Anyone knowledgeable about the Civilian ships used as Army Transports.

CPT JB

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Jul 13, 2019
I am wondering if there were certain regulations as to the size of the boat, the condition, crew etc. I am especially interested in what the interiors looked like, and if any other boats, other than the Mill Boy had a Gristmill?
 
Sir, please ask the mods, (using the 'Report' button), to move this to The Naval War sub-forum for the most views / interest / experts to you query.

Good Luck in your quest!
USS ALASKA
 
Thank you.
I used the General because the Transports were Army. US Quartermaster. They had a different set of regs than the Navy. Army still employs Civilian ships today. The shipping regs are very similar today but In 1864 logistics were a nightmare. I will check the Navy. I noticed an old article of mine was posted several years ago on The Navy forum.
 
Thank you.
I used the General because the Transports were Army. US Quartermaster. They had a different set of regs than the Navy. Army still employs Civilian ships today. The shipping regs are very similar today but In 1864 logistics were a nightmare. I will check the Navy. I noticed an old article of mine was posted several years ago on The Navy forum.
I am still trying to locate a photograph of the Millboy, painting or some type of description of the ship.
 
Here's the entry for a "Mill Boy" in Gibson & Gibson's Dictionary of Transports and Combatant Vessels, Steam and Sail, Employed by the Union Army 1861-1868 (Ensign Press, 1995) on p. 225:

MILL BOY; sidewheel steamer, armed; 86 tons.

Chartered Jan 8-31, 1863. Reported as carrying a raiding force during Feb 1863 on the Mississippi to the town of Hopefield to burn that place. Pressed Jan 20-31, 1864. Margin note states vessel was lost in White River Jan 31, 1864; she broke her moorings and drifted, striking a snag. Government paid $11,604.59 for loss.

[HR-337, Western Rivers, pp 160-227; ORA, I, 22, 34]

If this is the correct boat, there is also an entry in Way's Packet Directory (#3926), which adds this interesting information:

SW p wh [Sidewheel packet, wood hull] b. [built] Brownsville, Pa., 1857, 86 tons. Owned and operated by Captain Josiah Cornwall, Chambersburg, Oh. He built her as a floating grist mill, and ran a general store aboard plying between Crown City and Gallipolis [Ohio]. Until 1860, she was horse-powered, the steeds operating a tread-mill attached to side-wheels. He added a boiler and a small slide-valve engine in 1860. At the outbreak of war he sold her to others. She was moored at Jacksonport, Ark., on Jan. 31, 1864, when a high wind parted her lines. She drifted against a snag, sank, and later drifted nine more miles and turned bottom side up. Owned then by Mitchell and Johnson, and was grinding grain for the U.S.

[Note: the tonnage listed, 86 tons, is most likely a measure of cargo capacity rather than her displacement tonnage, though it's not explicitly so stated-- it's simply a common circumstance for civilian boats of the era.]
 
Mark;
Thank you for the Gibson entry. I was not aware that Cornwell sold it. I am glad to have the owner names. That is also the source on information on the boat being side wheeler when first built
 
Mark;
Thank you for the Gibson entry. I was not aware that Cornwell sold it. I am glad to have the owner names. That is also the source on information on the boat being side wheeler when first built
That is the boat I am searching for.
 
In 1865, the U.S. Army Quartermaster reported 11,0000 transport vessels combined, owned & leased, under its control. What, exactly are you looking for?

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These images of the Hospital Ship Red Rover are from navsource.org. "Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index. The Red Rover was a converted civilian luxury packet boat. You will not find a more comprehensive listing of Civil War era Union & Confederate vessels. Almost every one of the hundreds of listings includes an image of the craft along with a service history & if available, anecdotal entries. Many of the tinclad & timberclad vessels were converted civilian boats. The heavy monitors are listed in the Battleship Index. You will want to put navsource.org on your goto list.

098618908.jpg
 
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Thank you.
I used the General because the Transports were Army. US Quartermaster. They had a different set of regs than the Navy. Army still employs Civilian ships today. The shipping regs are very similar today but In 1864 logistics were a nightmare. I will check the Navy. I noticed an old article of mine was posted several years ago on The Navy forum.

The Army today also has a fleet of landing craft, some of them almost the size of WWII LSTs.
 
I think Erik Heyl's Early American Steamers will be somewhat useful to you as well. His first two volumes (of six total) are online at HathiTrust:

Volume 1
Volume 2

I own all six volumes in print as well if you have a question about a specific vessel. One of my goals at my Siege of Petersburg web site is to track and identify as many civilian steamers which were in the area from June 64 to April 65. I'm not sure how realistic that is, but I'm going to give it a shot.
 
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