USS Albatross ( 1858 ) USS " Albatross " ( 1858 ) was a screw steamer rigged as a three - masted schooner acquired by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War . She was outfitted as a gunboat with heavy guns and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America . Built in Mystic , Connecticut . " Albatross " was built at Mystic , Connecticut in 1858 . She was purchased by the Navy at Brooklyn , New York on 23 May 1861 , and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 25 June 1861 , Commander George A . Prentiss in command . Civil War operations . Assigned to the Atlantic blockade . Acquired during the Union Navy ' s efforts to expand the Fleet early in the Civil War to carry out the blockade of the Confederate coast established by U . S . President Abraham Lincoln ' s proclamation of 19 April , " Albatross " was assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron . She soon sailed for the Virginia Capes , and reported to the squadron ’ s commander , Flag Officer Silas Stringham , at Hampton Roads , Virginia on 1 July 1861 . Following a week ' s service in the Chesapeake Bay along its eastern shore and off the mouth of the Rappahannock River , the steamer rounded Cape Henry on 10 July and proceeded south to waters outside the bar off Hatteras Inlet to assist in sealing off the North Carolina coast . The ship ' s first action came on 11 July after a Confederate shore battery near Oregon Inlet opened fire on her . She answered with all her guns , knocked out one of the Confederate cannon , and drove the Southern soldiers from the area . " Albatross " made her first capture on 18 July , when a party from the steamer boarded and seized the schooner " Velasco " of Galveston , Texas , which was carrying false papers while sailing under the Lone Star flag from Matanzas , Cuba with a cargo of sugar . " Albatross " took the prize to Hampton Roads and turned her over to Flag Officer Stringham on 20 July . The next day , while returning to her station , " Albatross " exchanged fire with the North Carolina steamer " Beaufort " lying off Bodie Island and forced the Southern ship to retire through Oregon Inlet to safety in Pamlico Sound . Capturing “ pirates ” . On 22 July 1861 , while " Albatross " was chasing a sailing vessel near Hatteras Inlet , a black man jumped overboard and shouted , " Save me , captain , she ' s bound to Charleston . " While lowering a boat to pick up the man , " Albatross " turned her guns on the schooner and ordered her to heave to . That vessel , " Enchantress " , a schooner of Newburyport , Massachusetts which had been captured on 6 July by Confederate privateer " Jefferson Davis " , promptly surrendered . Commander Prentiss , considering the five crewmen captured with the schooner to be pirates , had them put in double irons . He placed Master ' s Mate Tunis D . Wendell in charge of the prize over a crew consisting of five Union sailors and the rescued man who had been on " Enchantress " when she surrendered to the Southern privateer . " Albatross " took the schooner to Hampton Roads where they arrived on 24 July . Since the Union steamer was in need of repairs , Stringham sent the two vessels on to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . En route north on 1 August , a party from " Albatross " boarded " Elizabeth Ann " of Accomac , Virginia and bound from Penns Grove , New Jersey for Chincoteague , Virginia , and , upon finding her papers to be incorrect , seized that vessel and took her in tow . On 2 August , the three ships reached Philadelphia , Pennsylvania where the schooners were turned over to the prize court and " Albatross " entered the shipyard for repairs . After completion of the machinery work late in the month , the steamer returned to Hampton Roads on the evening of 31 August and began cruising in Chesapeake Bay where she took the schooner " Alabama " off the mouth of the Potomac River on 14 September . Next ordered back to waters off the outer banks of North Carolina , " Albatross " , except for periodic runs to Hampton Roads for fuel and provisions and a trip to Baltimore , Maryland for repairs , operated near Beaufort , North Carolina until April 1862 when she was transferred to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron . Reassigned to the South Atlantic blockade . The highlight of this stint of service off Beaufort was her discovery and destruction of the grounded 800 - ton British ship " York " of Dublin , Ireland , near Bogue Inlet on 16 January 1862 . After reporting to Flag Officer Samuel Francis du Pont , the ship spent May and June in Winyah Bay , South Carolina , blockading Georgetown , South Carolina . There , on 20 June , two boats from " Albatross " captured steam tug " Treaty " and schooner " Louisa " . Reassigned to the West Gulf blockade . Early in July 1862 , the steamer proceeded to Boston , Massachusetts where she arrived on 10 July for repairs . When ready again for sea , " Albatross " , commanded by Commander Henry French since 1 August , was reassigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron . She stood out to sea on the evening of 7 August and , after reporting to Rear Admiral David Farragut , was stationed off the mouth of the Rio Grande near Brownsville , Texas . There , on 21 September , she captured the schooner " Two Sisters " of Galveston , Texas , flying the Confederate flag as she was sailing from Sisal , Mexico , toward Galveston with 87 bales of gunny cloth for Southern cotton gin s and one case of crinoline s probably intended for a less utilitarian