View source for USS Oneida (1861)

{{short description|Gunboat of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Oneida}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Sinking of USS Oneida.jpg
|Ship caption= USS ''Oneida'' sinking off [[Yokohama]], Japan, 24&nbsp;January&nbsp;1870
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag=[[Image:US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg|48px|Union Navy Jack]]  {{USN flag|1861}}
|Ship name= USS ''Oneida''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered= February 1861
|Ship builder=[[New York Navy Yard]], [[Brooklyn]],&nbsp;[[New York (state)|New York]]
|Ship laid down= 
|Ship launched= 20 November 1861
|Ship acquired= 
|Ship commissioned= 28 February 1862
|Ship decommissioned=11 August 1865
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned= May 1867
|Ship decommissioned=  
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate= Sunk in collision 24 January 1870
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[Steamboat|Screw]] [[sloop-of-war]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|1488|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|201|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|8|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=[[Steam engine]]
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed= {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=186 officers and enlisted
|Ship armament=*3 × 30-pounder guns
*2 × {{convert|9|in|mm|abbr=on}} guns
*4 × 32-pounder guns
*1 × 12-pounder gun
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The second '''USS ''Oneida''''' was a [[Mohican-class sloop|''Mohican''-class screw sloop-of-war]] in the [[United States Navy]]. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], she destroyed the [[CSS Governor Moore|CSS ''Governor Moore'']] and served in [[blockade]] operations. She was attached to the [[Asiatic Squadron]] from 1867–1870. She sank in 1870 outside [[Yokohama]], Japan after collision with the British steamer ''Bombay''. A court of inquiry, headed by the local British consul, found the officers of ''Oneida'' were responsible for the collision, with ''Bombay's'' captain being blamed for not staying at the scene to render assistance – a decision that caused some controversy.<ref name= "MorningPost">''[[The Morning Post]]'', 5 July 1870, page 5, column 1</ref> A less exhaustive U.S. naval court of inquiry laid the blame entirely on the ''Bombay'''s actions.<ref name="FarChinaStation">{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Robert Erwin|title=Far China Station: The U.S. Navy in Asian Waters, 1800-98|publisher=U.S. Naval Institute |date=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ef5mAgAAQBAJ&q=yokohama&pg=PT189 |isbn= 9781591144090}}</ref> Japanese fishing boats saved 61 sailors but 125 men lost their lives. The American government made no attempt to raise the wreck and sold it to a Japanese wrecking company. The company recovered many bones from the wreck and interred them at their own expense. The Japanese erected a memorial tablet on the grounds of [[Ikegami Honmon-ji|Ikegami Temple]] in Tokyo and held a Buddhist ceremony in the sailors' memory in May 1889.

== Construction ==
''Oneida'' was authorized by Act of [[United States Congress|Congress]], February 1861, and built at the [[New York Navy Yard]]; launched 20 November 1861; and commissioned 28 February 1862, Captain [[Samuel Phillips Lee]] in command.<ref name="DANFS">{{cite DANFS |title=Oneida II (Screw Sloop of War) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/oneida-ii.html |access-date=17 June 2017}}</ref>

==Service history==

===Civil War, 1862–1865===
Shortly after commissioning ''Oneida'' sailed from New York and joined the [[West Gulf Blockading Squadron]] commanded by [[Flag officer]] [[David Farragut]]. On 24 April 1862 she participated in the attacks on [[Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip|Forts Jackson and St. Philip]] below [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], and drove off the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Naval ram|ram]] which sank the steam [[gunboat]] {{USS|Varuna|1861|6}}. ''Oneida'' destroyed the gunboat [[CSS Governor Moore|CSS ''Governor Moore'']] in a following engagement on the same date.<ref name="DANFS"/>

On 27 April 1862 ''Oneida'' destroyed obstructions in the [[Mississippi River]] above [[Carrollton, Mississippi|Carrollton]], [[Mississippi]], helping prepare the way for the [[Battle of Vicksburg|Vicksburg campaign]]. In both passages of the Confederate works at [[Vicksburg, Mississippi|Vicksburg]], Mississippi – on 28 June 1862 and 15 July 1862 – by the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] fleet under [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] Farragut, ''Oneida'' was second in line.<ref name="DANFS"/>

In the first half of 1862, Oneida was commanded by Robert E. Lee's cousin, [[Samuel Phillips Lee]], who had resisted calls to join the Confederacy.

