Maine’s share in the heroism and bloodshed of Civil War battlefields has been retold many times during these centennial years. Almost every school child must by now be familiar with the Twentieth Maine and Little Round Top, but the state’s contribution to the naval side of the conflict has been quite neglected.
Maine’s contribution, however, was to prove a vital and significant factor in the successes of the Union Navy. Her long history of shipbuilding and ample supply of timber made her the natural setting for the construction of ships to strengthen the Navy in its various tasks. Maine-built ships were particularly useful in helping to implement the blockade of the Confederate coastline from Virginia to Texas. Declared by President Lincoln shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, this blockade, if it was to be effective, had to seal tight all harbors, small ports, inlets, and river mouths. The Union Navy with less than 50 ships—and only 12 of them stationed in American waters— was obviously inadequate for the task before it. Of the total number of Civil War vessels at this time, five had been Maine-built: the Congress (launched in 1839 and sunk by the Confederate Merrimack at Hampton Roads, Virginia), the Preble (1839), the Portsmouth (1843), the Saranac (1848), and the Mohican (1859). To make matters worse, nearly 250 Union naval officers had resigned their commissions in favor of the Confederate cause by mid-summer of 1861.
In the face of this situation, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles embarked on a “crash” program to obtain suitable ships to maintain the blockade. His procurement program included the purchasing of such commercial vessels as were practicable for naval duty and new construction of naval ships in both naval and private shipyards. Under this program, Maine was to build steam gunboats and sloops-of-war, and by 1862, contracts were also being let for ironclad monitors. The Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, could perform part of this construction, and private yards from Kennebunk to Thomaston were to build the rest.
The first contracts to go to Maine yards were for five of 23 “90-day” gunboats, so dubbed because their delivery was specified within three months. These screw-propelled vessels were a far cry from the earlier craft which had given their name to the Gunboat Navy of the Jeffersonian Era. The early gun boats were 60 to 70 feet long, propelled by sail and oars, and carried only one or two cannons or small swivel guns. Whereas the gunboats built in 1861 and 1862 were larger and far more efficient, being 158 feet long and propelled by steam in addition to sail. They were, in fact, only ten feet shorter than the frigate Constitution.
The total cost of Maine’s five “90-day” gunboats, including engines and machinery came close to half a million dollars. The Engineer-in-Chief of the U. S. Navy, Benjamin F. Isherwood, designed the engines and machinery, but they were supplied by different firms—the Globe Iron Works of Boston, and the Allaire, Morgan, and Novelty Iron Works of New York City. The Portland Locomotive Company, though equipped for the task, was not called upon to build steam engines for Union naval vessels until 1862.
All of the gunboats were alike, although their hulls were built by different yards. Each craft had two coal-burning engines that turned a nine-foot propeller. To protect the engines and boilers from cannon shot, the coal bunkers were built so as to surround the vital machinery. The hulls were of white oak, still abundant in Maine forests, but owing to the rushed construction, the oak was not properly seasoned. The frames were reinforced with iron braces. The bunkers held only enough coal for 13 days steaming, so that in addition to their engines, the gunboats were designed to sail under a two- masted schooner rig. In a strong breeze their sailing quality was superior to their steam- driven propulsion.
Gunboat armament included one 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannon, mounted on a pivot just aft of the foremast; one rifled Parrot gun that fired a 25-pound projectile; two howitzers, each firing 24-pound balls; and on some of the vessels, two 32-pounder cannons, added at a later date. The firepower from such a battery was equal to a broadside fired by a 20-gun vessel armed with 18- pounder smoothbore cannons.
These gunboats were launched in the fall and early winter of 1861. They were given Indian names like most of the warships of that time—a Navy Department policy not always popular on board ship. The first, the Kennebec, slid down the ways of the Jacobs Yard in Thomaston on 5 October. Within a week, the Kineo of Joseph Dyer’s yard in Ferry Village of Cape Elizabeth (now part of South Portland) and the Katahdin of the Larrabee and Allen Yard at Bath had also been launched, on 9 and 12 October respectively. The Katahdin has a special significance even today, as she was the first naval vessel to be constructed for the government at the famous shipbuilding town of Bath. The Penobscot and the Aroostook lagged somewhat; the former being launched on 19 November at Belfast by C. P. Carter, and the latter at Kennebunk by W. L. Thompson later the same month.
