This Ship Looks Like a Garbage Scow!

[Michael W.]

While I was researching a Naval artillery question that came up when we were at Vicksburg this last weekend, I came across an interesting report in the ORN filed by Lt. Commander James P. Foster, newly appointed commander of the Second District, Mississippi Squadron. Foster along with this new command had also just been given command of the U.S.S. Lafayette, a side wheel steamer converted to an iron-clad ram. He must have not been very impressed with his new command, as I quote this portion of his report concerning his ship:

U.S.S. Lafayette
Off Bayou Sara, La., September 20, 1863.

On taking command of the Lafayette I found her one of the dirtiest ships I ever put my foot on board of, with little or no discipline, the quarter-deck being used as a place of resort for the officers to lounge about in their shirt sleeves and to play checkers. The whole ship is in a bad condition and requires many repairs. The spar deck leaks like a sieve, and in no place can you find a space 3 feet square that does not leak badly. The other day, in a heavy rain squall, I walked around the main deck to examine the leaks, and to my surprise found myself wet through before I made the tour. In several places I found that I could see daylight between the seams...

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 25, pp. 423-424.

Apparently is was not all duty and discipline. Foster entered the Navy as a Midshipman 14 May, 1846, eventually rising to the rank of Commander. He died 2 June, 1869. Below is a photo of the Lafayette:

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Once upon a time, the boat known as the ironclad Lafayette had been the large prewar steamer Aleck Scott (sometimes given as Alex Scott). She can be seen in her former guise in a photo taken about the time of the Henry/Donelson campaign.

Before the war, her chief pilot was one Horace Bixby, who taught the basics of piloting to the "cub" pilot Samuel Langhorne Clemens (later Mark Twain; see his Life on the Mississippi). Bixby himself went on to become a pilot in the Union Western Gunboat Flotilla, piloting the flagboat Benton on at least several occasions.

ETA:

 

[Larryh86GT]

That's a great photo of the ship.

 

[Story]

If that's what made it to the ORs, imagine what the uncensored running commentary was.

 

[Belfoured]

If that's what made it to the ORs, imagine what the uncensored running commentary was.

Just another reason why I've always admired the guys who served in the "Brown Water Navy". The conditions on the gunboats were tough and their service took place in a miserable climate. Their peers in the Blue Water version essentially spent four years running a blockade with better food and better condituions, with the occasional fght tossed in.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

The Lafayette, along with her semi-sister Choctaw had been provided with a layer of gutta-percha or a sort of rubber between her wooden casemate and the armor (the brainchild of William D. "Dirty Bill" Porter). From all that I've seen, the wet climate caused it to rot away in both vessels (and the similarly-equipped Essex, also a product of W. D. Porter). I'm not sure how that would have smelled, but I doubt it added to the vessels' appeal.

 

[ed_flanagan]

I bet the Captain Henry Walke couldn't wait to get transferred off this monstrosity.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I know he fairly jumped at the chance to go to sea... slotted for the blockader Fort Jackson, he wound up with a more prestigious command when the captain of the cruiser Sacramento fell ill, and he was given a shot at hunting the Alabama.

(The part I'm not certain about is who was in command of the Lafayette immediately before Foster, because I think there's a gap of a few months between when Walke left the rivers and when Foster arrived. If it was languishing without a real commander, that may explain some of what Foster found...)

 

[Michael W.]

I know he fairly jumped at the chance to go to sea... slotted for the blockader Fort Jackson, he wound up with a more prestigious command when the captain of the cruiser Sacramento fell ill, and he was given a shot at hunting the Alabama.

(The part I'm not certain about is who was in command of the Lafayette immediately before Foster, because I think there's a gap of a few months between when Walke left the rivers and when Foster arrived. If it was languishing without a real commander, that may explain some of what Foster found...)

Good Point. And I'm sure that many of the Regular Navy officers preferred sea duty than being in a river where you can ground easy, and be a sitting duck for Confederate shore batteries...

 

[Seduzal]

While I was researching a Naval artillery question that came up when we were at Vicksburg this last weekend, I came across an interesting report in the ORN filed by Lt. Commander James P. Foster, newly appointed commander of the Second District, Mississippi Squadron. Foster along with this new command had also just been given command of the U.S.S. Lafayette, a side wheel steamer converted to an iron-clad ram. He must have not been very impressed with his new command, as I quote this portion of his report concerning his ship:

U.S.S. Lafayette
Off Bayou Sara, La., September 20, 1863.

On taking command of the Lafayette I found her one of the dirtiest ships I ever put my foot on board of, with little or no discipline, the quarter-deck being used as a place of resort for the officers to lounge about in their shirt sleeves and to play checkers. The whole ship is in a bad condition and requires many repairs. The spar deck leaks like a sieve, and in no place can you find a space 3 feet square that does not leak badly. The other day, in a heavy rain squall, I walked around the main deck to examine the leaks, and to my surprise found myself wet through before I made the tour. In several places I found that I could see daylight between the seams...

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 25, pp. 423-424.

Apparently is was not all duty and discipline. Foster entered the Navy as a Midshipman 14 May, 1846, eventually rising to the rank of Commander. He died 2 June, 1869. Below is a photo of the Lafayette:


View attachment 332085

Thanks for sharing this awesome article. At least she had two life boats on her side just in case she took on water!

 

[Story]

Just another reason why I've always admired the guys who served in the "Brown Water Navy".

Small boat crews have always struck me as the true *grunts+* of the Surface Fleet.

