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Photo # NH 45362-A:  USS Pawnee off Charleston, S.C., circa 1864-1865

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Pawnee (1860-1884)

USS Pawnee, 1533-ton (displacement) light-draft steam sloop of war, was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania. Commissioned in June 1860, she operated off Mexico in October and November of that year, then returned to the U.S. In April 1861 Pawnee was sent to assist in the relief of Fort Sumter, at the entrance to Charleston harbor, South Carolina, but arrived after the fort had surrendered. On 20 April she towed the sailing warship Cumberland away from the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, as the facility was falling into Confederate hands. For the rest of the spring and into the summer Pawnee served on the Potomac River, assisting with the defense of Washington, D.C., and participating in the North's initial offensive operations against the river's Virginia shore. Among her activities during this time were the occupation of Alexandria on 24 May and engagements with Confederate artillery batteries at Aquia Creek in late May and early June.

In late August 1861 Pawnee was part of the fleet that landed troops to capture Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. She repeated that kind of amphibious attack in November, when Port Royal, South Carolina, was taken to provide a base for further operations against the Confederacy's Atlantic seaboard. While engaging enemy forces there she was hit several times and suffered the loss of two crewmen.

Pawnee was active in South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida waters for the rest of the Civil War, ultimately focusing on the siege of Charleston, S.C. She participated in the capture of Fernandia, Florida, in March 1862, was a participant in several expeditions into South Carolina's coastal rivers, helped enforce the blockade, and at times served as flagship for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

With the war at an end, in late July 1865 Pawnee was decommissioned for repairs. She recommissioned at the beginning of 1867 and, from April of that year until May 1869, operated with the Brazil Squadron off eastern South America. Again decommissioned in July 1869, her engines were removed and she was fitted for use as a floating hospital and storeship. Pawnee returned to commissioned service in those roles in December 1870 and was stationed at Key West, Florida, from early 1871 until the spring of 1875. She was then transferred to Port Royal, South Carolina, remaining there some seven years. USS Pawnee decommissioned for the final time in November 1882 and was sold in May 1884.

This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have related to USS Pawnee (1860-1884).

For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Pawnee (1860-1884) -- Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren on board the Ship;
  • USS Pawnee (1860-1884) -- Actions & Activities to mid-1861; and
  • USS Pawnee (1860-1884) -- Actions & Activities after mid-1861.

    For pictorial coverage of a member of Pawnee's crew who was awarded the Medal of Honor, see:

  • Seaman Benjamin Swearer, USN, (1825-_??_).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 45362

    USS Pawnee
    (1860-1884)

    Off Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1864-1865.
    Her bow is fitted with what appears to be a spar torpedo.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 63KB; 740 x 430 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 45362-A

    USS Pawnee
    (1860-1884)

    Artwork or heavily-retouched photograph, by the Photo Engraving Company, New York, showing the ship off Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1864-1865.
    Her bow is fitted with what appears to be a spar torpedo.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 435 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 90536

    USS Pawnee
    (1860-1884)

    View on deck, looking aft from the forecastle, circa 1863-1864.
    An "Old Salt" is standing by the ship's 100-pounder Parrott rifle, with the starboard battery of nine-inch Dahlgren shell guns visible beyond.
    Note awnings spread overhead, and crewmen sitting on the deck amidships.

    Courtesy of "Civil War Times Illustrated" magazine.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 116KB; 740 x 455 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 61926

    USS Pawnee
    (1860-1884)

    View on deck, looking forward from near the mizzen mast, while the ship was stationed in Charleston harbor, South Carolina, circa 1864-1865.
    Guns visible include an Army Model 1841 eight-inch siege howitzer (left foreground) and the ship's starboard battery of nine-inch Dahlgren shell guns.
    Note Sailors on deck and on watch (with telescope) on the bridge, gratings atop hatches, coiled lines, and mechanism for hoisting and lowering the smokestack.

    Courtesy of the Library of Congress

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 135KB; 740 x 610 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 42867

    U.S. Army 8-inch Seige Howitzer, Model of 1841


    On the quarterdeck of USS Pawnee (1860-1884), while she was off Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1864-1865.
    This howitzer is probably one of two captured by Pawnee and other ships at Legareville, S.C., on 25 December 1863. In 2003 both weapons were on display at the Washington Navy Yard, D.C.
    Note grating on deck in front of the howitzer and atop hatches, and belaying pins around Pawnee's mizzen mast.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 116KB; 660 x 675 pixels

     

    For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Pawnee (1860-1884) -- Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren on board the Ship;
  • USS Pawnee (1860-1884) -- Actions & Activities to mid-1861; and
  • USS Pawnee (1860-1884) -- Actions & Activities after mid-1861.

    For pictorial coverage of a member of Pawnee's crew who was awarded the Medal of Honor, see:

  • Seaman Benjamin Swearer, USN, (1825-_??_).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 7 November 2003