Pawtuxet, 1863

March 6, 2021
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Pawtuxet, 1863


A river and village in Rhode Island.  Pawtuxet means "Little Falls" in the native language, and the area was originally occupied by the members of the Sononoce Pawtuxet tribe, part of the larger Narragansett Indian nation.


Type/Rig/Class: Topsail Schooner / Steamer

Builder: Mr. Thomas Stark, New York

Cost: $103,000

Dates of Service: 1863 - 1867

Disposition: Sold

Displacement: 350 tons

Length: 138'

Beam: 26' 6"

Draft: 11'

Machinery: Steam engine with 2 oscillating cylinders; single 8' screw

Complement: 7 officers, 34 enlisted

Armament: 1 x 30-pound Parrott rifle; 5 x 24-pound howitzers


Cutter History:

The Pawtuxet was a steam-powered revenue cutter built in 1863 and 1864 by Mr. Thomas Stark of New York.  She was one of six Pawtuxet-class tenders that entered service in 1863-1864.  This class was the first steam-powered cutters to enter service since the 1840s.  Their contracts called for hulls of oak, locust, and white oak with iron diagonal bracing.  Their machinery was considered to be too complicated, however, and each, save Mahoning, had only a short career.

She was launched and christened on 7 July 1863.  She arrived at Boston, Massachusetts on 4 October 1864.  She was laid up on 31 May 1867 and then "dismantled."  She was sold at Boston to P. L. Everett for $25,500 on 9 August 1867.  She then became the merchant vessel Pawtuxet.


Sources:

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Donald Canney.  U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.

U.S. Coast Guard.  Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933.  Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934; 1989 (reprint).