephen Clegg Rowan]] || 27 June 1861 || 10 July 1861 || Commander [[Pro tempore|''pro tem'']] |- | Commander [[Thomas Tingey Craven (Rear Admiral)|Thomas Tingey Craven]] || 10 July 1861 || 2 December 1861 || |- | [[Lieutenant (naval)|Lieutenant]] [[Abram D. Harrell]] || 2 December 1861 || 6 December 1861 || Commander [[Pro tempore|''pro tem'']] |- | Lieutenant [[Robert H. Wyman|Robert Harris Wyman]] || 6 December 1861 || early July 1862 |- | [[Lieutenant Commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] Samuel Magaw || early July 1862 || 1 September 1862 || Commander [[Pro tempore|''pro tem'']] |- | [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[Charles Wilkes]] || 1 September 1862 || 10 September 1862 || |- | Commodore [[Andrew A. Harwood|Andrew Allen Harwood]] || 10 September 1862 || 31 December 1863 || |- | Commander [[Foxhall A. Parker, Jr.|Foxhall Alexander Parker, Jr.]] || 31 December 1863 || 31 July 1865 |}

==References== *In these notes the abbreviation ''ORN'' is used for the work ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion''. ;Notes {{Reflist}} ;Bibliography * [https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=ANU4547-0004 ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 4.''] (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1896). [https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=ANU4547-0005 ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 5.''] (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1897). * Silverstone, Paul H. ''Warships of the Civil War Navies.'' (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1989). {{ISBN|0-87021-783-6}} * {{NHC|article=Commander James H. Ward|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-w/jh-ward.htm}} ;Further Reading

;External Links * Arthur McKinstry and the War Along the Potomac, 1861-1862 https://www.facebook.com/groups/waronthepotomac {{US Squadrons}}

[[Category:Union navy]] [[Category:Ship squadrons of the United States Navy]] [[Category:1861 establishments in the United States]]