View source for USS Kansas (1863)

{{short description|Gunboat of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Kansas}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=October 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Kansas rev.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Kansas'' on the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], [[Virginia]], circa February–April 1865. Note her white smokestack, and three officers seated on shore.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag=[[Image:US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg|48px|Union Navy Jack]]  {{USN flag|1861}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=the [[Kansas River]]
|Ship owner=
|Ship builder=[[Philadelphia Navy Yard]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=29 September 1863
|Ship commissioned=21 December 1863
|Ship decommissioned=10 August 1875
|Ship fate=Sold 27 September 1883 at [[Rockland, Maine]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=
|Ship displacement=625 tons
|Ship length={{convert|129|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=[[steam engine]], screw propelled
|Ship speed={{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=108
|Ship armament=
*1 × 150-pounder rifle
*2 × 12-pounder rifles
*2 × 20-pounder Dahlgren rifles
*2 × {{cvt|9|in|0}} [[Dahlgren gun|Dahlgren]] smoothbores
}}
|}

'''USS ''Kansas''''' was a [[gunboat]] constructed for the [[Union Navy]] during the middle of the [[American Civil War]]. She was outfitted with heavy guns and assigned to the [[Union blockade]] of the waterways of the [[Confederate States of America]]. She was the first [[U.S. Navy]] ship to be named ''Kansas'' and was the first of a class of 836-ton screw steam gunboats. At war's end, she continued serving her country by performing survey work and defending American interests in [[Cuba]] until sold in 1883.

== Service history ==

''Kansas'' was built at [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] with machinery taken from the cargo of prize steamer [[USS Princess Royal|''Princess Royal'']]. She was launched 29 September 1863; sponsored by Miss Annie McClellan; and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] at [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] 21 December 1863, Lieutenant Commander Pendleton G. Watmough in command. On the day of her commissioning, the gunboat was ordered to [[Hampton Roads, Virginia]], to join the [[North Atlantic Blockading Squadron]]. She arrived [[Newport News, Virginia]], 30 December; but engine and boiler trouble required her to return to the [[Washington Navy Yard]] for repairs.

===American Civil War operations===
In March 1864 the gunboat was stationed at [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], off [[New Inlet]], where she served during most of the remainder of the war. With [[USS Mount Vernon (1859)|''Mount Vernon'']], [[USS Howquah (1863)|''Howquah'']], and [[USS Nansemond (1862)|''Nansemond'']], she engaged [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] ironclad-ram [[CSS Raleigh|''Raleigh'']], (Flag Officer [[William Francis Lynch|William Lynch]]) which had steamed over the bar at New Inlet 6 May to attack the Northern blockaders. The withering fire from the Union ships caused ''Raleigh'' to withdraw toward safety within the harbor, but she grounded and broke her back while attempting to cross the bar at the mouth of the [[Cape Fear River]]. After strenuous efforts to save the stricken vessel proved fruitless, she was destroyed to prevent her falling into Union hands.

Shortly before dawn 15 May, ''Kansas'' ended a two-hour chase by capturing British steamer ''Tristram Shandy'' as the [[blockade runner]] attempted to escape to sea with a cargo of [[cotton]], [[tobacco]], and [[turpentine]]. The next day the proud gunboat towed her prize into [[Beaufort, North Carolina]]. On her return passage she brought Colonel [[James Jourdan]] to reconnoiter Confederate defenses at [[Fort Fisher]] in preparation for future attacks. Throughout the night of 27–28 May, ''Kansas'' chased a blockade-running steamer which finally escaped. That morning boiler trouble prevented her getting underway to chase another steamer which dashed out from Wilmington. After remaining on blockade duty at New Inlet until August, the gunboat returned to Philadelphia for repairs.

''Kansas'' rejoined her squadron late in September; and, after briefly cruising at sea, she returned to her old station off New Inlet in mid-October. There she chased and headed off steamer ''Annie'' trying to slip out of New Inlet with a cargo of cotton. This action 31 October enabled [[USS Wilderness (1864)|''Wilderness'']] and [[USS Niphon (1863)|''Niphon'']] to capture the chase a short time later. On 7 December, while Admiral [[David Dixon Porter]] and General [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin F. Butler]] planned joint operations against Wilmington to close that vital Confederate port once and for all, ''Kansas'' was one of the Union gunboats which were making blockade-running in that quarter hazardous. That day they forced steamer ''Stormy Petrel'' ashore where she was abandoned by her crew and, a few days later, destroyed by a gale.