On 7 August 1862, under the command of [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[George H. Preble]], ''Oneida'' collided with the steamer ''Whiteman'' or ''Lewis Whitman'' (sources differ) loaded with dead and wounded troops from the [[Battle of Baton Rouge (1862)|Battle of Baton Rouge]], including the body of [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Thomas Williams (Union general)|Thomas Williams]], on the [[Mississippi River]] near [[Donaldsonville, Louisiana|Donaldsonville]], [[Louisiana]]; the steamer sank with the loss of all hands.<ref name="DANFS"/><ref>Gaines, W. Craig, ''Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks'', Louisiana State University Press, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-8071-3274-6}}, p. 104.]</ref> Early in September 1862, ''Oneida'' failed in an attempt to stop the passage of the [[Confederate States Navy]] sloop-of-war [[CSS Florida (cruiser)|CSS ''Florida'']] into [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], [[Alabama]].<ref name="DANFS"/>

From 15 October 1863 to 23 August 1864, under the command of [[Charles Vernon Gridley|Captain C. V. Gridley]], ''Oneida'' served in blockade operations off Mobile, where on 5 August she participated in the [[Battle of Mobile Bay]] and the subsequent capture of [[CSS Tennessee (1863)|CSS ''Tennessee'']]. At a later date she witnessed the surrender of [[Fort Morgan (Alabama)|Fort Morgan]] at Mobile. ''Oneida'' [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 11 August 1865 at [[New York City]].<ref name="DANFS"/>

Seven sailors and one [[United States Marine Corps|Marine]] from ''Oneida'' were awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for their actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay. These men were:<ref name="moh1"/><ref name="moh2"/>
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
* Quartermaster [[John E. Jones (Medal of Honor)|John E. Jones]]
* Coxswain [[Thomas Kendrick (Medal of Honor)|Thomas Kendrick]]
* Landsman [[David Naylor (Medal of Honor)|David Naylor]]
* Ordinary Seaman [[William D. Newland]]
{{Col-2}}
* Landsman [[John Preston (Medal of Honor)|John Preston]]
* Sergeant [[James S. Roantree]] (USMC)
* Quartermaster [[James Sheridan (Medal of Honor)|James Sheridan]]
* Seaman [[Charles B. Woram]]
{{Col-end}}

In late June 1865, shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War, the sternwheel [[paddle steamer]] ''Echo No. 2'' struck ''Oneida'''s [[prow]] and sank in the [[Ohio River]] near [[Cairo, Illinois|Cairo]], [[Illinois]], while carrying 300 soldiers of the [[13th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Regiment|13th]] and [[41st Ohio Veteran Volunteer Regiment]]s. The regiments lost rations and a combined 10 horses and 13 mules in the sinking. The soldiers blamed the [[Maritime pilot|pilot]] guiding ''Echo No. 2'' for the accident and beat him.<ref>* Gaines, W. Craig, ''Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks'', Louisiana State University Press, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-8071-3274-6}}, p. 135.]</ref>

===Asiatic Squadron, 1867–1870===
[[File:OneidaMemorialatIkegami02.jpg|thumb|right|Gravestone to the dead of the U.S.S. ''Oneida'' on the grounds of [[Ikegami Honmon-ji|Ikegami Temple]] in Tokyo. There was once metal lettering on the stone, but they were apparently pried off and melted for the war effort during World War II.]]Recommissioned in May 1867, she was attached to the [[Asiatic Squadron]] and continued in that capacity until January 1870.<ref name="DANFS"/>

''Oneida'' departed from Yokohama, Japan on 24 January 1870, on passage back to the United States. Some 12 miles into this voyage, she was struck by the [[Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company|British Peninsula & Oriental]] steamer {{SS|Bombay|1852|2}}, at 6:30&nbsp;pm near Saratoga Spit. The Court of Inquiry unanimously held that the officers of ''Oneida'' were entirely to blame for the collision. The ''Oneida'' was under the command of an inexperienced junior officer whilst the senior officers were at dinner. On seeing a light ahead, this young officer had sought the advice of a navigating officer who briefly came on deck and then returned to dinner. Confusing helm orders were given on ''Oneida'', with the result that ''Bombay's'' efforts to avoid collision were in vain and she struck ''Oneida'' at an angle of 45 degrees, abaft the mizzen chains. The starboard quarter was cut off ''Oneida'' and she sank at 6:45&nbsp;pm in {{convert|20|fathom|m}} of water with the loss of 125 men, 61 sailors being saved in two Japanese fishing boats. The loss of life on the ''Oneida'' was compounded by a shortage of boats: 3 of the ship's boats had been lost in a typhoon the previous August and not replaced, 2 were destroyed in the collision, leaving only 2, which were lowered immediately.{{r|FarChinaStation}}<ref name=MorningPost/>

