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USS Fort Jackson

History of the USS Fort Jackson

The USS Fort Jackson was one of many warships used in the American Civil War (1861-1865), a conflict involving the sea and the nation. Based on a side-wheel steam-powered wooden ship, the ship was originally named after "Kentucky" and "Union" and later developed into an integral part of the U.S. Navy. The ship was launched in 1862, but was not acquired (by purchase) until July 20, 1863.

She served for the remainder of the war and was officially discharged on August 7, 1865. She was sold on September 27, 1865.

While in service, the ship had a displacement of 1,880 tons and dimensions included a barrel length of 250 feet, a beam of 38.5 feet and a draft of up to 18 feet. Propulsion is by means of a steam propulsion system pushing the side rotors at a constant speed of about 14 knots - quite fast for a ship of this size and displacement.

Armament consists of 8 x 9" (230 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns, as well as one 100 pounder Parrott rifled and two 30 pounder rifled.

The shape of the boat consists of a fore and aft mast, while amidships is the wheelhouse and a pipe. There is a paddle wheel on each side of the fuselage.

When the aircraft carrier Fort Jackson arrived at Fort Monroe (Hampton, VA) in September 1863, it was quickly assigned to the Southern Naval Blockade. Later that month, however, the ship prevented guns from Britain from reaching the North Carolina coast, but a boiler failure soon meant she had to be taken back to New York waters for repairs.

In December 1863, she was part of the North Atlantic Blockade Squadron.

In January 1864, she took over the "blockade runner" "Bendigo", which ran aground at Folly Inlet. That April, her crew successfully raided the Masonboro Sound salt mines. Blockade runner Thistle was captured in June, followed by Boston in July. Wando, a blockade runner loaded with cotton, was arrested in October.

Their guns were then used against two offensives at Fort Fisher (Battle of Fort Fisher, south of Wilmington, SC). While it was a Union victory, the second battle was costlyit forced the USS Fort Jackson to serve as a floating morgue on the return voyage to Beaufort and stopped at Hampton Roads to unload the wounded.

On February 1, 1865, the ship fought off the Texas coast as part of the West Bay Blockade Squadron. On the USS Columbia, she captured the schooner Chaos off Galveston. On June 2, 1865, the Trans-Mississippi Confederates signed the surrender from a ship moored in Galveston Bay.

Following the end of the war and service, the USS Ford Jackson was decommissioned in August 1865. She operated under the name "North America" ??under the civilian banner until its eventual abandonment in 1879.