Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Wyalusing

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Sassacus Class Sidewheel Gunboat:
  • Built as a double-end side-wheel gunboat by C. H. & W. H. Cramp at Philadelphia, PA.
  • Launched 12 May 1863
  • Commissioned USS Wyalusing, 8 February 1864, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, LCDR. Walter W. Queen in command
  • During the Civil War USS Wyalusing was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and participated in the following actions:
    Action against CSS Albemarle at the mouth of the Roanoke River, 5 May 1864
    Action at Fort Williams, and capture of Plymouth, N.C., 27 to 29 October 1864
    Action at Rainbow Bluff, N. C., 9 December 1864
    Capture of two Confederate schooners Triumph, 9 January 1865 and an unnamed schooner in early 1865
  • Decommissioned, 10 June 1865, at New York
  • Final Disposition, transferred to Philadelphia and sold, 15 October 1867
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,173 t.(lt) 973 t.(fl)
    Length 205'
    Beam 35'
    Draft 9'
    Depth 11' 6"
    Speed 14 kts
    Complement 154
    Armament
    two 100-pdr Parrott rifles
    four 9" Dahlgren smoothbores
    four 24-pdr howitzers
    two 9-pdr rifles
    two heavy 12-pdr smoothbores
    Propulsion steam
    two sidewheels
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Sassacus (I)
    098635505    		 85k Generic lithograph representing the Sassacus-class gunboats.
    Wikipedia    		 John Spivey
    Albemarle 143k "Wood versus iron" 19th Century photograph of an artwork by Acting Second Engineer Alexander C. Stuart, USN, 1864. It shows CSS Albemarle engaging several Federal gunboats on Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, 5 May 1864. USS Sassacus is in left center, ramming the Confederate ironclad. Other U.S. Navy ships seen are (from left): USS Commodore Hull, USS Wyalusing and USS Mattabesett. The Confederate transport CSS Bombshell, captured during the action, is in the right background. Albemarle was not significantly damaged during this action, which left Sassacus disabled by a hit in one of her boilers. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 1673. From the collection of Surgeon H.P. Babcock, presented by George R. Babcock, 1938. Robert Hurst
    Tacony 91k 19th Century photograph of a painting by Acting Second Engineer Alexander C. Stuart, USN, 1864 depicting USS Commodore Hull (at left) leading the "Double-Ender" gunboats USS Tacony, USS Shamrock, USS Otsego and USS Wyalusing in engaging Confederate batteries at Plymouth, North Carolina, 31 October 1864. Small vessels lashed to the gunboats' unengaged sides include USS Whitehead (beside Tacony), Bazely (beside Shamrock) and USS Belle (beside Otsego).
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 58943 from the collection of Surgeon H.P. Babcock, USN. Donated by his son, George R. Babcock, 1939.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Wyalusing 90k USS Wyalusing providing covering fire for boats dragging for mines on the Roanoke River, 9 December 1864. To the left of the image can be seen the sunken USS Otsego, sunk by striking a mine. It also shows the tugboat USS Bazely, striking a mine while going to the assistance of Otsego.
    Phototype by Frederick Gutekunst, (1831-1917), Philadelphia, PA., circa the later 19th Century.    		 Robert Hurst
    Wyalusing 101k US Navy Sassacus Class "Double-Ender" Gunboat. Photographed during or soon after the end of the Civil War, circa 1864-65. Identification Notes: (1) Early catalog descriptions of this photograph mention a letter "W" on the bow of one of this ship's boats. If that is actually the case, the gunboat would be USS Wyalusing, USS Wateree or USS Winooski. (2) The oval outline on the photograph's mat is similar to that used by photographer C.W. Yates, of Wilmington, N.C. Of the three "W"-named ships, only Wyalusing was employed in the North Carolina area, so it is possible that she is seen in this photograph.
    US Navy photo NH 43866 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS Wyalusing
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 12 August 2022