William H Austin, Coal Heaver, US Navy, Civil War, Lost his Life on board USS Mississippi
USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. She was named for the Mississippi River. Her sister ship was Missouri. Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839; built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was commissioned on December 22, 1841, with Captain W. D. Salter in command and launched several weeks later.
Civil War
She arrived off Key West, Florida, to institute the blockade there on June 8, 1861, and five days later made her first capture, the schooner Forest King bound with coffee from Rio de Janeiro to New Orleans, Louisiana. On November 27, off Northeast Pass, Mississippi River, she joined Vincennes in capturing the British bark Empress, again carrying coffee from Rio to New Orleans. The following spring, she joined Farragut's squadron for the planned assault on New Orleans. After several attempts, on April 7, 1862, she and Pensacola successfully passed over the bar at Southwest Pass, the heaviest ships ever to enter the river to that time.
As Farragut brought his fleet up the river, a key engagement was that with Fort Jackson and Fort Saint Philip on April 24, during which Mississippi ran the Confederate ram Manassas ashore, wrecking her with two mighty broadsides. The city was now doomed, and Mississippi, her heavy draft making her less suitable to river operations than lighter ships, remained off New Orleans for much of the next year.
Ordered upriver for the operations against Port Hudson, Louisiana, Mississippi sailed with six other ships lashed in pairs, while she sailed alone. On March 14, 1863, she grounded while attempting to pass the forts guarding Port Hudson. Under enemy fire, every effort was made to refloat her by Captain Melancton Smith and his executive officer George Dewey (later to achieve fame as an admiral). At last, her machinery was destroyed, her battery spiked, and she was fired to prevent Confederate capture. When the flames reached her magazines, she blew up and sank. U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Pinkerston R. Vaughn was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the abandonment of Mississippi. She lost 64 men, with the accompanying ships saving 223 of her crew.
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USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. She was named for the Mississippi River. Her sister ship was Missouri. Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839; built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was commissioned on December 22, 1841, with Captain W. D. Salter in command and launched several weeks later.
Civil War
She arrived off Key West, Florida, to institute the blockade there on June 8, 1861, and five days later made her first capture, the schooner Forest King bound with coffee from Rio de Janeiro to New Orleans, Louisiana. On November 27, off Northeast Pass, Mississippi River, she joined Vincennes in capturing the British bark Empress, again carrying coffee from Rio to New Orleans. The following spring, she joined Farragut's squadron for the planned assault on New Orleans. After several attempts, on April 7, 1862, she and Pensacola successfully passed over the bar at Southwest Pass, the heaviest ships ever to enter the river to that time.
As Farragut brought his fleet up the river, a key engagement was that with Fort Jackson and Fort Saint Philip on April 24, during which Mississippi ran the Confederate ram Manassas ashore, wrecking her with two mighty broadsides. The city was now doomed, and Mississippi, her heavy draft making her less suitable to river operations than lighter ships, remained off New Orleans for much of the next year.
Ordered upriver for the operations against Port Hudson, Louisiana, Mississippi sailed with six other ships lashed in pairs, while she sailed alone. On March 14, 1863, she grounded while attempting to pass the forts guarding Port Hudson. Under enemy fire, every effort was made to refloat her by Captain Melancton Smith and his executive officer George Dewey (later to achieve fame as an admiral). At last, her machinery was destroyed, her battery spiked, and she was fired to prevent Confederate capture. When the flames reached her magazines, she blew up and sank. U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Pinkerston R. Vaughn was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the abandonment of Mississippi. She lost 64 men, with the accompanying ships saving 223 of her crew.
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William H Austin, Coal Heaver, US Navy, Civil War, Lost his Life on board USS Mississippi
USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. She was named for the Mississippi River. Her sister ship was Missouri. Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839; built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was commissioned on December 22, 1841, with Captain W. D. Salter in command and launched several weeks later.
Civil War
She arrived off Key West, Florida, to institute the blockade there on June 8, 1861, and five days later made her first capture, the schooner Forest King bound with coffee from Rio de Janeiro to New Orleans, Louisiana. On November 27, off Northeast Pass, Mississippi River, she joined Vincennes in capturing the British bark Empress, again carrying coffee from Rio to New Orleans. The following spring, she joined Farragut's squadron for the planned assault on New Orleans. After several attempts, on April 7, 1862, she and Pensacola successfully passed over the bar at Southwest Pass, the heaviest ships ever to enter the river to that time.
As Farragut brought his fleet up the river, a key engagement was that with Fort Jackson and Fort Saint Philip on April 24, during which Mississippi ran the Confederate ram Manassas ashore, wrecking her with two mighty broadsides. The city was now doomed, and Mississippi, her heavy draft making her less suitable to river operations than lighter ships, remained off New Orleans for much of the next year.
Ordered upriver for the operations against Port Hudson, Louisiana, Mississippi sailed with six other ships lashed in pairs, while she sailed alone. On March 14, 1863, she grounded while attempting to pass the forts guarding Port Hudson. Under enemy fire, every effort was made to refloat her by Captain Melancton Smith and his executive officer George Dewey (later to achieve fame as an admiral). At last, her machinery was destroyed, her battery spiked, and she was fired to prevent Confederate capture. When the flames reached her magazines, she blew up and sank. U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Pinkerston R. Vaughn was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the abandonment of Mississippi. She lost 64 men, with the accompanying ships saving 223 of her crew.
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USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. She was named for the Mississippi River. Her sister ship was Missouri. Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839; built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was commissioned on December 22, 1841, with Captain W. D. Salter in command and launched several weeks later.
Civil War
She arrived off Key West, Florida, to institute the blockade there on June 8, 1861, and five days later made her first capture, the schooner Forest King bound with coffee from Rio de Janeiro to New Orleans, Louisiana. On November 27, off Northeast Pass, Mississippi River, she joined Vincennes in capturing the British bark Empress, again carrying coffee from Rio to New Orleans. The following spring, she joined Farragut's squadron for the planned assault on New Orleans. After several attempts, on April 7, 1862, she and Pensacola successfully passed over the bar at Southwest Pass, the heaviest ships ever to enter the river to that time.
As Farragut brought his fleet up the river, a key engagement was that with Fort Jackson and Fort Saint Philip on April 24, during which Mississippi ran the Confederate ram Manassas ashore, wrecking her with two mighty broadsides. The city was now doomed, and Mississippi, her heavy draft making her less suitable to river operations than lighter ships, remained off New Orleans for much of the next year.
Ordered upriver for the operations against Port Hudson, Louisiana, Mississippi sailed with six other ships lashed in pairs, while she sailed alone. On March 14, 1863, she grounded while attempting to pass the forts guarding Port Hudson. Under enemy fire, every effort was made to refloat her by Captain Melancton Smith and his executive officer George Dewey (later to achieve fame as an admiral). At last, her machinery was destroyed, her battery spiked, and she was fired to prevent Confederate capture. When the flames reached her magazines, she blew up and sank. U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Pinkerston R. Vaughn was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the abandonment of Mississippi. She lost 64 men, with the accompanying ships saving 223 of her crew.
Click Photos for Additional Info .....
Please send any additional information you may have on this man. USE EDIT ....
Click link below to see all US Navy Officers: 1798-1900 I've Found:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=261793
Click Link to see all The Lost Sailors I've Found
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=26
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