# Potomac Flotilla

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Potomac Flotilla Attack on the Confederate Batteries at Aquia Creek by the Potomac Flotilla. Active 1861 - 1865 Country United States Branch United States Navy Type naval squadron

Military unit

The **Potomac Flotilla**, also called the **Potomac Squadron**, was a unit of the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) created in the early days of the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) to secure Union communications in the [Chesapeake Bay](/source/Chesapeake_Bay), the [Potomac River](/source/Potomac_River) and their [tributaries](/source/Tributary), and to disrupt [Confederate](/source/Confederate_States_of_America) communications and shipping there.

## History

### American Civil War

On April 22, 1861 [Commander](/source/Commander_(United_States)) [James H. Ward](/source/James_H._Ward), who was the [commanding officer](/source/Commanding_officer) of the [receiving ship](/source/Receiving_ship) [USS *North Carolina*](/source/USS_North_Carolina_(1820)) at the [New York Navy Yard](/source/New_York_Navy_Yard) in [Brooklyn](/source/Brooklyn) [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), wrote to [United States Secretary of the Navy](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Navy) [Gideon Wells](/source/Gideon_Wells) to put forth a plan for the protection of the [Chesapeake Bay](/source/Chesapeake_Bay) area. Ward suggested a "Flying Flotilla" of light-[draft](/source/Draft_(hull)) vessels to operate in the Chesapeake Bay, the [Potomac River](/source/Potomac_River), and their [tributaries](/source/Tributary). His commander, [Captain](/source/Captain_(United_States_O-6)) [Samuel L. Breese](/source/Samuel_Livingston_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*](/source/USS_Thomas_Freeborn), [USS *Reliance*](/source/USRC_Reliance), and [USS *Resolute*](/source/USS_Resolute_(1860)). He arrived at the [Washington Navy Yard](/source/Washington_Navy_Yard) in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), on 20 May 1861 on board his [flagship](/source/Flagship),*Thomas Freeborn*.[1]

On 27 June 1861 Ward's flotilla engaged the Confederates at Mathias Point, [Virginia](/source/Virginia). While he was sighting the [bow](/source/Bow_(watercraft)) 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](/source/American_Civil_War).[2]

After the death of Ward the flotilla was led by a succession of short-term commanders until the fall of 1862 when [Commodore](/source/Commodore_(United_States)) [Andrew A. Harwood](/source/Andrew_A._Harwood) took command. He was in turn succeeded by [Commander](/source/Commander_(United_States)) [Foxhall A. Parker](/source/Foxhall_A._Parker%2C_Jr.) on 31 December 1864.[3]

The Civil War ended in April 1865, and on 18 July 1865 the [United States Department of the Navy](/source/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](/source/Washington_Navy_Yard) to be [decommissioned](/source/Ship_decommissioning).[4]

### 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.[5]

### Operations

**1861** [Engagement](/source/Battle_of_Aquia_Creek) 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](/source/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](/source/Rappahannock_River) to [Tappahannock](/source/Tappahannock%2C_Virginia), Virginia, 13–15 April 1862 Expedition up the Rappahannock River to [Fredericksburg](/source/Fredericksburg%2C_Virginia), Virginia, 20 April 1862 Expeditions to Gwynn's Island and Nomini Creek, Virginia, 3–4 Nov, 1862 Engagement at [Port Royal](/source/Port_Royal%2C_Virginia), 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*](/source/USS_Satellite_(1854)) and [USRC *Reliance*](/source/USS_Reliance_(1860)), 16 August 1863

