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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Fairplay


Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal

Wooden Sidewheel Steamer (Tinclad #17):
  • Built in 1859 at New Albany, IN.
  • Captured, 18 August 1862, at Milliken's Bend, in the Mississippi River
  • Taken by the Federal Army, commissioned Fairplay, 6 September 1862, LCDR. Leroy Fitch in command
  • Transferred to the Navy 1 October 1862.
  • During the Civil War USS Fairplay was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron
  • Based at Smithland, Ky., Fairplay patrolled the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Ohio rivers
  • Decommissioned, 9 August 1865, at Mound City, IL.
  • Sold, 17 August 1865
  • Redocumented Cotile October 6, 1865.
  • Final Disposition: dismantled in 1869
    Specifications:
    Displacement 156 t.
    Length 139'
    Beam 27'
    Depth unknown
    Draft 4.7'
    Speed 5 mph
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    four 12-pdr howitzers
    Propulsion steam

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    Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Fairplay 111k Photograph of USS Fairplay mounted on a Carte de Visite, by Bell & Sheridan, Franklin St., Clarksville, Tennessee. During the Civil War, Fairplay was active on rivers in the Tennessee area.
    Photo from the collection of Thomas R. Burton, who had probably been a member of Fairplay's crew.
    US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 91812.
    Aryeh Wetherhorn
    Sumter 214k
    Acting Ensign John Revell

    John 'Jack' Revell was born 1835 in Preble Co. Ohio. Perhaps feeling that the infantry and all of its foot marching was not for him, Ohio native John Revell managed to secure a berth with the United States Navy Mississippi River Squadron on October 1, 1862. Apparently well-educated and experienced as a clerk before the war he was appointed as a Acting Master’s Mate and assigned to the gunboat [USS] Fairplay which the army had previously captured from the Confederates at Milliken's Bend on the Mississippi River in August of 1862. The Fairplay was officially transferred to the U.S. Navy on October 1, 1862, and placed under the command of navy Lieutenant Commander LeRoy Fitch. That same day John Revell was assigned to her crew. After spending the winter on board the Fairplay, John Revell was promoted on May 8, 1863 to the rank of acting ensign. The following month, when Lieutenant Commander LeRoy Fitch transferred his flag to a new ship, John Revell joined him there too. The [SS] Florence Miller II was a just-completed wooden stern-wheel steamboat built at Cincinnati that spring. Purchased by the navy on May 20, 1863, she was renamed the USS Moose and converted into a gunboat. The new flagship was a big improvement over the previous one. Drawing five feet of water, the Moose was capable of a top speed of six knots, more than a knot faster than the Fairplay. She also carried six 24 pounders, two more than on the Fairplay. Acting Ensign Revell served on the U.S.S. Moose for the remainder of the war. On February 17, 1865 John Ravell's resignation was officially accepted by the Navy Department, but his ordeal was not over. According to his family physician, he returned home suffering from "disease of the lungs and bronchial tubes” John Revell passed away June 18, 1867 at Eaton, Preble County, Ohio from complications attributed to his medical condition. This copyrighted photo is in use by speial permission thanks to Mike Fitzpatrick

    This image can be found on Flickr along with an article. Mine is an abbreviated version for posting. Mike can be contacted @ Mike Fitzpatrick fitzpatrickmike@hotmail.com if you are interested in doing an article. This image has been downsized for posting. I have the original size of 1619x2341 on file]"
    Bill Gonyo

    CSS Fairplay
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)


    USS Fairplay
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 28 March 2023