One Name... Two (or more) Ships

Mark F. Jenkins

Colonel
Member of the Year
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Location
Central Ohio
M E Wolf suggested that this might make a good thread.

Duplicate ship names often present a problem for the historian; there's a (perfectly natural) tendency to assume that the same name refers to the same vessel. The problem is especially acute in the Civil War era because of several factors:

1. The Union and the Confederacy did not avoid duplicating names of the other's navy;

2. The Union Army and the Union Navy did not avoid duplicating vessel names;

3. The Confederate Navy (and state navies) did not appear to obsess about the duplication of names;

4. Civilian vessels quite frequently had similar names, and the war saw a lot of civilian vessels taken into military service or chartered by the military.​

#2 is particularly odd from a modern frame of reference, because we're not accustomed to the Army operating vessels, let alone enough to cause a major problem. But during the Civil War, the Army arguably operated more vessels than the Navy did, though these were transports and the like for the most part, many chartered from civilian owners.

To be continued...
 
Last edited:
A few notable examples to illustrate how this could happen...

  • The CSS Florida was a British-built Confederate cruiser, a screw steamer; the USS Florida was a sidewheel blockader.
  • The ironclad CSS Atlanta became the USS Atlanta after her capture by the monitors USS Weehawken and Nahant.
  • While the cruiser CSS Georgia was operating on the high seas, there was also an ironclad CSS Georgia guarding the approaches to Savannah.
  • The CSS Stonewall Jackson was a converted gunboat; the CSS Stonewall was a French-built ironclad.
  • When Farragut's fleet, including USS Mississippi, closed in on New Orleans, the burning hulk of what would have become the CSS Mississippi was sighted. (One of the 'Laird Rams' would also have become a CSS Mississippi upon delivery.)
  • Commander William D. Porter was named to the command of the gunboat New Era on the Western rivers. He renamed it Essex in honor of his father's War of 1812 frigate. Later, another gunboat New Era operated on the rivers, alongside the Essex.
  • There was already a sailing sloop USS St. Louis in the Navy when the river gunboat St. Louis was handed over to Navy control. The gunboat was renamed USS Baron De Kalb.
  • On the Red River expedition, General Nathaniel Banks' headquarters boat was named the Black Hawk, and Rear Admiral Porter's flagship was the USS Black Hawk.
  • In another thread, Andy Hall noted the simultaneous existence of the former Confederate steamer Planter, of Robert Smalls fame, and a transport vessel also called Planter.

Although it is standard procedure to only use "USS" for Navy ships, not Army vessels, this rule is often broken, both now and in the past, by people who were uncertain of the distinction. (This also afflicts Confederate vessels; hence the frequently-encountered "CSS Hunley," although it operated under the Confederate Army and should really be referred to as "H. L. Hunley," or simply "Hunley"-- no "CSS". )
 
Various of the Floridas...

CSS Selma was initially named CSS Florida:
h00511.jpg


The most notable CSS Florida was the cruiser:
h49994.jpg


A civilian steamer named Florida was caught running the blockade; she became USS Hendrick Hudson:
h53512.jpg


A different civilian steamer Florida became USS Florida:
h63849.jpg


The fast cruiser USS Wampanoag was renamed Florida after the war:
h76423.jpg
 
Curious little craft. The "gun deck" appears to be an open space, with just the uprights supporting the deck overhead; keeps the sun off anyway. According to DANFS, Cotten was partially ironclad, maybe something similar to the Union tinclads? Her armament is listed as a 32pdr smoothbore and a 9pdr rifle, something I haven't run across before. I suppose it could be a converted 9pdr smoothbore, but there was very little use of 9pdrs in the USN since the early 1800s; the only post-War of 1812 reference I can think of is the schooners Enterprise, Experiment, and Boxer built around 1831 and carrying two of them for chase guns.
 
Anyone have any ideas what we're looking at with the only-and-only photo of the Blockade Runner FLORIDA/USS Hendrick Hudson?