Because of the Portland newspaper, Eastern Argus, the Kineo received a great deal of publicity. Her keel was laid 29 July. After her launching she was towed across the harbor to Portland Pier, where she had to wait until 29 November for the arrival of her engines and machinery from New York. The Argus surmised that she would be ready for sea in three weeks, and, on 5 January, she made a preliminary run. Five days later she was chugging on a trial run ten miles at sea with her engines turning at 70 r.p.m. and her speed reaching 10 knots.
For one important part of blockading work —the patrolling of narrow, shallow Southern rivers—most of the seagoing warships drew too much water and could not turn in the cramped channels. To remedy this situation the Navy first secured and armed New York ferryboats which could operate in shallow water and in either direction, being double- ended. The Navy then built gunboats of a different and more substantial type than the earlier “90-day” group. Like the New York ferries they were double-ended and paddle wheel propelled. They had a rudder at either end with the steering mechanism for the rudders terminated in a pilothouse, fore and aft. Thus designed, they were able to reverse direction quickly. Such maneuverability was essential when patrolling the narrow rivers and inlets along the Confederate coastline.
The first group of double-enders to be launched was known as the Odor a class; and of the 12 vessels of this class completed, four were built at the Navy Yard in Kittery. The Sebago and the Mahaska were launched late in 1861, and the Conemaugh and the Sonoma in the spring of 1862. They were powered by single Isherwood-designed engines; the average construction cost of each vessel was around $117,000.
When the Sebago sailed from Kittery in April 1862, en route for blockade duty off Yorktown, Virginia, her armament consisted of one rifled Parrot gun, firing a 100- pound projectile; one 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannon; and four 24-pounder howitzers. Except for the occasional addition of smaller howitzers, this was the characteristic battery of these gunboats.
The first 12 proved to be so successful that the Navy Department issued contracts for an additional 27—construction to begin in the fall of 1862. The design of the new group was similar, but they were slightly larger—240 feet long and 35 feet in beam. Whereas the original double-enders had been built in naval shipyards, these vessels were constructed in both naval and private yards. The Sassacus, after which the new class was named, was launched at Kittery on 23 December 1862; she was followed by the Pawtucket, launched at the same yard in March 1863.
The Larrabee and Allen Yard of Bath began construction on the Iosco in September, 1862. Two other gunboats, the Agawam and the Pontoosuc were built at Portland by George W. Laurence, who took over the Tyler and Rice Yard that stood near the Portland, Saco, and Portsmouth Railroad bridge, just up Fore River from the Portland Bridge and the gas works. The keels of these vessels were laid side by side in October 1862; the Agawam was launched the following April and the Pontoosuc in May.
Unlike previous contract vessels built in private shipyards, the Agawam and the Pontoosuc were completely Maine-built except for their deck planking, shipped from Philadelphia. Material for the hulls, masts, sails, and cordage came from Maine forests, sail lofts, and rope walks. Engines and boilers were manufactured from Isherwood designs by the Portland Locomotive Company.
The hulls were built of white oak, chestnut, and hackmatack under the supervision of the famous clipper ship designer, Samuel Pook of Boston, and the frames were reinforced with iron braces. The pilothouses and crow’s nests were armor-plated to resist musket fire. Both 26-foot diameter iron paddle wheels protruded nine feet from the hull. This additional width plus that of the housing covering the wheels exceeded the width of the railroad drawbridge below the shipyard. Before the gunboats could be towed to Franklin Wharf, farther down the harbor, to receive their engines, one paddle box had to be moved. In spite of this precautionary measure, both vessels literally scraped through the bridge.
While the Agawam and the Pontoosuc were having their engines and machinery installed under the watchful eye of Eastport-born, First Assistant Engineer George J. Barry, U. S. Navy, the Civil War came to Maine itself in an incident that involved the gunboats, a revenue cutter, and two passenger vessels. On the evening of the 27 June 1863, a band of Confederate seamen from the raider Florida secretly entered Portland harbor in a captured schooner. Their mission included the destruction by fire of the two gunboats being fitted out and as much of the waterfront as possible. They planned to make their escape by stealing the Portland-New York steamer, the Chesapeake.
