After the outbreak of the
American Civil War in April 1861,
Governor of Louisiana Thomas Overton Moore had the ship seized. While the
United States Navy had a number of vessels at the beginning of the war, the Confederates had to build a navy from nothing with limited infrastructure and manufacturing. At a decided disadvantage in the naval sphere, the Confederates relied heavily on
blockade running and to a lesser degree
privateering.
Oregon repeatedly ran the
Union blockade, and under the command of
Captain A. P. Boardman made 92 "entrance and clearances" to ports through the blockade. Both the
Confederate States Army and the
Confederate States Navy were selecting vessels for military service, and
Oregon and the steamer
J. D. Swain were chosen by the Confederate Army that summer.
Oregon was armed with an 8-inch (20cm)
columbiad and a 12-pounder (5 kg)
howitzer, while
J. D. Swain was armed with a 32-pounder (15 kg)
rifled cannon and another howitzer. In July, the two ships participated in a joint Army-Navy expedition.
Launches from the
Union blockading force were harassing the
Confederate coastline, and the Confederates formed an expedition to counter the threat. About 135 sailors and
marines were loaded onto
Oregon and
J. D. Swain, and the two ships left
Lake Pontchartrain on July 5 and headed to
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. After spending the next day unsuccessfully looking for Union vessels, the vessels landed at
Ship Island, which was located in a strategic place off of the Confederate coastline. The sailors and marines began constructing a small fortification, while
Oregon inspected two fishing boats in the area before releasing them. The four cannons on the Confederate ships were taken ashore to defend the island.
Oregon and
J. D. Swain returned to New Orleans on July 7, and the former returned with the steamer
CSS Gray Cloud the next day to bring further men and supplies for the fort. On July 13,
Oregon and the steamer
CSS Arrow attempted to lure the gunboat
USS Massachusetts into the range of the Confederate cannon on Ship Island, but the Union vessel remained at a distance. , showing the locations of
Horn Island and
Ship Island Oregon was one of two ships that was used to run supplies to the position on Ship Island. The Confederate Army eventually fitted her as a
gunboat and placed her under the command of Captain Abraham L. Myers. She was armed with one 8-inch (203 mm) cannon, one 32-pounder (15 kg) gun, and two small howitzers. Worried that the garrison at Ship Island could be easily cut off by the Union Navy and starved into submission, Confederate
Major General David Twiggs ordered the island abandoned on September 13.
Oregon helped evacuate supplies from the island, and the withdrawal was completed on September 16. In late 1861 and early 1862, much of the Confederate fleet in New Orleans was transferred up the
Mississippi River to support the Confederate defenses of
Columbus, Kentucky, but
Oregon remained behind, serving on Lake Pontchartrain and intended to help other ships defend the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi. On December 7, 1861, the gunboat
CSS Pamlico sighted Union vessels entering
Mississippi Sound.
Oregon was present at
Mississippi City, Mississippi, to transport equipment for a
powder mill from there to New Orleans, and joined
Pamlico in confronting the Union ships, which turned out to be the steamers
USS New London and
USS De Soto. Remaining in shallow water that the Union vessels could not enter, the Confederates fired on them with two rifled cannon.
Oregon and
Pamlico ignored a challenge from
New London for a closer quarters fight, and the Union ships withdrew.
Pamlico then escorted
Oregon back to New Orleans, where the latter unloaded the power mill equipment, which increased the city's capacity for gunpowder production. After meeting a blockade runner in
Lake Borgne,
Pamlico and
Oregon attempted to escort her into the
Gulf of Mexico on December 20, but were detected by Union forces near Ship Island and forced to withdraw back to Lake Borgne. On March 25, 1862,
Oregon was escorted by
Pamlico to the
Pass Christian area to deliver supplies and then on her own moved towards Ship Island to scout Union positions. Withdrawing to Pass Christian after being sighted, she was pursued by
New London.
Oregon and
Pamlico moved to engage the Union ship, and began firing from a range of . Two of
Pamlicos cannons were unable to be fired safely due to defective ammunition, and after
Pamlicos third cannon was rendered unusable after a projectile became stuck in the barrel, the two ships withdrew into shallow water, where
New London could not pursue. The Union ship fell back several hours later. On April 3,
New London, the steamer
USS John P. Jackson, and the
troop transport USS Henry Lewis left
Biloxi, Mississippi, to move against Pass Christian.
Pamlico,
Oregon, and the gunboat
CSS Carondelet were mobilized to counter the threat. In an action offshore of Pass Christian, Confederate fire forced
Henry Lewis to withdraw, and the other Union vessels suffered light damage.
Oregon suffered a hit to her
ship's wheel, and her
pilot was wounded when a projectile entered the
pilothouse. With
Carondelets wheel also damaged in the battle and the steamer
USS Hatteras approaching, the Confederate vessels withdrew to Lake Pontchartrain and the Union forces moved on to Pass Christian. The 1,200 troops aboard
Henry Lewis landed, and the area was captured. With Union forces preparing to attack New Orleans,
Oregon,
Pamlico,
Carondelet,
Arrow, and the gunboat
CSS Bienville remained at Lake Pontchartrian, guarding
Chef Menteur Pass and the
Rigolets. On April 24, Union Navy forces under
Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut pushed passed the Confederate defenses at
Fort Jackson and
Fort St. Philip, and then moved past the defenses at
Chalmette, Louisiana, the next day. New Orleans was largely indefensible after the fall of those positions, and
Oregon was
sunk as a
blockship. Naval historian Neil P. Chatelain states that she was sunk in the Rigolets between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, while historian W. Craig Gaines places the sinking in either the
Tchefuncte River or the
Bogue Falaya River. The wreck later interfered with the escape of other Confederate vessels from Lake Pontchartrain, and remained there until a contractor for the
United States Army Corps of Engineers removed it between 1872 and 1873. Any iron debris was removed by the contractor, while the rest of the wreck was burned on shore. == References ==