I previously had two more entries on the USS Narcissus, but found spelling errors and was woking on them when I lost them.
Went to good old Wikipedia for this information.
The USS Narcissus was a screw steamer tug launched in July 1863 as the Mary Cook in East Albany, New York.
It was purchased by the US Navy and commissioned in February 1864 and joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron at New Orleans. It was 82 feet long and mounted 1X20-pdr Parrott Rifle and 1Xheavy 12-pdr. I wonder if the guns are still on the wreck?
It was assigned patrol duty on the Mississippi Sound and captured one blockade-runner.
Then, it supported cleanup operations after the Battle of Mobile Bay. On December 7th, in a violent storm, it struck a Confederate mine and sank in just 15 minutes. The Narcissus was raised and repaired in Pensacola and then used as a dispatch boat.
On January 4, 1866, it struck a shoal off Egmont Key by Tampa, Florida. When the cold Gulf water hit the boiler, it exploded, killing all 19 or 23 men aboard.
There was a lighthouse on Egmont Key at he time, but the light had not yet been turned back on after the war. Had it been on, it is likely that the Narcissus would not have hot that shoal.
Interesting Story About a Little-Known Warship. --Old B-Runner
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