Confederate Veteran

History of the “Star of the West”

Volume 2, April 1894, page 120

The later career of the steamer fired on off Charleston bar on 9 January 1861: her charter, her capture in Texas, and her sinking as an obstruction at Fort Pemberton.

Unsigned.

Cite as

“History of the ‘Star of the West,’” Confederate Veteran 2, no. 4 (April 1894): 120.

The page in the scanned volumeThe whole volume at the Internet Archive

Published
April 1894
Volume
2, no. 4
Pages
120
Author
unsigned

HISTORY OF THE "STAR OF THE WEST."

This steamer was built to run from Aspinwall on the route to California. She was the first vessel chartered by the United States Government to take troops and provisions to Fort Sumpter, in Charleston harbor. At daylight on the morning of January 9th, 1861, she crossed the bar at Charleston and was fired on by the Confederate steamer "Gen. Clinch." Failing to relieve Fort Sumpter, she returned to New York, and was again chartered by the Government to proceed to

Indianola, Texas, to bring off the United States forces that were being withdrawn from Texas, but was captured on April 17, 1861, by Confederate volunteers from (Galveston; was taken to New Orleans, and there loaded with stores for Vicksburg, and was subeedne aes sent up Yazoo River to prevent capture by the Federals, and finally sunk at Fort Pemberton, on the Tallahatchie River, to prevent the Federal fleet from passing down into the Yazoo River. It still lies at Fort Pemberton, and has, for many years, been a serious obstruetion to steamers navigating that river. Capt. P. R. Starr, in command of the United States snagboat "John R. Meigs," has succeeded in removing a large portion of this wreck, and now there is a good and safe channel around it.

The "Star ofthe West" carried Walkerand his filibusters to Nicaragua; it was the first vessel chartered by the United States Government in the Confederate War; it was the first vessel fired upon by the Confederates; and it was the first vessel in the service of the Unite States Government captured by the Confederates.

The scan

What the scanner made of this page, and what it is in the printed original.

  • “Fort Sumpter” twice — a period spelling the magazine used freely, kept as printed.
  • “subeedne aes sent up Yazoo River” is damaged; the sense is “subsequently sent up the Yazoo River.”
  • “obstruetion”, “Walkerand”, “Star ofthe West” and “Unite States” are scanning slips, not the magazine's.

Editorial notes

Statements in this article that are wrong, doubtful, or worth setting beside another account. The article’s own text is left as printed.

  1. “she crossed the bar at Charleston and was fired on by the Confederate steamer ‘Gen. Clinch’”

    Wrong, and it matters. The Star of the West was fired on by the masked battery on Morris Island manned by cadets of the South Carolina Military Academy, and then by Fort Moultrie. The General Clinch was a South Carolina guard steamer in the harbor that morning; she carried no armament that engaged the ship. The Veteran itself printed the cadet account repeatedly — see Volume 5, page 273, and Volume 40, page 86.

  2. “captured on April 17, 1861, by Confederate volunteers from Galveston”

    Correct in substance. She was taken off Indianola, Texas, on 17 April 1861 by Texas troops under Col. Earl Van Dorn.

  3. “finally sunk at Fort Pemberton, on the Tallahatchie River”

    Correct. She was sunk as a channel obstruction in March 1863 during the Yazoo Pass expedition.