Moose StwGbt

Moose
(StwGbt: t. 189; 1. 154'8"; b. 32'2"; dr. 6'; a. 6 k.; a. 6 24-pdrs. )

Moose, a wooden sternwheel steam gunboat built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1863 as Florence Miller II, was purchased at Cincinnati 20 May 1863, and commissioned immediately, Comdr. LeRoy Fitch in command.

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron, the new gunboat departed Cincinnati 2 July 1863 to patrol the Ohio River from Louisville, Ky., upstream. Morgan's Raiders had captured Union ships John T. McComb and Alice Dean 7 July, Moose and Victory responded to the Confederate threat, arriving Brandenburg, Ky., 9 July. Moose caught up with a guerrilla band at Twelve Mile Island 11 July; of the 1,500 Confederate troops trying to reinforce Morgan's party, 45 crossed the Ohio, 39 were held on the island and taken prisoner, some were drowned, and the rest driven back.

On 19 July, Moose and Allegheny Belle shelled Confederates on Bufflngton Island, and captured abandoned artillery. Continuing to patrol the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivere during the summer, Moo~e had convoy duty on the Cumberland in October, and joined Fairplay Springfield, Silver Lake, and Victory 8 November in defeating Confederate guerrillas attempting to cross the Ohio. Returning from Harpeth Shoals and escorting 10 transports to Nashville, Moose lay below Dover 9 November planning the destruction of a guerrilla camp near Palmyra, a mission carried out with Victory in December.

She continued river patrols, reporting on construction of ships in the Tennessee, and in April 1864 with Hastinoe and Fairy broke up a Confederate attack on Columbus, Ky. On the 16th, the Confederates attacked Fort Pillow, annihilating its 500 defenders; Moose, Brilliant, and Hastings were sent there to clean up, On the 29th Moose scouted the river to Hickman, Ky. bringing away Unionist while skirmishing to keep guerrillas away from the river.

From May through December,Moose patrolled from Nashville to halt smuggling and control guerrilla movements. Typical operations included shelling and scattering a group of 40 cavalry at the crossing of the Memphis and Clarksville Railroads near Johnsonville 5 November, and shelling a large southern encampment above Turkey Island the same month. On 3 and 4 December, she fought field batteries at Bell's Hills, Tenn., silencing the guns and recapturing three transports. She returned to Nashville, but hit another battery, the 15th, capturing the guns. She Joined Neosho 17 December to escort transports compelled to return to Nashville by a strong southern from.

Moose made a surprise attack on guerilla crossing the the Cumberland at Eddyville Ind., 30 April 1865, completely dispersing and demoralizing the party. Moore then returned to the Ohio and was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 2 July to discharge stores. She decommissioned at Mound City 12 April 1965 and was sold at public auction to D. White 17 August 1865. Re documented as Little Rock 9 October 1865, she operated on the rivers until destroyed by fire at Clarendon, Ark., 23 December 1867.