View source for James Funk

{{short description|New York Pilot boat}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|infobox caption=}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=James Funk, No. 22.jpg
|Ship caption=New York pilot boat James Funk No. 22.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship owner=New York Pilots
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1862}}
|Ship name= ''James Funk''
|Ship christened= 
|Ship builder=[[Greenpoint, Brooklyn]]
|Ship operator=A. C. Malcolm; Robert Yates, William Smith
|Ship original cost=$15,000
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 1862
|Ship out of service=1864
|Ship captured=1864
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sank at sea
|Ship struck=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[schooner]]
|Ship tonnage=122-tons [[Thames Measurement|TM]]<ref name="Mystic"/><!--using Custom House not tons burden-->
|Ship length={{convert|81|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam=
|Ship draft={{convert|9|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}<!--distance between ship's keel & waterline BTH (height)-->
|Ship depth={{convert|21|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}<!--top of keel to the top of deck beam -->
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship propulsion=Sail
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament= 
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''''James Funk''''' was a 19th-century [[New York City]] [[pilot boat]] built in 1862 at [[Greenpoint, Brooklyn]] for a company of New York Pilots. She was built for speed. She was assigned the "Number 22," which was displayed on her [[mainsail]]. The ''James Funk'' was captured and burned by the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] raiding steamer {{ship|CSS|Tallahassee}} during the [[American Civil War]]. The ''[[Charlotte Webb]]'' was built in 1865 to take the place of the ''James Funk'' that was destroyed.

==Construction and service ==

The ''James Funk No. 22,'' was launched in 1862 from [[Greenpoint, Brooklyn]]. She was registered with the ''Record of American and Foreign Shipping'' from 1883–1984 as ''James Funk.'' Her master was Captain A. C. Malcolm; her owners were a company of New York Pilots, belonging to the port of New York. She was 81 feet in length, her draft was 9 feet, she weighed 122-tons, and built for speed.<ref name="Mystic">{{cite web |url=https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571864/504/|title=Record of American and Foreign Shipping 1864|work=Mystic Seaport Museum|place=New York|access-date=2020-11-20}}</ref>

On October 16, 1863, when the weather was dark and thick, the pilot-boat ''James Funk'' collided with the United States supply steamer ''Union,'' near Sandy Hook. The pilot-boat was in tow and no [[Navigation light|ship light]] was on. She started to sink and her crew escaped in [[yawl]]s. It was estimated that she was worth between $12,000 and $15,000. She was raised and then return to port.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/202181772/?terms=%22pilot%2Bboat%2BMoses%2BH.%2BGrinnell%22 |title=Sinking of One Pilot Boat and Serious Damage to Another |work=The Times-Democrat |place=New Orleans, Louisiana |date=27 Oct 1863|page=1|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=limited}}</ref>

==Civil War==
===End of service===

On August 11, 1864, during the American Civil War, the pilot-boat ''James Funk, No. 22,'' was 60 miles southeast of [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]], when the Confederate raiding cruiser the ''Tallahassee'' approached disguised with an American [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]] flying at the [[Mast (sailing)|masthead]]. Pilot William Smith, of the pilot-boat took a yawl to board the ''Tallahassee'' thinking she was in need of a pilot. Instead, she was captured by the  Confederate colonel, [[John Taylor Wood]], who took control of the ''James Funk''. His objective was to secure a pilot who could take the ''Tallahassee'' into [[Long Island Sound]]. Twenty of the ''Tallahassee's'' crew came onboard the pilot-boat and the crew of the ''James Funk'' were transferred to the ''Tallahassee''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50410847/?clipping_id=2841155 |title=The privateer Tallahassee. Capture of the Pilot Boat Jas. Funk |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |place=Brooklyn, New York |date=13 Aug 1864|page=3|access-date=2020-11-19}}</ref>

The ''James Funk'' was turned into a [[Ship's tender|tender]] and a decoy for the ''Tallahassee''. Captain Wood used the pilot-boat to capture and burn other schooners and brigs, including the ''A. M. Lee''. He then burned the ''James Funk,'' which he later regretted.<ref>
{{cite book |last=John |first=Bell |date=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S--g6L74BoMC&q=%20Funk |title=Confederate Seadog John Taylor Wood in War and Exile |location=New York |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated |page=35}}</ref>

The same day, the ''Tallahassee'' captured and burned the pilot-boat [[William Bell, No. 24|''William Bell'']], No. 24, [[Adriatic (ship, 1861)|''Adriatic'']] and several other boats. The Confederates then sailed the ''Tallahassee'' to [[Fire Island]], where the crew and passengers went ashore. Robert Yates, captain of the pilot-boat provided his account of the capture of the ''James Funk,'' after he arrived safely back to his home in New York City.<ref name="Lore">
{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Edward L.|date=1922|title=Pilot Lore From sail to Steam |url=https://archive.org/details/pilotlorefromsai00unit/page/14/mode/2up?q=James+Funck|location=New York |publisher=The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations |pages=12–25}}</ref><ref name="Pilots">
{{cite book|last=Cunliffe|first=Tom|date= 2001|title= Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNsGi3nmuaQC&q=James%20Funck
|location=Brooklin, Maine|publisher=WoodenBoat|isbn=9780937822692|page=99}}
</ref>

[[File:Charlotte Web pilot boat.jpg|thumb|Pilot boat Charlotte Web.]]

In the book, "From Sandy Hook to 62", [[Charles Edward Russell]], describes the chase of the ''Tallahassee'' cruiser against the ''James Funk'' and ''William Bell''.<ref name="Russell">{{cite book|last=Russell|first=Charles Edward|date=1929|title=From Sandy Hook to 62°|location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TAxgwgEACAAJ&q=James%20Funk|publisher=Century Co.|page=137|oclc=3804485}}</ref>

The pilot boat  ''[[Charlotte Webb]]'' was built by Eckford Webb in May 1865 at the [[Isaac Webb (shipbuilder)#Webb & Bell shipyard|Webb & Bell]] shipyard in [[Greenpoint, Brooklyn]], to take the place of the ''James Funk,'' No. 22, that was captured and burned by the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] raiding steamer [[CSS Tallahassee|''Tallahassee'']].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73566709/launch/|title=Webb & Bell's Yard |work=Brooklyn Union |place=Brooklyn, New York |date=25 May 1865|page=1|access-date=2020-11-21}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{commons category}} 
{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats|state=collapsed}}
{{1864 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:James Funk}}
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:Schooners of the United States]]
[[Category:Service vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:1862 ships]]
[[Category:Pilot boats]]
[[Category:Ships built in Brooklyn]]