USS Augusta (1861-1868)USS Augusta , a 1310-ton side-wheel steam cruiser, was built at New York in 1852 as the civilian steamer Augusta . She operated on Atlantic and Gulf coast routes until the outbreak of the Civil War. The Navy purchased her at the beginning of August 1861, converted her to a warship and placed her in commission in late September. Augusta 's first combat operation was the November 1861 expedition to capture Port Royal, South Carolina. During the shelling of Forts Walker and Beauregard that opened the assault, she helped drive off the local Confederate Navy squadron and later joined in the bombardment. After the forts' surrender, Augusta reestablished the blockade of Savannah, Georgia. Sent to duty off Charleston, S.C., in December, she captured the blockade runners Cheshire on the 6th and Island Belle at year's end. Augusta remained on the Charleston blockade during the first eight months of 1862, with a few weeks out in June and July to cover Wassau Sound, Georgia. After an overhaul at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she escorted a convoy of Army transports to the Gulf of Mexico and helped to protect shipping between Panama and the U.S. from the threat posed by the Confederate raider Alabama . She returned to the Charleston area in January 1863 and took part in the engagement with the Confederate ironclads Chicora and Palmetto State at the end of that month. In July, Augusta went north, spent a few weeks searching for the enemy cruiser Florida and then decommissioned for extensive repairs at the New York Navy Yard. Recommissioned in May 1864, Augusta escorted the monitor Tecumseh to Pensacola, Florida, and operated on commerce protection service between the U.S. and Panama. However, continual engine problems finally left her so disabled that she had to be towed home. She was again decommissioned in January 1865 and was under repair for more than a year. Augusta returned to active service in April 1866, and the next month began a lengthy trans-Atlantic deployment as escort for the monitor Miantonomoh . Between June 1866 and May 1867, the two ships visited European ports ranging from Russia to Italy. They returned to the United States by way of the Canary Islands and the West Indies, arriving at Philadelphia in July. Decommissioned soon thereafter, USS Augusta was sold in December 1868 and subsequently became the merchant steamer Magnolia . In European waters, circa 1866-1867 Built at New York City in 1852, she was taken over by the Navy in 1861 and served as USS Augusta until sold in December 1868 |
 Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy A tantalizing glimpse into the hardships endured by the naval leadership to build and recruit a fighting force. The seaman endured periods of boredom, punctuated by happy social times and terrifying bouts of battle horror  Confederate Phoenix The CSS Virginia The CSS Virginia of the Confederate States Navy destroyed two of the most formidable warships in the U.S. Navy. Suddenly, with this event, every wooden warship in every navy in the world became totally obsolete  Confederate Ironclad 1861-65 Every aspect of Confederate ironclads is covered: design, construction, armor, armament, life on board, strategy, tactics, and actual combat actions. |
 Civil War: Flags, Badges, c.1895 40 in. x 26 in. Buy at AllPosters.com Framed |
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 Civil War Musket Wood & Steel Frontier Rifle Designed After The Original Rifle  72 Piece Civil War Army Men Play Set 52mm Union and Confederate Figures, Bridge, Horses, Canon
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Civil War Ships and Battles Civil War Submarines RAM Ships Civil War Naval Timeline American Civil War Exhibits State Battle Maps Civil War Summary Civil War Timeline Women in the Civil War Battles by Campaign |
 History Channel Civil War Secret Missions There are about a half-dozen different small arms types, but the Henry is the best for rapid repeating fire and least reloading. The shotgun they give you is useless: you must aim spot-on to affect an enemy, so why not just use the rifle? Grenades are useful at times.  Civil War Model 1851 Naval Pistol |
 American Civil War Marines 1861-65 Marines wearing blue and grey fought in many dramatic actions afloat and ashore – ship-to-ship engagements, cutting-out expeditions, and coastal landings. This book offers a comprehensive summary of all such battles, illustrated with rare early photographs |
 Union River Ironclad 1861-65 At the start of the American Civil War, neither side had warships on the Mississippi River. In what would prove the vital naval campaign of the war, both sides fought for control of the river. While the Confederates relied on field fortifications and small gunboats, the Union built a series of revolutionary river ironclads |
Kindle Available Raising the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the Lost Confederate Submarine For more than a century the fate of the Hunley remained one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Civil War. Then, on August 8, 2000, with thousands of spectators crowding Charleston Harbor, the Hunley was raised from the bottom of the sea and towed ashore. |
 The Story of the H.L. Hunley During the Civil War, Union forces blockade the port of Charleston so the Confederate army seeks a way to attrack the Yankee Ships. George Dixon is part of the group of men given the task of creating and building the "fish boat," a submarine. The H.L. Hunley ultimately sets out on its mission to sink Yankee ships, but fails to return, its whereabouts unknown. |
 Halls of Honor The U.S. Navy Museum takes you on an informed and entertaining romp through one of North America s oldest and finest military museums. The museum has been in continuous operation at the Washington Navy Yard since the American Civil War |
 Raise The Alabama She was known as "the ghost ship." During the Civil War, the CSS Alabama sailed over 75,000 miles and captured more than 60 Union vessels. But her career came to an end in June of 1864 when she was sunk by the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Northern France |
 The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one |
 Civil War Journal The Conflict Begins These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war. |
Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress
US Naval Archives
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Books Civil War Womens Subjects Young Readers Military History DVDs Confederate Store Civil War Games Music CDs Reenactors |
