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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Jacob Bell (1861-1865)
USS Jacob Bell, a 229-ton (burden) side-wheel gunboat,
was built in 1842 at New York City for commercial employment.
The Navy purchased her in August 1861, placing her in commission
at that time under her civilian name. She served through the Civil
War on the Virginia rivers along Chesapeake Bay.
Initially assigned to the Potomac, Jacob Bell patrolled
along that river during the last four months of 1861 and into
1862, periodically engaging Confederate batteries along its shores.
In April 1862, she steamed up the Rappahannock River on a reconnaissance
mission. The gunboat joined Naval forces on the James River in
May to support the Army's campaign up the Peninsula toward Richmond.
In July, her guns provided firepower to help protect defeated
Federal forces during their retreat.
From September 1862 to the end of the conflict, Jacob Bell
mainly served on the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. While enforcing
the blockade, she seized several schooners and small craft that
were trading with the Confederates. She also participated in raids
against hostile territory and bombarded enemy shore batteries.
USS Jacob Bell decommissioned at Washington, D.C., in mid-May
1865. On 6 November of that year, she was lost at sea while under
tow to New York.
This page features our only views of USS Jacob Bell.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 52665-KN (Color)
USS Jacob Bell (1861-1865)
Colored lithograph, published circa the 1860s.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 450 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 57838
USS Jacob Bell (1861-1865)
Wash drawing by Clary Ray, August 1896.
Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 55KB; 740 x 415 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 59240
Civil War line engravings from "Frank Leslie's Illustrated",
1861
The upper engraving depicts the U.S. Potomac Flotilla in the
Potomac between Freestone Point, Va., and Indian Head, Md., to
prevent the passage of Confederates from Virginia to Maryland.
Features seen include (from left to right): Tugboat Murray;
USS Jacob Bell; Indian Head, Maryland; USS Yankee;
USS Penguin; USS Satellite; USS Seminole;
Confederate battery at Freestone Point; and the mouth of the
Occoquan River.
The lower engraving depicts a scene in Falls Village, Virginia,
which was occupied by Federal troops. It shows Taylor's Tavern
and the northern extremity of the town.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 110KB; 740 x 400 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 1853
"U.S. Gun Boats on James River covering the Retreat."
Engraving after a drawing by C. Parsons, published by Virtue,
Yorston & Company, New York, circa the later 19th Century. It
depicts the ironclads Monitor and Galena bombarding
Confederate forces as General McClellan's army withdraws following
the Battle of Malvern Hill, 2 July 1862.
The other two ships visible are probably USS Aroostook
(beyond Monitor's bow) and USS Jacob Bell (behind
Monitor, at left).
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 97KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Page made 23 June 2001