**1864** Expedition to the [Northern Neck](/source/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.[6]

Ship Rate Type Notes USS Casco 4th Ironclad monitor Casco class USS Chimo 4th Ironclad monitor Casco class USS Mahopac 4th Ironclad monitor Canonicus class USS Saugus 4th Ironclad monitor Canonicus class USS Pawnee 2nd Screw sloop USS Seminole 3rd Screw sloop USS Wachusett 3rd Screw sloop Commander Wilkes' Flagship USS Allegheny 4th Screw sloop Receiving Ship at Baltimore USRC Harriet Lane 3rd Sidewheel gunboat Revenue cutter from United States Revenue-Marine USS Mahaska 3rd Sidewheel gunboat USS Port Royal 3rd Sidewheel gunboat USS Anacostia 4th Screw gunboat USS Aroostook 4th Screw gunboat USS Crusader 4th Screw gunboat USS Currituck 4th Screw gunboat USS Dawn 4th Screw gunboat USS Don 4th Screw gunboat Blockade runner captured by USS Pequot 4 March 1864 off Beaufort, North Carolina. USS Dragon 4th Screw gunboat USS E. B. Hale 4th Screw gunboat USS Eureka 4th Screw gunboat Steamer captured by USS Anacostia 20 April 1862 on the Rappahannock River, Virginia. USS Fuchsia 4th Screw gunboat USS Little Ada 4th Screw gunboat Blockade runner captured by USS Gettysburg 9 July 1864 in South Santee River, South Carolina. USS Mystic 4th Screw gunboat USS Penguin 4th Screw gunboat USS Pocahontas 4th Screw gunboat USS Teaser 4th Screw gunboat ex-Confederate captured by USS Maratanza 4 July 1862 on the James River, Virginia USS Tulip 4th Screw gunboat Sunk by boiler explosion off Ragged Point, Virginia, 11 November 1864 USS Valley City 4th Screw gunboat USS Western World 4th Screw gunboat USS Wyandotte 4th Screw gunboat USS Adela 4th Sidewheel gunboat Blockade runner captured by USS Quaker City 7 July 1862 off New Providence in the Bahamas USS Banshee 4th Sidewheel gunboat Blockade runner captured by USAT Fulton and USS Grand Gulf on 21 November 1863 off Wilmington, North Carolina USS Ceres 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Coeur de Lion 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Commodore Barney 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat USS Commodore Read 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat USS Delaware 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Jacob Bell 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Isaac N. Seymour 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS John L. Lockwood 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Mercury 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Morse 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat USS Mount Washington 4th Sidewheel gunboat Known as USS Mount Vernon until 4 November 1861 USS Nansemond 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Satellite 4th Sidewheel gunboat Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, scuttled at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 August 1863 USS Stepping Stones 4th Sidewheel gunboat ex-ferryboat USS Thomas Freeborn 4th Sidewheel gunboat Commander Ward's Flagship USS Underwriter 4th Sidewheel gunboat USS Union 4th Screw auxiliary USS Baltimore 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Ordnance vessel, Washington Navy Yard USS Cactus 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Supply ship USS Ella 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Picket and dispatch vessel USS Ice Boat 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Icebreaker USS King Philip 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Dispatch vessel, known as USS Powhatan until 4 November 1861 USS Philadelphia 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Transport ferry USS Wyandank 4th Sidewheel auxiliary Storeship USS Juniper 4th Screw tug USS Leslie 4th Screw tug USS Moccasin 4th Screw tug USS Periwinkle 4th Screw tug USS Primrose 4th Screw tug USS Reliance 4th Screw tug Captured by Confederate boarding party 23 August 1863 in Rappahannock River, scuttled at Port Royal, Virginia, 28 August 1863 USS Rescue 4th Screw tug USS Resolute 4th Screw tug USS Tigress 4th Screw tug Sunk 10 September 1861 in collision with merchant ship State of Maine off Indian Head, Maryland USS Verbena 4th Screw tug 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 4th Screw tug ex-Confederate, captured 24 April 1861 by USS Cumberland at Hampton Roads, Virginia USS General Putnam 4th Sidewheel tug Also known as USS William G. Putnam USS Heliotrope 4th Sidewheel tug USS Island Belle 4th Sidewheel tug Tug and dispatch boat USS Yankee 4th Sidewheel tug E. H. Herbert - Tug Chartered vessel Edwin Forrest - Tug Chartered vessel James Murray - Tug Chartered vessel USS Bibb - Sidewheel steamer from United States Coast Survey USS Corwin - Sidewheel Steamer from United States Coast Survey USS Adolph Hugel 4th Sailing schooner mortar schooner USS Arletta 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS Dan Smith 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS George Mangham 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS Matthew Vassar 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS Racer 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS Sophronia 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS T. A. Ward 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS William Bacon 4th Sailing schooner Mortar schooner USS Bailey - Sailing schooner from United States Coast Survey Chaplin 4th Sailing schooner USS Dana - Sailing schooner from United States Coast Survey USS Howell Cobb - Sailing schooner from United States Coast Survey USS Alpha 4th Screw picket boat Known as Picket Boat No. 1 until sometime between 1 November and 5 December 1864. 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 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

Flotilla commander From To Notes Commander 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 tem Commander Thomas Tingey Craven 10 July 1861 2 December 1861 Lieutenant Abram D. Harrell 2 December 1861 6 December 1861 Commander pro tem Lieutenant Robert Harris Wyman 6 December 1861 early July 1862 Lieutenant Commander Samuel Magaw early July 1862 1 September 1862 Commander pro tem Commodore Charles Wilkes 1 September 1862 10 September 1862 Commodore Andrew Allen Harwood 10 September 1862 31 December 1863 Commander 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**

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** *ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4* (1896), pp. 420, 430, 443, 458, 467, 471.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4* (1896), pp. 539–41.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** *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.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** *ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 5* (1897), pp. 576, 578.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** *ORN, Ser. I, Vol. 4* (1896), pp. 488, 504, 509, 511, 596–600.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** *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.

**Bibliography**

- [*Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 4.*](https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=ANU4547-0004) (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1896). [*Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 5.*](https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=ANU4547-0005) (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1897).

- Silverstone, Paul H. *Warships of the Civil War Navies.* (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1989). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87021-783-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87021-783-6)

- This article incorporates [public domain material](/source/Copyright_status_of_works_by_the_federal_government_of_the_United_States) from [*Commander James H. Ward*](http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-w/jh-ward.htm). [Naval History and Heritage Command](/source/Naval_History_and_Heritage_Command).

**Further Reading**

**External Links**

- Arthur McKinstry and the War Along the Potomac, 1861-1862 [https://www.facebook.com/groups/waronthepotomac](https://www.facebook.com/groups/waronthepotomac)

v t e United States Navy squadrons 19th century Africa Squadron Brazil Squadron Chesapeake Bay Flotilla East India Squadron Home Squadron Mediterranean Squadron Mosquito Fleet New Orleans Squadron Pacific Squadron West Indies Squadron Civil War Atlantic Blockading Squadron East Gulf Blockading Squadron Mississippi River Squadron North Atlantic Blockading Squadron Potomac Flotilla South Atlantic Blockading Squadron West Gulf Blockading Squadron West India Squadron Post-Civil War Asiatic Squadron Bering Sea Squadron European Squadron Flying Squadron North Atlantic Squadron North Pacific Squadron Pacific Station South Atlantic Squadron South Pacific Squadron Special Service Squadron Squadron of Evolution

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Potomac Flotilla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potomac_Flotilla) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potomac_Flotilla?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.