purpose . Breakout of yellow fever . Late in September 1862 , yellow fever broke out in " Albatross " . Upon the recommendation of the ship ' s surgeon , Commander French sailed to Pensacola , Florida where she arrived on 4 October . Farragut placed the steamer in quarantine , and she was forbidden to communicate with the rest of the squadron . Nevertheless , the Admiral reprimanded French for leaving his station before his ship had been properly relieved and , on 29 October , sent him North in with orders to report to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles . Lieutenant Commander John E . Hart took command of " Albatross " . After the health of her crew had been restored , the steamer began patrolling off the Gulf of Mexico shore in mid - November . From 24 November until 8 December 1862 , boat crews from the ship made a series of raids against salt works along the Florida coast between St . Andrews Bay and Pensacola , during which they destroyed over 300 salt pans . Mississippi River operations . On 11 December 1862 , " Albatross " sailed for the Mississippi River where the tempo of operations to free the river for Union shipping was increasing . On 17 December , she , , , , and supported the uncontested landing of Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks ' troops at Baton Rouge , Louisiana . Ever since the previous spring , when his thrusts upriver had been nullified by lack of ground forces , Farragut had been awaiting Army support for clearing the Mississippi . After the surrender of Baton Rouge , he was eager to move on to the next Confederate river stronghold , Port Hudson , Louisiana , but no soldiers were made available for the operation . Finally , with the approach of the spring , misfortunes to Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter ' s Mississippi Squadron , which had been attempting to send some of its gunboats past Vicksburg , Mississippi to patrol the river between that strongly fortified position and Port Hudson , prompted Farragut to brave the guns of Port Hudson without help from Banks . On the evening of 13 March 1863 , he moved seven of his warships - four saltwater men - of - war and three gunboat s - some 15 miles above Baton Rouge and anchored for the night . During the next day , he gave careful attention to the readiness of each ship in the force for battle . He had three of the heavy warships lashed to the port and soon - to - be - engaged sides of the smaller gunboats , pairing his flagship , , with " Albatross " , " Richmond " with , and with . , proceeding alone , brought up the rear . Farragut later explained his selection of " Albatross " as " Hartford " ' s partner : Braving the fire of Port Hudson . Shortly after 10 : 00 p . m . , the fleet got underway . Moving up the river " in good style , " " Hartford " and " Albatross " weathered the hail of shot from the batteries . Major General Franklin Gardner , commanding Confederate forces at Port Hudson , noted : " She returned our fire boldly . " While the flagship and her consort were passing the lower batteries , the current nearly swung the pair around and grounded them ; " but , " Farragut reported , " backing the " Albatross " , and going ahead strong on this ship , we at length headed her up the river . " Though able to bring only two guns to bear on the upper batteries , Farragut successfully passed those works . Following the flagship closely , " Richmond " took a hit in her steam plant , disabling her . " The turning point ( in the river ) was gained , " Commander James Alden , Jr . reported , " but I soon found , even with the aid of the " Genesee " , which vessel was lashed alongside , that we could make no headway against the strong current of the river , and suffering much from a galling cross fire of the enemy ' s batteries , I was compelled though most reluctantly , to turn back , and by the aid of the " Genesee " soon anchored out of the range of their guns . " Next in line , " Monongahela " ran hard aground under Port Hudson ' s lower batteries where she remained for nearly half an hour , taking severe punishment . At least eight shots passed entirely through the ship . The bridge was shot from underneath Captain James P . McKinstry , wounding him and killing three others . With " Kineo " ' s aid , " Monongahela " was refloated ; and she attempted to resume her course upriver . " We were nearly by the principal battery , " wrote Lieutenant Nathaniel W . Thomas , the executive officer , " when the crank pin of the forward engine was reported heated , and the engine stopped . . . . " The ship became unmanageable and drifted downstream , where she anchored out of range of the Confederate guns . USS " Mississippi " is lost after grounding . Meanwhile , on board " Mississippi " , Captain Melancton Smith saw " Richmond " coming downstream but , because of the heavy smoke of the battle , was unable to sight " Monongahela " . Thinking that she had steamed ahead to close the gap caused by " Richmond " ' s leaving the formation , he ordered his ship " go ahead fast . " In attempting to do so , " Mississippi " ran aground and , despite every effort , could not be brought off . After being set afire in four places , she was abandoned . At 3 : 00 a . m . , " Mississippi " was seen in flames floating slowly down river ; and , two and one - half hours later , she blew up . Thus ended one of the war ' s fiercest engagements . Only " Hartford " and " Albatross " had succeeded in running the gauntlet . Commenting on " Albatross " ' role , Farragut stated , But for a