The North Carolina Built Jeffersonian Gunboats
Sunday, March 13th, Daughters of 1812 members Kitsy Lackey and Dale Spencer attended a presentation in Whiteville, NC at the invitation of the NC Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 794 in Columbus County, NC. It was a true learning experience for us, as Kitsy and I did not know that Smithville ( present day Southport) built such beautiful, rugged boats. Mr. Greathouse was indeed very knowledgeable about this subject and kept his audience's attention!
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| The Alligator |
Gunboat 166 (U.S. Schooner
Alligator)
Gunboat 166 was built by Amos Perry near Wilmington, North
Carolina around the town of Smithville (Southport). Perry's naval
contract, issued in March of 1808, was for the construction of three
sloop rigged 60' gunboats. They were to be numbered 166, 167, and
168. The superintendent of construction was Navy Agent General
Benjamin Smith. Mr. Perry built Gunboat 166 with a schooner rig instead
of the planned sloop rigging. He also provided the ship with two 6
pounder cannons instead of the single 24 or 32 pounder cannon called for
in the contract. Rated at 80 tons, with a length of 60' between
perpendiculars, a beam of 16'6", and depth of hold of 6'6", the gunboat
received her crew of forty sailors and marines. By the time she was
completed and launched on 1 April 1809, the fear of war with Great
Britain had subsided and the gunboat was placed in ordinary at
Wilmington two months later.
As war clouds again appeared on the horizon, Gunboat 166
was reactivated in the fall of 1811. After being refitted and manned
she began patrolling the North Carolina coast. Soon after the
declaration of war, she was transferred to South Carolina waters. Near
the end of 1812 or early 1813, Gunboat 166 was renamed,
Alligator. It was during this period that the
Alligator
also received two additional cannons. Over the next couple of years
she would increase her armament to eight 12 pounder carronades.
The
Alligator soon faced a far worse enemy than the British.
On 1 July 1814, while patrolling Port Royal Sound, she capsized during
a heavy storm. Twenty-three officers and men of the ship were lost.
Bassett, now a lieutenant, was one of the few survivors. Plans were
quickly put into place to raise the Alligator. After being raised and
refitted the schooner resumed her patrol duties; but, Lieutenant
Bassett was no longer in command. Soon after the sinking he became
ill and died in September. The remaining months of the war were once
again filled with the monotonous cruising along the coast between
Charleston and Beaufort. In the late spring of 1815, she completed
her last cruise. On 12 June 1815, she was decommissioned and sold.
The naval career of the
Alligator was over.
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| L-R: Member Kitsy Lackey, Mr. Jim Greathouse, Member Dale Spencer |
Source: Jim Greathouse, Park Ranger Historian
Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum
