USRC Harriet Lane ( 1857 ) Harriet Lane was a revenue cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and , on the outbreak of the American Civil War , a ship of the United States Navy and later Confederate States Navy . The craft was named after the niece of senator and later United States President , James Buchanan ; during his presidency , she acted as First Lady . The cutter was christened and entered the water for the Revenue Service in 1859 out of New York City , and saw action during the Civil War at Fort Sumter , New Orleans , Galveston , Texas , and Virginia Point and was captured by the Confederates in 1863 , whereupon she was converted to a trade ship . She was promptly recaptured by the Union forces , declared unfit for service , sold , and rechristened the " Elliot Ritchie " out of Philadelphia , only to be abandoned at sea in 1881 . Layout of the ship . " Harriet Lane " measured 177 . 5 feet long , 30 . 5 feet wide and 12 feet from the bottom of the hull to the main deck . Her propulsion was a double - right - angled marine engine with two side paddles , supported by two masts ; the entire ship was sheathed and fastened with copper . From stern to bow , the captain ' s cabin and stateroom sat above an aft magazine , forward of which was a second magazine with the officer quarters above . Forward of this , in the midships was the engine machinery and coal supply , and beyond this the quarters and galley for the non - commissioned ranks which sat above a third magazine . Her initial armaments were described as " light guns " , however after joining the West Gulf Squadron her firepower was upgraded somewhat : one four - inch rifled Parrott gun to the forecastle , one nine - inch Dahlgren gun before the first mast , two eight - inch Dahlgren Columbiad s and two twenty - four - pound brass howitzers . Her crew of 95 were also given small arms . Career . With the Union . " Harriet Lane " , built for the Treasury Department by William H . Webb , was launched in New York City , November 1857 . She was a copper - plated steamer that could make speeds of up to eleven knots . Her battery consisted of three thirty - two - pounders and four twenty - four - pound howitzers . She served as a revenue cutter until temporarily transferred to the Navy late in 1858 . Her new assignment took her to Paraguay with a squadron ordered to support the discussions of U . S . Special Commissioner James B . Bowlin with Dictator Carlos Antonio López concerning reparations for damages incurred during an unprovoked attack on by the Paraguayan forces , 1 February 1855 . This display of sea power quickly won the United States a prompt and respectful hearing which four years of diplomacy had failed to obtain . Paraguay apologized , paid an indemnity to compensate the family of an American seaman killed during the fight , and signed a new commercial treaty containing provisions highly advantageous to the United States . In his report , Flag Officer William B . Shubrick singled out " Harriet Lane " for special commendation on the invaluable service she rendered in extricating his other ships that repeatedly ran aground in the treacherous waters of the Paraná River . Returning to the United States , " Harriet Lane " resumed her former duties as a revenue cutter . In September 1860 she embarked Edward Albert , the Prince of Wales , the first member of the British Royal Family to visit the United States , for passage to Mount Vernon , where he planted a tree and placed a wreath on the tomb of George Washington . " USRC Harriet Lane " again transferred to the Navy 30 March 1861 for service in the expedition sent to Charleston , South Carolina , to supply the Fort Sumter garrison after the outbreak of the American Civil War . She departed New York 8 April and arrived off Charleston 11 April . On the evening of the 11th , the " Harriet Lane " fired on the civilian steamship " Nashville " when that merchantman appeared with no colors flying . " Nashville " avoided further attack by promptly hoisting the United States ensign . When Major Robert Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter 13 April , " USRC Harriet Lane " withdrew with her sister ships . According to Captain H . D . Smith , Lieutenant W . D . Thompson fired the first naval shot of the Civil with the thirty - two pounder he commanded on the deck of the " Harriet Lane " at the [ United States Mail Steamer ] " Nashville " . Her next important service came the following summer when a task force was sent against Fort Clark and Fort Hatteras on the outer banks of North Carolina to check blockade running in the area . The ships attacked from Hampton Roads 26 August 1861 for this first important combined amphibious operation of the war . The next morning , " Harriet Lane " , , and slipped close inshore to provide direct support to the landings , while heavier ships pounded the forts from deeper water . The last resistance was snuffed out the following afternoon , giving a badly needed boost to morale in the North , which had been disheartened a month before by defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run . Of greater importance was the fact that this combined operation opened the inland waterways to Union ships and gave the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron a base deep in Southern waters . " Harriet Lane " ran aground while attempting to enter Pamlico Sound through Hatteras Inlet 29 August and suffered severe damage while fast on the shoal . She was refloated at the cost of her armament , rigging , stores , provisions , and everything else on board that could be heaved over the side to lighten ship . Temporary repairs completed 3 September , she proceeded to Hampton Roads , arriving 8 September 1861 . " Harriet Lane " sailed 10 February 1862 to join Commander David Dixon Porter ' s Mortar Flotilla at Key West , where units were assembling for an attack on Confederate forts in the Mississippi River Delta below New Orleans , Louisiana . Comdr . Porter embarked at Washington . During her passage to Hampton Roads , " Harriet Lane " was taken under fire by the Confederate battery at Shipping Point , Virginia , which inflicted such damage to her port wheel that her departure for Key West was delayed another two days . On 24 February , she captured the Confederate schooner " Joanna Ward " off Florida . " Harriet Lane " then targeted the Confederate fleets in Louisiana and Texas as part of the West Gulf Squadron under the command of Commodore Farragut , a duty for which her firepower was upgraded as mentioned above . Commanded by Commander Jonathan M . Wainwright and Lieutenant Commander Edward Lea at this point , she was used as Farragut ' s