From The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Colonel Kinsman

Former name retained. 

SwGbt:

Colonel Kinsman, a sidewheel steamer, was captured by the Army at New Orleans,
and fitted out as a gunboat at the direction of Major General B. F. Butler for
service in the rivers and bayous of Louisiana. At Butler's request, Rear Admiral
David G. Farragut assigned naval officers to command the Army gunboats; Acting
Volunteer Lieutenant George Wiggins was given command of Colonel Kinsman in
October 1862. On 3 November 1862 in Bayou Teche, La., Colonel Kinsman joined a
vigorous action against Confederate troops and the ironclad gunboat CSS J. A.
Cotton. Moving close inshore, Colonel Kinsman dispersed an artillery battery, all
the while firing at the gunboat. Colonel Kinsman was hit more than 50 times in
this heated engagement, suffering 2 killed and 4 wounded. The gunboat was
officially transferred to the Navy on 1 January 1863, Lieutenant Wiggins
remaining in command. Colonel Kinsman was damaged in Bayou Teche on 14 January
1863 when with other Union ships, she again fought Confederate shore batteries
and CSS J. A. Cotton. This time the Confederate gunboat was damaged so severely
that she had to be destroyed. Colonel Kinsman's career ended on 23 February 1863
while on a reconnaissance of Berwick Bay when she struck a hidden snag and ripped
open her bottom. Despite being beached, she filled and slid off the steep bank
into deep water where she sank near Brashear City, La. Five of her crew were
lost. 


Transcribed by: hubertypc@hol.fr
HTML by: epm@qadas.com
Date: 11 Dec 1998