Highly recommended is anything written by or about William B Cushing, USN

The Sea Eagle

William Barker Cushing is considered one of the navy's greatest heroes of the Civil War. After his expulsion from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1861, Cushing managed to get an appointment as a master's mate on one of the warships of a blockading squadron. Cushing's daring and exceptional performance...

books.google.com

+ Term of affection.

 

[Belfoured]

I've always found it interesting that the conversion of the Lafayette was done by Eads, who designed and built the City class ironclads. It was much less successful than those boats. Ir's also interesting that Walke was moved from the Carondelet to this boat once it was commissioned. For life aboard the Carondelet and then on the Lafayette, I strongly recommend the diary/journal of John G. Morrison, who served on both under Walke. It can be accessed and downloaded at

http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/30thInf/30thInf_Diary_Morrison.htm

 

[Louisiana Jayhawker]

I always assumed the Navy personnel slept under an insect bar sheets as here in Louisiana we have large numbers of biting insects throughout the year. A few winter months they are lower in numbers. Commander Foster cited above likely went over to those short sleeves when the next summer heat hit him as upon arrival he had the late September cooler weather upon him then. A woolen long sleeves jacket could give a man a heat stroke in deep summer in Louisiana especially in those iron ovens boats.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I've always found it interesting that the conversion of the Lafayette was done by Eads, who designed and built the City class ironclads. It was much less successful than those boats. Ir's also interesting that Walke was moved from the Carondelet to this boat once it was commissioned. For life aboard the Carondelet and then on the Lafayette, I strongly recommend the diary/journal of John G. Morrison, who served on both under Walke. It can be accessed and downloaded at

http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/30thInf/30thInf_Diary_Morrison.htm

Done at Eads' facilities, perhaps, but the real driving force (and designer) of the conversion of the Lafayette and her semi-sister Choctaw was Essex skipper William D. "Dirty Bill" Porter, as sort-of-follow-ups to his rebuilding of the Essex after her severe damage at Fort Henry. Walke was sent up to whip the Lafayette into shape by David Dixon Porter, who wanted the thing put into action as soon as possible. (In the event, Walke had to make some alterations to the vessel to put her in fighting trim, including re-cutting some of the gun ports, trimming the guards around the wheelhouses, and reducing/rearranging the armament.)

 

[Carronade]

Thanks for sharing this awesome article. At least she had two life boats on her side just in case she took on water!

They would be handy in that eventuality, but they were not strictly speaking life boats, just the ship's boats normally carried for chores like loading supplies or personnel.

The closest thing to life boats on warships were the life rafts developed in the 20th century; these have gone from simple balsa wood floats to the encapsulated, inflatable rafts used today.

 

[Belfoured]

Done at Eads' facilities, perhaps, but the real driving force (and designer) of the conversion of the Lafayette and her semi-sister Choctaw was Essex skipper William D. "Dirty Bill" Porter, as sort-of-follow-ups to his rebuilding of the Essex after her severe damage at Fort Henry. Walke was sent up to whip the Lafayette into shape by David Dixon Porter, who wanted the thing put into action as soon as possible. (In the event, Walke had to make some alterations to the vessel to put her in fighting trim, including re-cutting some of the gun ports, trimming the guards around the wheelhouses, and reducing/rearranging the armament.)

Good points. And in Fall 1862 they prodded it into commissioning despite progress/lack of same in doing the conversion. Walke was allowed to take some chosen crew members from Carondelet with him.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

D. D. Porter was not much of a fan of his older brother's creation... he said it was "a mass of iron... ironed in places where a shot would not hit once in a century." Still she seems to have given good service, overall. An author whose name escapes me (but might have been Donald L. Canney) noted that the vessel's very size may have been an asset-- she was relatively easy to hit but her vitals were more spread out than in a more compact vessel, so she was not easily put out of action. I don't have the numbers ready to hand, but her casualties sustained in action were quite light compared to some of the other gunboats, despite significant employment around Vicksburg (notably at Grand Gulf, where she shifted between the two main Confederate forts and then back again). Like Essex and Choctaw, she was unlovely but seems to have been able to do her share (unlike contemporary boats like Indianola, Chillicothe, and Tuscumbia).

 

[MG_Lawson]

Hi all,
I know this is an older post, but didn't want to start a new one. I came across this image of the Lafayette the other day with a barge bow attached to it, in all my other research of the ship, this is one I have never seen and neither have my colleagues. The back of the photo lists it as being taken by a photographer out of Baton Rouge, but no discernible date.

We think it could be a couple things:
1. This barge was added to lessen her draft to navigate during or after the Red River Campaign
2. She's undergoing repairs to the bow, although in the books I have they don't mention her getting damaged that significantly
3. Some other modification for reasons unknown

Although the angle doesn't help, to me the barge bow looks shorter than her original one, which to me indicates a pretty significant overhaul, but temporary as I believe there are photos of her near the end of the war that don't show her like this.

Any thoughts?

 

[RedRover]

Hi all,
I know this is an older post, but didn't want to start a new one. I came across this image of the Lafayette the other day with a barge bow attached to it, in all my other research of the ship, this is one I have never seen and neither have my colleagues. The back of the photo lists it as being taken by a photographer out of Baton Rouge, but no discernible date.

We think it could be a couple things:
1. This barge was added to lessen her draft to navigate during or after the Red River Campaign
2. She's undergoing repairs to the bow, although in the books I have they don't mention her getting damaged that significantly
3. Some other modification for reasons unknown

Although the angle doesn't help, to me the barge bow looks shorter than her original one, which to me indicates a pretty significant overhaul, but temporary as I believe there are photos of her near the end of the war that don't show her like this.

Any thoughts?

View attachment 512366

Looks like in the above she's just sitting higher in the water, perhaps unloaded.