flagship until he transferred to the " Hartford " on January 20 . She was then ordered to join a fleet under the command of Captain David D . Porter at the mouth of the Mississippi River . On March 4 , 1862 this fleet moved to attack Confederate forts south of New Orleans , advancing up the river and engaging Fort Jackson of April 8 and passing it on April 24 , with New Orleans falling the next day . " Harriet Lane " was sent on June 29 , 1862 to attack the Vicksburg batteries . Farragut ordered the Mortar Flotilla to Ship Island 1 May , and " Harriet Lane " continued to Pensacola , Florida , where she transported Brigadier General Lewis G . Arnold ' s troops from Fort Pickens to the other side of the bay , where they occupied Forts Barrancas , and McRee , Barancas Barracks , and the Navy Yard which had been abandoned by the Confederates . Back at Ship Island for repairs 30 May , " Harriet Lane " prepared to ascend the Mississippi with Porter ' s mortar boats to engage enemy batteries on the cliffs of Vicksburg , Mississippi , while Farragut ran past this river stronghold to join Flag Officer Charles Henry Davis in an effort to clear the entire Mississippi Valley of obstructions to Union shipping . However , sufficient ground forces to take Vicksburg were not made available , nullifying the value of his operation , and after a frustrating encounter with new Confederate ironclad ram " Arkansas " , Farragut ran back down past Vicksburg while " Harriet Lane " and her sister vessels in the Mortar Flotilla again covered the dash by bombarding the Confederate batteries 15 July . In September , she was sent to Galveston , Texas as part of a blockade fleet under the command of Commodore Eagle , whose flagship was too large to enter the river and was subsequently relieved of command on October 1 . On October 4 , " Harriet Lane " advanced into Galveston Harbor and participated in a small exchange with the rebel Fort Point and shore batteries , known as the First Battle of Galveston Harbor . On October 9 Union marines landed to raise the United States flag , and the key to the city was given to the captain of " Harriet Lane " , Captain Wainright . Union forces from the ships occupied the town , but fell back to the docks every night as Confederate cavalry entered the town every evening . The ships bombarded the town at regular intervals . In the early morning of January 1 , 1863 , with almost all ships , including " Harriet Lane " , anchored in the channel , an alarm was raised reporting Confederate forces approaching . With only the " Westfield " ready to maneuver , she sailed upriver in an attempt to engage the approaching Confederate vessels . The " Westfield " grounded , but the attack was reckoned to be merely a retreat by Confederate ships , and the alarm was cancelled . There was , however , a Confederate land force under the command of General John B . Magruder that was approaching Galveston . At four o ' clock that morning , in what would come to be known as the Battle of Galveston , the reoccupied Confederate forts opened fire on the Union fleet while ground troops attempted to board the anchored ships . The late arrival of a Confederate fleet enabled the troops to board the Harriet Lane , which was raked by gunfire and rammed , finding Wainright dead and Lea mortally wounded . In one of the war ' s most poignant incidents , when Lea was mortally wounded , his father Confederate Major Albert M . Lea was serving ashore in Galveston . He came aboard the " Harriet Lane " only to realize his son was near death . With the Confederacy , recapture and sale . During the Battle of Galveston , " Harriet Lane " sank the Rebel tugboat " Neptune " , and one - half of the two - vessel Confederate fleet was lying on the bottom of the harbor . However , the Confederate gunboat " Bayou City " circled and made a second run on " Harriet Lane " . At daybreak , " Harriet Lane " was listing steeply , and a boat was dispatched from her side to the remaining Union ships to negotiate a surrender . During the negotiations , " Harriet Lane " was further damaged by fire from the Union " Owasco " under a flag of truce in an attempt to explode her magazine . The flagship " Westfield " was later exploded , and the remaining Union ships fled to New Orleans , leaving " Harriet Lane " , along with a copy of the United States signal service code book in her cabin , in Confederate hands . The capture of " Harriet Lane " was an interesting episode of the Civil War , as it possibly involved the youngest combatant of the American Civil War . According to an account by a captured member of the Confederate boarding party : Amongst the first men struck down were the gallant Captain Wainwright and Lieutenant Lee , who both fought with desperation and valor . One young son of Captain Wainwright , just ten years old , stood at the cabin door with a revolver in each hand and never ceased firing until he had expended every shot . The capture of the " Harriet Lane " involved also possibly the oldest active combatant of the Civil War . Captain Levi C . Harby of the Texas Maritime Service , 69 years old , was in command of the " Neptune " , and was the last to leave that vessel after ramming the " Harriet Lane " portside . The " Neptune " was hit by Federal gunners and sank , but the water was shallow enough that Harby and his men could continue firing their guns from her deck . This distraction enabled the " Bayou City " to carry out the successful starboard attack that captured the " Harriet Lane " . After a week of repairs , " Harriet Lane " was placed under the command of Captain Thomas C . Saunders and dispatched to fight the Union vessels at sea , despite lengthy legal discussions regarding the capture of the prize which had not yet drawn to a close . As a result , the ship was taken farther upriver and stripped of weapons to lighten her load . March 10 saw " Harriet Lane " legally under the ownership of the Confederacy , and she was given to Captain Barney of the Confederate States Navy . She was dispatched past the Union blockade to Cuba , loaded with a cargo of cotton . However , her absence was noted the next day , and a Union warship was sent in pursuit and awaited her when she arrived at Havana . Captain Barney attempted to flee but then destroyed his cargo and grounded his vessel in order to flee . " Harriet Lane " was refloated by the Union forces , but was declared unfit for naval service . She was refitted to an unarmed three - masted fore - and - aft schooner and renamed the " Elliot Ritchie " , and operated out of Philadelphia , transporting coal and merchandise . In 1881 , with a fire breaking out in one of her cargo holds , she was abandoned at sea .