Confederate plans went awry, however. There was no wind to fan the flames of the firebombs that were to be tossed on board the gunboats, and the only qualified engineer among the raiders decided that he did not have enough experience to start the Chesapeake’’s engines.
Not wanting to leave without some prize, they decided to capture the revenue cutter Caleb Cushing which lay at anchor. The Cushing, missed at her mooring early the next morning, was soon spotted by the Munjoy Hill Observatory making toward open water.
The news of her capture spread through Portland like wildfire. The aroused Portlanders, led by the mayor and the customs collector, commandeered and armed the New York steamer Chesapeake and the Boston steamer Forest City. By mid-morning these two vessels, bristling with cannon, armed civilians, and soldiers from Fort Preble were steaming in hot pursuit. They caught up with the becalmed Confederate prize 12 miles south-southeast of Outer Green Island. In the face of overwhelming odds and a scant supply of ammunition, the raiders, after a brief exchange of shots, blew up the revenue cutter and submitted to capture.
Maine’s building of the gunboats continued. The contract price for each of the double-enders was $157,000. Larrabee and Allen had contracted to complete the Iosco's hull minus engine for $75,000. Because of the haste with which the government entered in the construction program of the second group of double-enders, the Iosco plans were altered time and again, even after construction had begun. To incorporate these changes while the vessel was being built necessitated the disassembly or modification of finished work. As a result, the builders were forced to add two weeks to the allotted 126 days of construction time, and the design changes increased the builders’ costs by $16,000. Larrabee and Allen did receive an additional $5,000, but their claim against the government for the rest of the money was still pending 45 years after the war had ended.
The “90-day” gunboats and double-enders saw considerable action from 1862 through 1865. Owing to their speedy construction, the Kaiahdin, Kennebec, and Kineo were completed in time to join the fleet of Admiral Farragut and take part in the hard-fought “passage of the forts,” that guarded the approaches to New Orleans. In that battle the forts were neutralized, and Farragut won his first laurels. To distinguish the Federal gunboats from Confederate vessels, Farragut ordered large white numbers painted on their smokestacks—number three on the Kineo, five on the Kennebec, and eight on the Katahdin. The Kineo suffered more damage than her sisters. A cannon ball through a coal bunker wounded her engineer; and another through a gunport killed one man and wounded seven. The Katahdin had her stack pierced by a cannon ball, and the Kennebec had to contend with Confederate fire rafts. After their baptism, these three gunboats continued with Farragut as he pushed up the Mississippi toward Vicksburg.
The Aroostook, the Penobscot, and the Sebago participated in the early campaigns on the James and York Rivers in Virginia in the spring of 1862. In June 1864, the Agawam, too, was ordered to the James River after she had had a brief taste of sea duty while searching for the Portland-New York steamer Chesapeake. In late 1863, a group of Confederates, disguised as passengers, finally seized the steamer which, earlier that year, they had failed to capture in Portland harbor. The Agawam, the Iosco, and the Ponloosuc were active in the bombardment and amphibious operations against Fort Fisher, a Confederate stronghold on the Cape Fear River, North Carolina. Prior to the Fort Fisher campaign, the Pontoosuc had given chase to the raider Tallahassee which had been ravaging fishing fleets in New England waters during the summer of 1864. The Pontoosuc followed the Tallahassee to Halifax, Nova Scotia; however, the faster Southern vessel subsequently escaped from her pursuer.
Three Maine gunboats—the Aroostook, the Conemaugh, and the Kennebec—also participated in Admiral Farragut’s famous naval victory at Mobile Bay in August 1864.
Although not as well known as the Battle of New Orleans, Mobile Bay, and the Kearsarge- Alabama fight, one of the most spectacular incidents involving a Maine vessel occurred in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, on 5 May 1864. It was there that a Union fleet of wooden vessels met a Confederate naval force protected by an ironclad ram, the Albemarle—- which resembled the ironclad Merrimack. The Union attack upon the Albemarle was led by the Kittery-built double-ender Sassacus. Unable to make an impression on the ironclad with cannon shot, the latter’s commander ordered the gunboat to be steered toward the Albemarle. At a speed of nine or ten knots, the Sassacus rammed the ironclad on the starboard side near midships. The force of the blow careened the Albemarle so that her decks were partially awash. Seconds later the ironclad fired a 100-pound shell through the starboard side of the double-ender. The shell passed through the boilers, and the escaping steam severely scalded 16 men in and near the engine room. While the two vessels remained entangled, a furious fire fight took place; some of the Sassacus sailors attempted to throw grenades and explosive shells through open hatches and down the stack of the Albemarle. Meanwhile the Sassacus gunners managed to damage the muzzles of some of the enemy cannon that protruded through ironplated gunports.