There is controversy over the subsequent actions of Captain Eyre of the ''Bombay''. He was accused of steaming on without rendering assistance. He had his certificate suspended for 6 months by the Court of Inquiry and the ship itself was libeled, meaning that steamer and other ships of the P.& O. Line were kept away from American ports.<ref name="DANFS"/> The findings of the Inquiry were debated in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], with speakers making clear that ''Bombay'' remained at the position of the collision for, by varying reports, between 5 or 6 minutes and 10 or 12 minutes, whilst ''Oneida'' carried on under full sail and steam, with a full tide under her. No indication of distress from ''Oneida'' were seen or heard on ''Bombay'' (''Oneida's'' crew admitted they did not show any blue lights), it would have been time-consuming to turn the ship in a narrow channel, making the provision of any useful help impossible, and the position of ''Oneida'' was not clear as she was not showing any lights. Furthermore, there was damage to ''Bombay'', with 9 feet of water in the forward compartment, the ship was 18 years old and carrying a number of passengers.<ref name=MorningPost/><ref>{{cite Hansard |house=[[House of Commons]] |title=Ships "Bombay" and "Oneida" |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1870/jul/05/resolution#S3V0202P0_18700705_HOC_171 |date=5 July 1870 |column=1524 |speaker=[[George Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Baron Eversley|George Shaw-Lefevre]]}}</ref>

The wreck of the ''Oneida'' was sold at [[public auction]] at Yokohama 9 October 1872, to Mr. Tatchobonaiya. Inside the wreckage were found many of the bones of the dead sailors, which were interred, at the expense of the salvagers, on the grounds of Ikegami Temple in Tokyo. In ''Jinrikisha Days in Japan'' (1891), [[Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore]] tells the story, writing:
 
:''...[the American] government made no effort to raise the wreck or search it, and finally sold it to a Japanese wrecking company for fifteen hundred dollars. The wreckers found many bones of the lost men among the ship's timbers, and when the work was entirely completed, with their voluntary contributions they erected a tablet in the Ikegami grounds to the memory of the dead, and celebrated there the impressive Buddhist ''segaki'' (feast of hungry souls), in May 1889. The great temple was in ceremonial array; seventy-five priests in their richest robes assisted at the mass, and among the congregation were the American admiral and his officers, one hundred men from the fleet, and one survivor of the solitary boat's crew that escaped from the ''Oneida''. ''

:''The Scriptures were read, a service was chanted, the Sutra repeated, incense burned, the symbolic lotus-leaves cast before the altar, and after an address in English by Mr. Amenomori explaining the segaki, the procession of priests walked to the tablet in the grounds to chant prayers and burn incense again.''<ref>{{cite book |title=Jinrikisha days in Japan |year=1891 |url=https://archive.org/details/jinrikishadaysi02scidgoog |quote=Oneida. |first=Eliza Ruhamah |last=Scidmore |access-date =26 November 2010 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York |pages=139–140 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

==Current status==
According to records regarding the ''Oneida'', she was leaving port carrying payment for sales of ammunition and gunpowder to the Japanese government. Around 1955, Takeshita Hisao led an effort to salvage the loaded payment, as well as other artifacts from the ''Oneida'' wreck. Artifacts including coins, ammunition shells, rifles, and further bones from deceased sailors and passengers were found. The recovered steam gauge was later donated to the [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka]]. In 2010, a special aired 9 November on [[Fuji Television]] made a further effort at salvage with the help of Takeshita's family and one of the divers from the 1955 effort. The show's salvage team located a shipwreck that matched descriptions of the ''Oneida'', and efforts continue to discover more about the wreckage and remaining contents.<ref name = "FujiTV">{{cite web |title=カスペ！めざましテレビPresents 『中居正広の世界はスゲェ～ ココまで調べましたSP』 |date=28 October 2010 |url=http://www.fujitv.co.jp/fujitv/news/pub_2010/101028-201.html |work=[[Fuji Television]] |access-date=5 December 2010 |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330155658/http://www.fujitv.co.jp/fujitv/news/pub_2010/101028-201.html |archive-date=30 March 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|American Civil War}}
*[[Union Navy]]
*[[Confederate Navy]]
*[[List of sloops of war of the United States Navy]]
*[[List of shipwrecks in 1870]]
*[[Bibliography of early American naval history]]
*[http://www.maritimequest.com/daily_event_archive/2008/01_jan/pages/24_uss_oneida.htm Roll of Honor]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="moh1">{{Cite web
 |title        = Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A–L)
 |work         = Medal of Honor Citations
 |publisher    = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]
 |date         = 26 June 2011
 |url          = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html
 |access-date  = 24 September 2012
 |archive-date = 2 September 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120902081051/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

<ref name="moh2">{{Cite web
 |title        = Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (M–Z)
 |work         = Medal of Honor Citations
 |publisher    = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]
 |date         = 26 June 2011
 |url          = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html
 |access-date  = 24 September 2012
 |archive-date = 7 July 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100707090618/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

}}{{Mohican-class sloop}}{{1862 shipwrecks}}{{1865 shipwrecks}}{{1870 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneida}}
[[Category:Sloops of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Ships of the Union Navy]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]
[[Category:1861 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in Tokyo Bay]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1862]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1865]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1870]]