Parrott gun which lost a part of its trunnion when struck by a shell , the ship suffered little material damage . Beyond the reach of Port Hudson ’ s guns . After reaching comparative safety beyond the range of Port Hudson ' s guns , the two Union warships operated in the stretch of the Mississippi between that Southern fortress and Vicksburg until both of these Confederate riverbank strongholds had fallen almost four months later . While plying these waters which bristled with hostile batteries , they denied the Southern armies fighting in the East the steady flow of men , food , horses , and miscellaneous supplies which had supported Confederate troops since the onset of the conflict . In the middle of March , " Albatross " engaged the Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf , Mississippi , and suffered one man killed and nine wounded . On 4 May 1863 , she attacked the Confederate Fort De Russy and engaged two Confederate steamers moored to the earthworks , CSS " Grand Duke " and " Mary T " . James Brown awarded Medal of Honor . In the engagement , " Grand Duke " was set on fire five times and suffered seven wounded , while " Albatross " was badly shot up and suffered heavy casualties when a 32 - pounder ball came through the wheelhouse carrying the wheel away and causing the relieving tackle s to be manned by men in plain view of the enemy . Two men from the ship were killed and four wounded . On the bright side , Quartermaster James Brown displayed most unusual courage during the action . After the steering wheel and wheel ropes had been shot away , Brown stood on the gun platform of the quarterdeck , exposing himself to close fire from musketry ashore and rendered invaluable assistance by his expert management of the relieving tackles . By doing so , he was instrumental in extricating the vessel from a perilous position and thereby aided in the capture of Fort De Russy ' s heavy works . Brown later received the Medal of Honor for his valor . Death of Lt . Commander Hart . In June 1863 , while " Albatross " was stationed above Port Hudson , her captain John E . Hart contracted yellow fever . A few days later he became delusional , and on June 11 , 1863 , he committed suicide in his cabin with his own revolver . He was officially listed as " killed in battle " . His officers were unable to send his body home to Schenectady for burial , and knowing he would wish a Masonic burial , Executive Officer Theodore B . Du Bois went ashore under a flag of truce to ask if there were any Masons in the area who would conduct a funeral . They were put in contact with Confederate Army Captain William Walter Leake , a company commander with the 1st Louisiana Cavalry , who was home on furlough . Leake was Senior Warden of Feliciana Lodge No . 31 in the nearby town of St . Francisville , Louisiana , and he made arrangements for Hart to be buried at Grace Episcopal Church there . A truce was arranged so that the Union officers could bring his body ashore , attend the funeral , and return to their ship to resume their blockade . A joint party of Union and Confederate officers , all Masons , participated in the funeral on June 12 , 1863 ; Leake himself conducted the Masonic service . The event is now commemorated in St . Francisville every June as " The Day the War Stopped " . Du Bois , with the rank of Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Commander , took over command of " Albatross " for the duration of the war . Repair and quarantine . Following the surrender of Port Hudson on 9 July , " Albatross " dropped down river and briefly operated on patrol out of New Orleans before beginning a repair period which lasted until mid - September when the ship joined the blockading forces off Mobile Bay . A month later , yellow fever was again raging and compelled the ship to be placed in quarantine at Pensacola . Returned to the Gulf blockade . When again ready for duty , " Albatross " served as a dispatch vessel , then returned to blockade duty off Mobile , Alabama . Late in the year , she resumed cruising in the Gulf of Mexico . On 9 January 1864 , the ship shelled a large steamer lying under the guns of Fort Morgan , Alabama , at the entrance to Mobile Bay . Thereafter , other than periods of repairs , she alternated blockade duty with dispatch service until 21 May 1864 when she was ordered north for major repairs at the Portsmouth Navy Yard where she was decommissioned on 6 June . Recommissioned on the day after Christmas 1864 , the steamer was ordered back to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron . However , while sailing south , she encountered " . . . a fierce storm some 100 miles south of Cape Cod and was severely damaged , losing her smokestack and her top foremast . Her boats were also badly battered . " Proceeding " with the aid of sails and what small amount of steam we could make without a pipe , " the ship managed to reach the Delaware River breakwater and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for repairs . When once more seaworthy , she headed for the gulf and was stationed at Mobile where she served through the end of the war . Post - war sale and subsequent maritime career . Following the collapse of the Confederacy , " Albatross " sailed to the Boston Navy Yard where she was decommissioned on 11 August 1865 . She was sold at public auction there on 8 September 1865 to C . P . Stickney . Redocumented on 23 September 1865 , the ship operated in merchant service until her engines were removed in 1888 , and she was dropped from shipping registers .