USS Michigan

[DamYankee25]

Hello All,

I have been spending the last several years trying to research the USS Michigan, her crew, service, etc. There is one book out there about her which I've read but it mostly details her service and commanders. I am having a **** of a time finding information about the crew during the war. I've found the mentions of the ship in the Official Records and some other things. There isn't much out there about her from the Civil War period, most is post war stuff. She was the first iron-hulled steam ship of the US Navy and my Great x3 Grandfather served on her until 1863. I have a copy of his Pension and a post war picture and that's it. Anyone out there from the Lake Erie area with some other avenues of approach to find out about the USS Michigan? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[1ofHoward'sCowards]

The Michigan was the focal point of the Confederate plot to free the Rebel Officers from Johnson's Island POW Camp in Sandusky Bay, Ohio in 1864. Once they realized that the ship could not be captured the plot fizzled.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

There is, or used to be... a U.S.S. Michigan Landing Party unit in the N-SSA.

There is a remote possibility that they may have some "unit history" they can share if you can track them down through the N-SSA website?

Just a half-thought...

CHS

[Shortround]

Hello All,

I have been spending the last several years trying to research the USS Michigan, her crew, service, etc. There is one book out there about her which I've read but it mostly details her service and commanders. I am having a **** of a time finding information about the crew during the war. I've found the mentions of the ship in the Official Records and some other things. There isn't much out there about her from the Civil War period, most is post war stuff. She was the first iron-hulled steam ship of the US Navy and my Great x3 Grandfather served on her until 1863. I have a copy of his Pension and a post war picture and that's it. Anyone out there from the Lake Erie area with some other avenues of approach to find out about the USS Michigan? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Brandon,

First, you're sort of looking at the wrong site. Go over to steelnavy.com and they will give you lots of information. I build ships and steelnavy will give you links to model kit makers, official blue prints, and loads of information.

Here is the basic information on the Michigan:

Early career
Michigan operated on the Great Lakes out of Erie, Pennsylvania, throughout her career. In May 1851, she assisted in the arrest of Mr. James Jesse Strang, known as "King James I", who headed a dissident Mormon colony on Beaver Island at the head of Lake Michigan, some 37 mi (60 km) from the Straits of Mackinac. Strang was soon freed, but was assassinated by two of his followers on 19 June 1856. The assassins fled to Michigan for sanctuary and were taken to Mackinac and released.

In an encounter with Great Lakes "timber pirates" in the 1850s, a steamer rammed Michigan. The pirate vessel was badly damaged in the maneuver, and was captured.

USS Michigan was the first iron-hulled ship in the US Navy. When she was rammed in the early hours of May 6, 1853, in southern Lake Huron, by the wooden-hulled Buffalo, the Michigan was badly damaged, but the Buffalo proceeded south towards the St. Clair River and was not "captured." Despite this, the Michigan assisted in arresting several of the timbermen who had been stealing timber in Michigan. Additional information is available in "The Development of Governmental Forest Control in the United States," by Jenks Cameron, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1928; and in "Guardian of the Great Lakes," by Bradley A. Rogers, The University of Michigan Press, 1996.

American Civil War
During the American Civil War, Michigan was armed with a 30-pounder Parrott rifle, five 20-pounder Parrott rifles, six 24-pounder smoothbores, and two 12-pounder boat howitzers. The Confederate States of America considered launching attacks against the North from Canada. Early in 1863, Lieutenant William Henry Murdaugh, CSN, planned to lead a group of Confederate naval officers to Canada where they would purchase a small steamer, man her with Canadians and steam to Erie to board Michigan and use her against locks and shipping on the Great Lakes. However, Confederate President Jefferson Davis didn't approve the plan.

Michigan cruised on the Great Lakes during most of the war providing an element of stability and security. On 28 July 1863, a short time after New York City had been seriously shaken by riots, Commander John C. Carter commanding Michigan reported from Detroit, "I found the people suffering under serious apprehensions of a riot....The presence of the ships perhaps did something toward overawing the refractory, and certainly did much to allay the apprehensions of the excited, doubting people." During August 1863, Michigan was called on for similar service in Buffalo, New York.

