The str Silver Wave was a stern wheel packet built in 1854 in Glasgow, PA (opposite Georgetown on the Ohio River).  It was rated at 245 tons; 159’x35’x5’. [1]  Built to the specifications of Capt John Smith McMillin, str Silver Wave “tramped” from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati and Louisville.  Soon after the Civil War, the str Silver Wave was purchased by the US government for use in making improvements on the upper Missouri River. [2]  She was off the lists in 1867. [3]

 

The str Silver Wave was intimately involved in one lively provocation of the Civil War before the first shots were fired at Ft Sumter.  Earlier in Dec 1860, SC was the first state to secede from the union.  Others states followed.  Sec of War, John B Floyd, a southern sympathizer, sent an order to the Allegheny Arsenal in Pittsburgh to ship 124 canons to New Orleans.   The steamers Silver Wave and Marengo were contracted to transport the canons south.   When the citizens of Pittsburgh learned of this action, they protested knowing that the guns would be used to fortify the south.     The commander of the arsenal John Symington attempted to obey the order from Washington on Christmas Eve.  Angry crowds halted the movement of the canons and their military escorts to the wharf.  However, thirty-eight guns were already loaded on the Silver Wave before the order was countermanded.  Pittsburgh citizens, whose feelings for the Union were deeply held, threatened to blow the Silver Wave out of the water if it attempted to go down the Ohio River.

 

In the western theater of te Civil War, the str Silver Wave made history.

 

From Dispatches from the Front: March 1862 by Bruce Weaver events in the str Silver Wave History have been gleaned.

 

“On the 14th of March, part of the regiment, minus 12 officers and 284 enlisted men (some were sick), boarded “…the steamboat Silver Wave for Island No. 10…”

 

“members of the Norwegian regiment—first on the Silver Wave–became part of the flotilla that bombarded Island Number 10 three days prior to the action.  Here the 15th Wisconsin Infantry witnessed its first demonstration of that era’s shock and awe.

 

After the fall of Island No 10, str Silver Wave made a dramatic appearance in Pittsburgh on 9 May 1862 with muskets, cartridges, and other military hardware consigned to the Allegheny Arsenal. [4]

 

Under charter to the US Army, the str Silver Wave became the first packet to run the blockade at Vicksburg during the siege in 1863.  During this dramatic scene recording the shelling of Vicksburg, MS, the steamer Silver Wave can be seen at the far right.

At 10:00 PM on the night of 16 Apr 1863, the fleet left its moorings on te Yazoo River and steamed down the Mississippi.  The first six boats were gunboats.  The boats that ran the blockade were: BENTON (Porter’s Flagship), LAFAYETTE GENERAL PRICE (captured Confederate vessel lashed to the Lafayette), LOUISVILLE, MOUND CITY, PITTSBURG, CARONDELET; and transports SILVER WAVE, FOREST QUEEN, HENRY CLAY; and the gunboat TUSCUMBIA.  The transports were loaded with supplies and ammunition and protected by cotton bales.  The steamers passed within a few yards of shore and were under fire for about ninety minutes.  Every vessel had been hit several times, but only the transport Henry Clay was lost.  A shell burst setting fire to the cotton bales forcing her crew to abandon. The burning vessel.  Only ten or twelve men were wounded. [5]

 

Admiral Porter’s Squadron

Gunboat	Captain	No of Guns
Benton	LCDR JA Greer	16
Lafayette	Capt H Walker	10
Louisville	LCDR EK Owen	13
Mound City	LCDR Byron Wilson	13
Carondelet	Lt JML Murphy	13
Pittsburg	Lt WR Hoel	13
Tuscumbia	LCDR JW Shirk	3
		81	Total

Capt George O’Neal of Steubenville, OH was the pilot on watch of the str Silver Wave.

Capt McMillin was also a member of Steel’s Bayou Expedition. [6]

 

 

Notes and References.