The USS Red Rover hospital ship

Bonny Blue Flag

1st Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Location
Grand Prairie, Texas
The USS Red Rover was initally in service to the Confederacy. It was a 650-ton side-wheeler built in 1859 at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The CSA purchased her on November 7th, 1861 and put her to use as a barracks ship for the floating battery at New Orleans.


Serving from March 15th, 1862 at Island No. 10 near New Madrid, Missouri, she was holed up by Union firing during a bombardment of Island No. 10. Before March 25th, the Confederacy had to abandon her. The Island fell to Union forces on April 8th, 1862 and the Union ship "Mound City" captured the abandoned ship. The ship, renamed USS Red Rover, was repaired and fitted out as a summer hospital ship for the Army's Western Flotilla.

Conversion to a hospital boat began in St. Louis, Missouri and completed at Cairo, Illinois. The cabin aft was opened for better air circulation, a steam boiler was added for laundry purposes and an elevator, numerous bathrooms, nine water closets and gauze window blinds "...to keep cinders and smoke ffrom annoying the sick" were included in the work.

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The Red Rover had the first Navy nurses. They included the Sisters of the Holy Cross, lay nurse's aides, five African American women and mid-wives. It was thought mid-wives were better suited to the sight of blood. Four of the nurse's names have been recorded--Alice Kennedy, Sarah Kinno, Ellen Campbell and Betsy Young (Fowler). All of these women were the forerunners of the Navy Nurse Corps. The Western Sanitation Commission coordinated the work of these and other volunteers.

The role of the Red Rover was to augment the limited Union medical facilities, to minimize hazards to sick and wounded in fighting ships and to facilitate deliver of medical supplies to and evacuation of personnel from forward areas within the Mississippi Squadron of the Western Flotilla.

The Union was already using steamers such as the "City of Memphis" as medical transports to carry casualties upriver. However, these transports lacked necessary sanitation accomadation and medical staff, and thus were unable to prevent the spread of disease. Barges, housed over or covered with canvas, were ordered for the care of contagious diseases, primarily small pox, and were moored in shady spots along the river.

On June 10th, 1862, the USS Red Rover was ready for service. Her commanding officer was Captain McDaniel of the Army's Gunboat Service. Assistant Surgeon George H. Bixby became the Surgeon in Charge. Red Rover's complement was 47, while her medical department was initially about 30.

The first patient was brought onboard on June 11th, 1862, a cholera victim. By the 14th, she had 55 patients. On the 17th the ship "Mound City" exploded during an engagement with a Confederate battery at St. Charles, Arkansas. Casualties mounted to 135 of a complement of 175. The Red Rover was dispatched to assist with the emergency, and took on board extreme burn and wound cases at Memphis, Tennessee and transported them to less crowded hospitals in Illinois.

At Mound City, Illinois, the Red Rover moved downstream again and joined the Western Flotilla above Vicksburg, Mississippi. Through the summer she treated the Flotilla's sick and wounded while the Ram Fleet was engaged at Vicksburg and along the Mississippi River to Helena, Arkansas.

During January 1863, the Red Rover served with the expedition up the White River. The expedition took Ft. Hindman at the Port of Arkansas and the Red Rover stayed at the mouth of the White River to receive the wounded. On her departure, she was fired on and shots penetrated the hospital area, but caused no casualties.

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In February to early July 1863 and the fall of Vicksburg, she cared for the sick and wounded of that campaign and supplemented medical support of Union forces by provisioning other ships of the Mississippi Squadron with ice and fresh meat. She also provided burial details and sent medical personnel ashore where and when needed.

The Red Rover continued her service along the river, taking on sick and wounded and delivering medicine and supplies until the fall of 1864.

In October of that year, the Red Rover began her last supply run. After delivering medical stores to ships at Helena and on the White River, Red River and the Yazoo River, she transported patients to Hospital Pinckney at Memphis, Tennessee and headed north.

Arriving at Mound City, Illinois on November 11th, 1865, she remained there caring for Navy patients, until she was decommissioned a week later on November 17th, 1865. Having treated 2, 947 patients during her career, she transported her last 11 patients to the "Grampus" on that date.

On November 29, 1865, she was sold at public auction to A. M. Carpenter.

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Sources:
-Wikipedia: USS Red Rover
-Highbeam.com/Presense and Precedence: The USS Red Rover during the American Civil War
-southernillinoishistory.net/First U.S. Navy nurses at Mound City
-findarticles.com
-ibiblio.org/hyperwar/onlineLibrary/photos

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--BBF
 
Neat! My gr-gr-grandpa rode on a hospital ship from Helena to Memphis. Have not discovered which boat yet. Could be this one.

By the way, you might edit the year from 18652 to 1862 in the 8th paragraph
 
I pulled some information from the Dept of the Navy--Navy Historical Center / Ships of the Confederate States.

It appears the ship's original name was Red Rover (C.S. Accomodation Ship, 18612 - 1862).

The article I accessed initially at Wikipedia was not clear in regards to the name of the ship while in the CSN.

Thank you for bringing that point forward.

--BBF
 
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