During 1864, rumors of Confederate conspiracies in Canada were heard again. In March, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered Michigan to be "prepared for active service as soon as the ice will permit." In the autumn, the Confederates finally struck. Led by Acting Master John Yates Beall, 20 Confederates embarked on the steamer Philo Parsons as passengers and soon seized her. They next captured and burned the steamer Island Queen. Meanwhile, Captain Charles H. Cole, CSA, a Confederate agent in the Lake Erie region, was attempting to gain the trust of Michigan's officers as the Michigan lay off Johnson's Island helping to guard Confederate prisoners. However, Commander Carter discovered Cole's duplicity and had him arrested before Beall reached Johnson's Island on Philo Parsons. When the prearranged signals from shore were not made, Beall reluctantly abandoned his plan and retired to Sandwich (now Windsor, Ontario) where he stripped and burned Philo Parsons.

Later U.S. Navy Service

After the Civil War, Michigan remained in U.S. Navy service, and was the ship which intercepted and interned the army of the Fenian Brotherhood as it returned from its invasion of Canada near Buffalo in 1866. Michigan was renamed USS Wolverine on 17 June 1905 to free up the name Michigan for use by the new battleship USS Michigan (BB-27).

Wolverine was decommissioned on 6 May 1912.

Pennsylvania Naval Militia serviceWolverine was turned over to the Pennsylvania Naval Militia, which she served for 11 years, making training cruises in the summer for the United States Naval Reserve. For the 1913 centennial of the War of 1812 Battle of Lake Erie, Wolverine towed the brig USS Niagara from port to port as part of the celebrations. In mid-1920, when the U.S. Navy adopted its modern alphanumeric hull number system, she was classified as a "miscellaneous auxiliary" and designated IX-31.

On 12 August 1923, a connecting rod of Wolverine's port cylinder broke, ending her active career.

In 1927, Wolverine's hulk was pushed up onto a sandbank in Presque Isle Bay and loaned to the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, as a relic. She was sold to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Original USS Michigan, Inc., on 19 July 1948. But when fundraising efforts failed to acquire sufficient money for her restoration and preservation, she was cut up and sold for scrap in 1949.

In 1950, Wolverine's prow was erected as a monument in Wolverine Park in Erie, near the shipyard where she had been built. On 22 February 1988, the prow was moved to the Erie Maritime Museum for restoration. Today it can be viewed inside the museum

Picture Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Wolverine_(IX-31)_002.jpg

Ship information:

Maryland Silver Company (for drawings)
Steelnavy.com (they love CW ships)
Cottage Industries Models (fantastic 1/192 scale ships)

[hornj]

There is, or used to be... a U.S.S. Michigan Landing Party unit in the N-SSA.

CHS

There is a U.S.S. Michigan Marie Unit, I spoke with them at Manassas. This page has some info about them - http://www.acwsa.org/Pages/Team%20Pages/uss_michigan_landing_party.htm

[Rob Weaver]

It would be profitable to contact the Erie Maritime Museum cited above. In addition to the prow of the ship, there is an extensive collection of artifacts related to the Michigan/Wolverine. The Maritime Museum also has a wealth of research material on the ship. Although the focus of the museum is largely on the 1812 ships built in Erie, there is great interest in the Michigan/Wolverine as well.

[Shortround]

A thread was started at Steelnavy.com. That is a naval site. Those good individuals may be able to shed light on:

1. Where to find a list of crew members.
2. Officers in charge of the ship.
3. Day-to-Day logs
4. Daily Training of the crew.

Hope that helps.

[1ofHoward'sCowards]

Also,

You may want to try and contact the Sandusky Maritime Museum, in Sandusky, Ohio. The Michigan docked there frequently, and they would probably be able to pass on some more info.

[DamYankee25]

Thanks all for the helpful links. The book on the ship does mention a lot of this stuff, the armament, actions during the war etc, including the putting down of a Mormon rebellion at Mackinaw Island. It's actually a pretty interesting read to see how long she lasted in service. Most pictures of her are post war unfortunately. I will definitely check out Steel Navy. I hope to one day make it to the Erie museum to see the Prow. My Great x3 Grandfather who served on her is buried in Erie and is where my Father's family is from. He remembers seeing the prow in the park before it was moved inside to the museum and restored.

Thanks everyone!

[2nd_mi_johnny]

finding a list of crewmen might be difficult. Correct me if I'm wrong any one out there but wasn't about 90 percent of the Civil War era navy paperwork lost during a fire at the Naval offices in D.C. in like 1911 or something?