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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Harvest Moon (1864-1865).
Originally the Civilian Steamship Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon, a 546-ton (burden) side-wheel steamship,
was built at Portland, Maine, in 1862 for commercial use. She
was purchased by the Navy in November 1863 and placed in commission
as USS Harvest Moon in February 1864. The ship was soon
sent to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which operated
along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Rear
Admiral John A. Dahlgren, the squadron's commander, made Harvest
Moon his flagship, and she served in that capacity for most
of the next year. On 1 March 1865, while underway near Georgetown,
S.C., with the Admiral on board, she hit a Confederate mine (or
"torpedo" in contemporary terms) and sank with the loss
of one of her crew. She was subsequently abandoned where she lay.
This page features the only views we have related to USS
Harvest Moon (1864-1865).
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 66973
Harvest Moon (American Steamship, 1862)
Watercolor by Erik Heyl, 1953, for use in his book "Early
American Steamers", Volume III.
This ship served as USS Harvest Moon in 1864-1865.
Courtesy of Erik Heyl.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 51KB; 740 x 370 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 57823
USS Harvest Moon (1864-1865)
Wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1903, depicting the ship underway
during the Civil War.
Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 94KB; 740 x 435 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 59175
"Landing of General Potter's and Admiral Dahlgren's Troops
at Bull's Bay, South Carolina"
Line engraving, based on a sketch by John Everding, published
in "Harper's Weekly", March 1865, depicting the landings
made on 16-17 February 1865.
Ships shown include (as identified below the print, from left
to right -- all U.S. Navy): State of Georgia, Pawnee,
Juniata, Harvest Moon -- flagship, Wando,
Winona, Shenandoah and Canandaigua.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 146KB; 740 x 495 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 53685
USS Harvest Moon (1864-1865)
SCUBA Divers use rods to probe the area of the ship's wreck,
circa 1963. Note the remains of her smokestack nearby.
Harvest Moon was sunk by a mine in Georgetown Bay, South
Carolina, on 1 March 1865.
Courtesy of Walter McDonald.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 110KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
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Page made 16 March 2003