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Riverboats built in the town of Freedom, Pennsylvania
played a major role on both sides of the American Civil War. Initially
built as cargo vessels and/or passenger boats, these river steamers
were converted from their peacetime pursuits into transports and
gunboats to help move troops and supplies quickly along the contested
rivers. Each of these boats has its own interesting tale to be
told. Such is the story of the Lucy Gwin as she not only served
on the Confederate side during the war, but nearly caused the
United States to enter Mexico, thereby igniting a war with France.
Charles W. Batchelor commissioned the Lucy Gwin to be built by McCaskey & Kerr in Freedom in 1859 for Captain Andrew W. McKee for use in the cotton trade on the Brazos and Trinity Rivers in Texas. She was a stern wheel paddle boat with a wooden hull weighing about 152 tons. This boat was built with a shallow draft - a hallmark of Freedom boat building that would serve her well on the rivers of the southwest.
Who was Lucy Gwin?
This Freedom boat received its name from the daughter of United States Senator William McKendree Gwinn of California, who served two terms in 1850-1853 and 1857-1861. A former Mississippi Marshal, Congressman, lawyer and medical doctor, Gwin was one of the early proponents of the Pony Express. Interestingly enough, Gwin was a southern sympathizer and advocate of slavery, who was imprisoned several times during the Civil War for his outspoken support of the Confederacy. In 1863 Gwin hatched a failed scheme with French Emperor Napoleon III, to settle the Mexican province of Sonora with southern sympathizers. Daughter Lucy, an excellent dancer and described as "spirited", also shared her father's views. Her coolness and courage were demonstrated by a story of Lucy on board of the R. E. Lee, a Confederate blockade-runner carrying a cargo of gold that was badly needed for the Confederate war effort. Spotted by a Union blockade ship, the U.S.S. Iroquois began pursuit and started to gain on the R.E. Lee. According to Captain Wilkinson of the R.E. Lee:
"The Iroquois appeared to be gaining.
[Captain] Wilkinson ordered kegs of gold brought up to be distributed
among the crew. A female passenger, Miss Lucy Gwin, offered to
fill a purse and keep it on her person until the danger had passed.
Twilight turned into darkness as the officer atop the paddle-wheel
housings at last called out: 'We have lost sight of her!"
"I remained on deck an hour," Wilkinson continued, "and
then retired to my stateroom with a comfortable sense of security.
We had fired [the steam boilers] so hard that the very planks
on the bridge were almost scorching hot, and my feet were nearly
blistered.
"I put them out of the window to cool, after taking off slippers
and socks. While in this position, Miss Lucy came on the bridge
in company with her father. Tapping my foot with her hand, she
said, 'ah, captain, I see we are all safe, and I congratulate
you!"
So it would seem that this particular Freedom Riverboat was aptly named for the events that were to follow.
Southern Service
In 1860, the Lucy Gwin began her career hauling
bales of cotton to market on the Trinity River in southeastern
Texas, but the gathering storm of the Civil War would cut short
her civilian service. Along with numerous other river steamers,
the Lucy Gwin was commandeered by the Texas Marine Department
of the Confederate Navy to help to protect its bays and inland
waterways. She was assigned to Matagorda Bay on the eastern side
of the Texas coast, near Galveston, and used as a transport for
military personnel and supplies.
Under the command of Major D.D. Shea and in
her role as transport and supply boat, she supported the Confederate
attack on Galveston, Texas in January of 1863. In this battle,
Confederate forces under the command of Major General John B.
Magruder launched a major land and sea attack at 2:00 a.m. on
New Year's morning to recapture the important seaport. The result
was a sound defeat for the heavily armed union flotilla, and the
restoration of Galveston to the Confederate cause.
Although her purpose was never as a gunboat, there were several times during the war in which there were orders to arm her for action:
Special Orders, No. 140 Hdqrs. Dist.
Of Tex., N. Mex., and Ariz.,
Steamer Lucy Gwin, May 23, 1863
"..Major D.D. Shea, commanding Lavaca [Texas], is charged with the duty of placing a gun and gun crew for this purpose [to protect the Lucy Gwin] on board the steamer Lucy Gwin. She will be used, if occasion requires, in conjunction with the steamer Cora in making an attack on the enemy"
By Command of Major General Magruder:
E.P. Turner
Assistant Adjutant General
On another occasion, she was used to attempt to decoy some local Union ships into the harbor at Galveston:
Special Orders , No. 35 Hdqrs. Dist.