When the two combatants parted, the Sassacus, in backing away, rode her port paddle wheel over the stern of the Albemarle, crushing the latter’s launch and deck equipment. Then, a parting shot severed the Confederate’s flagstaff. Of the two vessels, the gunboat took by far the worse beating. She was so badly crippled that she had to be laid up temporarily for repairs.
The second major category of Maine-built ships was the screw-propelled steam sloop-of-war. This type was a continuation of a prewar construction program by the Kittery Navy Yard. There were a number of these cruisers: three launched in 1861—the Kear- sarge, the Ossipee, and the Santee; one in 1862— the Sacramento; two in 1863—the Piscataqua, and the Sliawmut; three in 1864—the Contoocook and two long-delayed ships of the line finally completed—the Franklin and the New Hampshire.
All but the Contoocook, the Franklin, and the New Hampshire saw service against the Confederates. The most famous ship was the Kearsarge, built from the plans of the Iroquois class of pre-war sloops-of-war. Three years after her launching, the Kearsarge won the recognition of two continents when, after a three-month search, she found and sank the commerce raider Alabama in a 93-minute duel off Cherbourg, France.
The Kearsarge was to remain on the active list until 1894 when she foundered on Roncador Reef en route to Nicaragua.
In addition to the all-wooden gunboats and sloops-of-war, three of a third group of Union war vessels—ironclad monitors—were Maine- built, two at the Kittery Navy Yard and one in a private Portland shipyard. None were completed in time to see action. The Monitor- Merrimack fight in 1862 heaped undeserved popularity upon the monitor type of warship, and within a few months after the famous Hampton Roads fight, no less than 35 monitors were under construction.
The Agamenticus was laid down at Kittery in 1862 and launched in March 1863, but she was still far from ready for service. She belonged to a new class of ironclads designed by John Ericsson, the father of the original Monitor. Although the Agamenticus was similar to the Monitor, having a low hull silhouette and armor plating bolted to a heavy wooden hull, she was quite different in appearance. She had two turrets, and her hull measured 250 feet, approximately 80 feet longer than the original “cheesebox on a raft.” She and her class were designed for ocean cruising.
The Agamenticus cost more than a million dollars. Her name was changed to the Terror in 1869; she remained in commission until 1912. The other Kittery monitor, the Passaconaway was also a double-turreted vessel. She was never completed. In 1882, the Passaconaway (then the Massachusetts) was broken up at Kittery.
The third monitor, the Wassuc, was built in the Portland yard of George W. Laurence. She was fabricated near the spot where the double-enders, Agawam and Pontoosuc, had been launched. Her armor plating and machinery were furnished by the Portland Locomotive Company. She was one of 23 shallow-draft monitors of the so-called Casco class, designed to operate in river and shoal waters.
The Caico-class monitors were beset with many problems. The major crisis arose when, owing to a draftsman’s miscalculation, the launching of one of the first monitors ended in near disaster. After hitting the water, the vessel floated with her decks awash looking more like a submarine than a monitor. The correction of this miscalculation cost the government from $55,000 to $115,000 per vessel depending upon the stage of completion. In the Wassuc’s case, her sides were raised 22 inches at a cost of $55,275.
She was not launched until 25 July 1865, some three months after Appomattox. The rolling, stamping, and cutting machines of the Portland Company provided three-inch armor for her hull and sloping decks; eight- inch armor on her single turret; and ten- inch plating for the pilot house, located above the turret. Within her hull there were more than a dozen engines. Two of them turned the twin propellers, and the others activated the pumps and provided the motive power for the turret. The Wassuc steamed to Boston and oblivion four months after her launching. Ten years later she was broken up, and her plating was used to renovate the Agamenticus, by then the Terror.
Such were the contributions of Maine ships and shipyards to the Union Navy. Still to be told, however, are the stories of colorful and gallant Down-easters who served as officers and seamen in that Navy.