At daylight [[Christmas Eve]], ''Kansas'' was part of the huge fleet which formed in line of battle before Fort Fisher and pounded the formidable Confederate works with a furious bombardment. Although the cannonade drove the staunch Southern defenders from their guns to shelter in bombproofs, transports carrying the Union soldiers did not arrive from Beaufort until too late to launch the assault that day. The next morning, the ships again opened fire on the forts and maintained the bombardment while troops landed near Flag Pond Battery, north of the main defensive works. Some 2,000 men established a beachhead under the protection of naval gunfire which kept the Confederate garrison pinned down and away from their guns. Late that afternoon, supported by heavy fire from the Union ships, [[Union Army]] skirmishers advanced to within yards of the fort. Lt. [[Aeneas Armstrong]] of the [[Confederate Navy]] later described the effectiveness of the bombardment, "The whole of the interior of the fort, which consists of sand, merlons, etc., was as one 11 inch shell bursting. You can not inspect the works and walk on nothing but iron."{{cn|date=October 2022}}

However, General Butler, considering the works too strong to be carried by assault with the troops available, aborted the operation by ordering his troops to re-embark. Undaunted by this setback, the Navy was not to be denied. At Porter's request Grant sent him a new commander. ''Kansas'' was one of some five dozen ships which Porter sent against Fort Fisher 13 January 1865. A naval landing party of 2,000 sailors and marines reinforced 8,000 soldiers under Major General [[Alfred H. Terry]]. The ensuing onslaught was a classic example of complete Army-Navy coordination. [[USS New Ironsides (1862)|''New Ironsides'']] led three [[Monitor warship type|monitors]] to within 1,000 yards of Fort Fisher and opened on its batteries. Meanwhile, ''Kansas'' and the other wooden warships formed in [[line of battle]] in close order and shelled Flag Pond Battery and the adjacent woods at 0715. Half an hour later they sent in boats to assist in disembarking the landing party which went ashore out of range of the fort's guns.

Once the beachhead had been established, ''Kansas'' stood toward Fort Fisher to join in the bombardment of the main Confederate works. She continued the bombardment intermittently for the next 2 days. Shortly before noon 15 January, her launch went ashore with 20 men to join the naval brigade for the final push. The gunboat maintained heavy fire during the following hours while soldiers, sailors, and marines braved the deadly fire of the stouthearted Southern defenders. Finally, at 2200, loud cheering and illumination of the fleet announced the fall of the forts. After cleanup operations in the Wilmington area, ''Kansas'' moved to the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] late in February to support General Grant's final drive to [[Richmond, Virginia]]. From time to time during the closing weeks of the war, ''Kansas'' supported Union Army operations ashore with her guns, particularly near [[Petersburg, Virginia]]. The day after General [[Robert E. Lee]] surrendered at [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]], the gunboat was ordered to a station off [[Cape Henry]] to prevent the escape of Confederate sympathizers who were reportedly planning to capture vessels in the bay.

== Post-war operations ==
''Kansas'' entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard 23 April and decommissioned 4 May. She recommissioned 28 July, Lt. Cmdr. [[Clark H. Wells]] in command, and departed Philadelphia 5 August to begin a 4-year voyage in the South [[Atlantic Ocean]] which took her to [[Cape Town]], [[Africa]], as well as to many ports in the [[Caribbean]] and [[South America]].{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} In January 1869, she ran aground at [[Valparaíso]], Chile.<ref name=Times080369>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Brazil and River Plate Mails |date=8 March 1869 |page=10 |issue=26379 |column=B-C }}</ref> This long and interesting deployment ended 15 September 1869, when the gunboat arrived Washington Navy Yard, where she decommissioned a week later.

