U.S.S. Red Rover
Item
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Title
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U.S.S. Red Rover
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Alternate name
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USS Red Rover
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Allegiance
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United States of America
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Description
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Red Rover, the Navy's first hospital ship, was a side-wheel steamer built in 1859 at Cape Girardeau, Mo. Purchased by the Confederacy 7 November 1861, she served as CSS Red Rover (see II, 560), a barracks ship for the floating battery New Orleans. At Island No. 10, near New Madrid, Mo., from 15 March 1862, she was holed during a bombardment of that island sometime before 25 March and abandoned as a quarters ship.
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When the island fell to Union forces on 7 April, Red Rover was seized by the Union gunboat Mound City, repaired, and taken to St. Louis. There she was fitted out as a summer hospital boat for the Army's Western Flotilla to augment limited Union medical facilities, to minimize the hazards to sick and wounded in fighting ships; and to ease the problems of transportation-delivery of medical supplies to and evacuation of personnel from forward areas.
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Red Rover continued her service along the river, taking on sick and wounded and delivering medicine and supplies, until the fall of 1864. In October of that year, she began her last supply run; and, after delivering medical stores to ships at Helena and on the White, Red, and Yazoo Rivers, she transferred patients to Hospital Pinckney at Memphis and headed north. Arriving at Mound City on 11 December, she remained there, caring for Navy patients, until she was decommissioned on 17 November 1865. Having admitted over 2,400 patients during her career, she transferred her last 11 to Grampus on that date. On 29 November she was sold at public auction to A. M. Carpenter. --From Naval History and Heritage Command website, U.S.
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Has site
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Cape Girardeau (Mo.)
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Mound City (Ill.)
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Began
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1859
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Ended
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29 Nov 1865
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Years duration
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1859-1865
Linked resources
Items with "Military service: U.S.S. Red Rover"
| Title |
Class |
| Oliver, James |
Person
|