Star of the West Star of the West was a civilian steamship hired by the United States government to transport military supplies and reinforcements to the garrison of Fort Sumter , but was fired on by Confederates in its effort to do so at the dawning of the American Civil War . The ship was a substitute for , an armed screw sloop that continued to escort " Star of the West " on its journey . Background . " Star of the West " was a 1 , 172 ton steamship built by Jeremiah Simonson , of New York for Cornelius Vanderbilt , and launched June 17 , 1852 . Its length was and its beam , with wooden hullside paddle wheels and two masts . She started service between New York and San Juan de Nicaragua on October 20 , 1852 and continued this service for Charles Morgan from July 1853 to March 1856 . In June 1857 , she started the New York to Aspinwall service for the United States Mail Steamship Company until September 1859 when it went onto the New York , Havana , New Orleans service . In January 1861 , she was chartered to the War Department . Civil War . On January 9 , 1861 , weeks after South Carolina had seceded ( but before other states had done so to form the Confederacy ) " Star of the West " was fired upon by cadets from The Citadel stationed at the Morris Island battery as the ship entered Charleston Harbor . This prevented " Star of the West " from resupplying Major Robert Anderson ' s garrison at Fort Sumter . " Star of the West " was given a warning shot across the bow and turned about to leave the harbor mouth . She was hit three times by what were effectively the first shots of the American Civil War . Although " Star of the West " did not suffer any major damage , her captain , John McGowan , considered it too dangerous to continue and turned about to leave the harbor . The mission was abandoned and " Star of the West " headed for her home port of New York Harbor . The ship was then hired out of New York as a troop transport for $ 1 , 000 a day under its master , Elisha Howes . " Star of the West " sailed for Texas to pick up seven companies of United States troops assembled at Indianola . On April 18 , 1861 , while anchored off Pass Caballo bar leading into Matagorda Bay , the ship was captured by Colonel Earl Van Dorn and members of two Galveston militia units , the Wigfall Guards and the Island City Rifles . Two days later the ship was taken to New Orleans where Louisiana ' s Governor Moore changed its name to CSS " St . Philip " . The old name persisted , however , and " Star of the West " served as a naval station and hospital ship until Admiral David Farragut captured New Orleans . Still under Confederate control , " Star of the West " escaped recapture by transporting millions in gold , silver , and paper currency to Vicksburg and continued to Yazoo City , Mississippi . When federal Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith tried to lead two ironclads and five smaller vessels through the Yazoo Pass into the Tallahatchie River to attack Vicksburg from the rear , Confederate defenders hurriedly constructed Fort Pemberton , and Major General William W . Loring had " Star of the West " sunk broadside in the Tallahatchie near Greenwood to block the passage of the Union flotilla . In a skirmish on April 12 , 1863 , the Union forces suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw . Following the war , the owners of " Star of the West " collected $ 175 , 000 in damages from the United States government for their loss . Popular culture . The incident looms large in a novel by John Updike , " Memories of the Ford Administration " ( 1992 ) . Although Updike ' s protagonist is trying ( in the early 1990s ) to write about the mid - 1970s , he spent those years seeking to write a book about President Buchanan , and his mind keeps reverting to the 19th century and , among other incidents , the mission of this sloop to Sumter . The Star of the West Medal is awarded annually to the " best drilled cadet " at The Citadel , The Military College of South Carolina . Each medal awarded has a small piece of wood salvaged from the original " Star of the West " ship .