Of Tex., N. Mex., and Ariz.,
Galveston, Tex., January 5, 1863
".Colonel Cook will send 10 men with the steamer Lucy Gwin this afternoon with flags he will get at the house of Colonel Nichols, and place them with the United States flag always flying; also take a Confederate flag with him, but not to use it until further orders. Occupy the fort on Pelican Spit until the enemy, if any appears, is decoyed within the harbor"
By Command of Major General Magruder:
E.P. Turner
Assistant Adjutant General
Apparently, when the Union danger had passed, Lucy Gwin resumed
her duties as a supply vessel and continued as such until she
was surrendered to Union forces in Matagorda Bay at the end of
the war in 1865. As the final chapter of the Civil War was being
written, the Lucy Gwin nearly became a part of the pretext for
an American invasion of Mexico.
Looking Toward Mexico
In 1862 while the United States was pre-occupied
with the Civil War, Emperor Napoleon III of France took the opportunity
to invade Mexico and overthrow the legally elected government
of Benito Juarez. Arch Duke Fernando Maximilian of Austria-Hungary
was installed as Emperor of Mexico, precipitating a bitter war
between French soldiers and Mexican patriots that was to last
for the next five years. Too busy with their own problems, the
United States was unable to address this flagrant breach of the
Monroe Doctrine.
As the American Civil War came to an end in
1865, many Confederate officials and soldiers fled south across
the border into Mexico to avoid Union retribution. Once there,
they enlisted in either French or Mexican service, or simply passed
through on their way to other countries. Along with them, they
carried off military supplies, vessels, weapons and most importantly,
cotton. Very shortly following the Confederate surrender, the
Lucy Gwin was apparently stolen by a group of Confederates fleeing
to Mexico, who escaped in her to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande
River. There the Lucy Gwin was seized and held by Imperial French
forces.
Seen as a French provocation for encouraging the theft of American property, an American reaction was fast in coming as General Phil Sheridan wrote to U.S. Grant, explaining the situation and what his response was to be:
New Orleans, La., July 1, 1865
Lieutenant General U.S. Grant:
General-in-Chief:
"The Lucy Gwin, a small steamer,
was surrendered at Matagorda, but was carried off and is now anchored
at Bagdad, on the Rio Grande. There is no doubt in my mind that
the representatives of the Imperial Government along the Rio Grande
have encouraged this wholesale plunder of property belonging to
the United States Government, and that it will only be given up
when we go and take it
I will direct General Steele to make a demand on the French authorities
at Matamoras for a return of the property. The Lucy Gwin is a
tangible case"
P.H. Sheridan,
Major- General
At this point, the United States had begun massing troops and
material along the Rio Grande with an eye toward entering Mexico
to drive out the French. Several days later, in a slightly more
conciliatory tone, General Sheridan sent an order to the general
commanding the District of Texas instructing him to issue a demand
for the return of all American property while attempting not to
provoke an outright war.
New Orleans, La, July 5, 1865
Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger:
Commanding District of Texas:
"GENERAL: Get your troops on the
Rio Grande in readiness for active service. Caution them, however,
against provoking hostilities, and demand the surrender of all
public property run across the Rio Grande since the first surrender.
This will embrace batteries of artillery, means of transportation,
cotton, &c. Make this demand, or cause it to be made at once,
and furnish the reply to these headquarters promptly. Countermand
the instructions given to General Steele about seizing the Lucy
Gwin until further orders.
I am general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,"
P.H. Sheridan,
Major-General
On August 1st, tensions along the border had eased as Maximilian's
government, realizing the seriousness of the situation with the
United States and the growing pressure from the Mexican army,
had hastily withdrawn from the Rio Grande and retreated into southern
Mexico. Undoubtedly, at this point, the Lucy Gwin along with other
U.S. property was returned to American authorities by the victorious
Mexicans. However, the Mexican struggle for independence would
continue for several more years, resulting in the withdrawal of
all French troops from Mexico. Through blind courage or bad judgment,
Maximilian remained with his own local Mexican forces in a hopeless
fight that ended in front of a firing-squad in 1867, thereby signaling
the end of foreign rule in Mexico.
Following the end of both the Civil War and the near invasion
of Mexico, the real Lucy Gwin lived on into old age as Mrs. Evan
Coleman, and was still noted for her fire and spirit by fellow
San Franciscans, while the steamboat that was her namesake returned
to more peaceful pursuits along the rivers of eastern Texas, and
both quietly faded from history.