According to haze gray (http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/steamers/hendrick.htm) there's two 20 pdr (so #1 is the stern gun) and four 8" - are they the Span-Am War looking sponsons (#3)?

Also, #2 looks like the deckhouse with breezeway just to the right? #4 is the wheelhouse?

4aSEolV.jpg



Also, between the red lines is the deck flush? Like, no gunwales?

NegJwU5.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 4aSEolV.jpg
    4aSEolV.jpg
    140.1 KB · Views: 56
  • NegJwU5.jpg
    NegJwU5.jpg
    47.1 KB · Views: 37
Last edited:
Then there was the civilian steamer Tonawanda, purchased into the U.S. Navy and renamed U.S.S. Arkansas (not to be confused with C.S.S. Arkansas), commanded by David Cate (who had previously commanded U.S.S. Hendrick Hudson, which had been the blockade runner Florida, which is different from C.S.S. Florida), which was later sold back into civilian life and resumed service as Tonawanda, which is a completely different ship that U.S.S. Tonawanda.

Argghhh!
 
Last edited:
Did anyone mention the USS General- Everyones yet? ( Nate, ' floaty guys ', so made my day, bet a few who ruined key boards with coffee ) Remember how long it took tracking down the war-era General Grant, didn't know if there were any other ' General ' ships but seem great candidates for this duplicate thing? The topic seemed familiar- haven't had time since being host of Ladies Tea ( awhile ), spent a lot of time engrossed in ship searches, you can get lost in a big hurry. ' General ' everything seemed to proliferate, no?
 
I know that this was well before the civil war, but the US Navy had two small frigates, both 12-pounder frigates rated at 28-guns, and both were built in 1799, the Charleston-built USS John Adams, and the New York-built USS Adams. In 1802-3, both cruised together during the Barbary Wars, and the actions of both have confused contemporary and modern naval historians ever since. Since both were considered to be too small to act effectively as frigates, in 1807, both were cut down and converted into large, single deck sloops-of-war, or corvettes, whereby both continued to confuse naval historians.

The USS Adams was burned in 1814, while the USS John Adams served in the Civil War, and wasn't sold until 1867.
 
Last edited:
098604701.jpg

US Sloop of War Savannah

m-11057.jpg

CS Ram Savannah

_wsb_482x130_CSS+Savannah+model.jpg

CS (Former GA Navy) Gunboat Savannah former Everglade later renamed Oconee

privateer_savannah_captured_hw_06291861_413.jpg

Privateer Savannah
 

Attachments

  • 098604701.jpg
    098604701.jpg
    41.2 KB · Views: 54
  • m-11057.jpg
    m-11057.jpg
    21.6 KB · Views: 50
  • _wsb_482x130_CSS+Savannah+model.jpg
    _wsb_482x130_CSS+Savannah+model.jpg
    12.7 KB · Views: 52
  • privateer_savannah_captured_hw_06291861_413.jpg
    privateer_savannah_captured_hw_06291861_413.jpg
    219.3 KB · Views: 32
Last edited:
I know that this was well before the civil war, but the US Navy had two small frigates, both 12-pounder frigates rated at 28-guns, and both were built in 1799, the Charleston-built USS John Adams, and the New York-built USS Adams. In 1802-3, both cruised together during the Barbary Wars, and the actions of both have confused contemporary and modern naval historians ever since. Since both were considered to be too small to act effectively as frigates, in 1807, both were cut down and converted into large, single deck sloops-of-war, or corvettes, whereby both continued to confuse naval historians.

The USS Adams was burned in 1814, while the USS John Adams served in the Civil War, and wasn't sold until 1867.

We also managed to have two ships named Hornet during the Brbary Wars, a merchant ship purchased in the Mediterranean and commissioned as a 10-gun sloop and a brig, later converted to a ship-sloop, built at home at the same time.
 
Back
Top