AH-WR-0631

USS Smith Briggs

Gunboat · United States · Lost 1864 · Chesapeake Bay

A converted Hudson River tugboat turned Union gunboat, disabled by cannon fire and burned in the Pagan River during the 1864 Battle of Smithfield.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Smith Briggs began as a Hudson River tugboat built for the Schuyler Steam Towing Company before the U.S. Army leased and armed her as a gunboat at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in 1863. She patrolled Virginia's tidal rivers and took part in several combined Army-Navy operations. On February 1, 1864, while attempting to extract a Union landing party from Smithfield, Virginia, Confederate artillery struck her steam chest and disabled her. She ran aground in the Pagan River, was captured, and was subsequently destroyed by Confederate troops using her own powder stores.

Vessel

Built: 1862
Builder: Not established
Yard: East Albany, New York
Material: Wood
Length: 135 ft
Beam: 28 ft
Tonnage: 237
Propulsion: Steam, side paddle wheels
Owners: Schuyler Steam Towing Company (civilian); leased by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps and outfitted as a gunboat at Portsmouth Navy Yard

Loss

Date: February 1, 1864
Cause: Enemy action
Location: Pagan River off Smithfield, Virginia
Water: Pagan River, tributary of the James River, Chesapeake Bay watershed
Voyage: Smithfield vicinity, Virginia
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Crew and the Union troops she was rescuing were captured rather than killed in the loss of the vessel itself.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 37.01° N 76.57° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Smithfield, Isle of Wight County, Virginia
Region: Chesapeake Bay

General area only: coordinate of the Pagan River off Smithfield from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

Isle of Wight County Museum, Smithfield, Virginia
Construction, conversion, loss details, salvage and compensation history.
Naval History and Heritage Command records (via NavSource compilation)
Specifications, service history, fate.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Pagan River, Isle of Wight County, Virginia
coordinate of the named place of loss