After a year in ordinary at [[Washington, D.C.]], she recommissioned 26 September 1870, Lt. Cmdr. [[Norman von Heldreich Farquhar|Norman H. Farquhar]] in command. She stood down the [[Potomac River]] 10 October and arrived [[Hampton Roads]] 3 days later to join [[USS Mayflower (1866)|''Mayflower'']] for the [[Tehuantepec surveying-expedition]] sent to southern [[Mexico]] to determine the feasibility of constructing an inter-oceanic canal across the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]] which separates the [[Gulf of Mexico]] from the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The ships sailed via [[Key West]] for [[Veracruz, Veracruz|Vera Cruz]] 14 October. The expedition carefully surveyed the narrow neck of land and recorded invaluable scientific information making "many calculations to prove that a ship-canal across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is not only practicable, but that the obstacles in the way of the canal route are of the most ordinary nature."

When she returned to Washington 15 June 1871, her crew was seriously debilitated by fever contracted in the tropics. As a result, she was ordered to the North Atlantic to join a special squadron under Vice Admiral [[Stephen Clegg Rowan|Stephen Rowen]] at [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]]. She stood in to [[Staten Island]] 10 October to participate in the reception given the [[Russian Navy|Russian Fleet]]. She departed [[New York Harbor]] 29 November for [[Cuba]] and arrived [[Havana, Cuba]], in December. The gunboat left that port 25 February 1872 to obtain supplies and await Comdr. A. F. Grossman who headed another [[Nicaragua-surveying expedition]]. Comdr. A. F. Grossman (ref. states 'Crosman') and others were drowned near [[Greytown, Nicaragua]], 12 April 1872, and by personal exertion, seaman [[Austin Denham]], chief quarter gunner [[George Hill (Medal of Honor)|George Hill]], seaman [[John Johnson (Medal of Honor, 1839)|John Johnson]], boatswain's mate [[John O'Neal (Medal of Honor)|John O'Neal]], seaman [[Richard Pile]], and seaman [[James Smith (Medal of Honor, 1872)|James Smith]] prevented greater loss of life, for which they each earned the [[Medal of Honor]].<ref name=AMOHW>{{Cite web
 |access-date=September 6, 2016
 |url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/int1871-98.html#ONEAL
 |title = Medal of Honor recipients
 |publisher= [[United States Army Center of Military History]]
 |date = September 6, 2016}}</ref>  ''Kansas'' was employed gathering data on potential inter-oceanic canal routes until returning to [[Key West, Florida]], on 13 July.

''Kansas'' departed Key West 6 August to determine positions for a [[submarine communications cable|submarine cable]] between Key West and Havana and returned a week later. She departed Key West 21 August and arrived [[City of Halifax|Halifax, Nova Scotia]], 5 September. She stood out of Halifax 17 September and arrived [[New York City]] 21 November after visiting [[Salem, Massachusetts]], and [[Newport, Rhode Island]], en route. She got underway for another surveying expedition of [[Central America]] 1 January 1873, which ended when she returned to Key West 15 July.

In November, [[Spain|Spanish]] authorities in Cuba seized arms-running ship [[Virginius Affair|Virginius]], illegally flying the [[American flag]] on the high seas, and summarily shot 53 of her passengers and crew. On hearing of this incident, [[USS Wyoming (1859)|''Wyoming'']] sailed without orders to [[Santiago, Cuba]], and entered a vigorous protest. ''Kansas'' stood out of New York on 14 November to assist ''Wyoming'' in representing the nation's interests. After battling severe weather, she arrived Santiago, Cuba, 2 December. As a host of other warships from the U.S. Navy's [[North Atlantic Squadron|North Atlantic]], [[South Atlantic Squadron|South Atlantic]], and [[European Squadron|European]] squadrons converged on Cuba, the 102 survivors of ''Virginius'' were taken to New York. ''Kansas'' returned to Key West Christmas Day. In February 1874 she participated in a naval drill in [[Florida Bay]]. Her final year of active service was devoted to cruising in the [[Caribbean Sea]] and the Gulf of Mexico, at the time a region of considerable unrest. She sailed from [[Pensacola, Florida]] 8 July 1875, and arrived Portsmouth on the 21st. ''Kansas'' decommissioned there 10 August 1875 and laid up until sold at [[Rockland, Maine]], to Captain [[Israel L. Snow]] 27 September 1883.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kansas-i.html}}

{{Nipsic class gunboat}}
{{1869 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kansas}}
[[Category:Ships of the Union Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:1863 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1869]]