Jan 28, 2014 Rare piece of Civil War Naval History - USS Undine The Historic Pen Company has acquired a rare piece of Civil War Naval history in the form of a small piece if the USS Undine. The USS Undinewas a steam-powered Civil War gunboat converted by the Union from a sternwheeler into a lightly armored vessel carrying eight (8) brass twenty-four (24) pound howitzers.1 On October 30, 1864, the Undine was captured by Confederate forces, after an engagement on the Tennessee River near Paris Landing. On November 2 of the same year, the Undine, now under Confederate command, was badly damaged and escaped to Reynoldsburg Island after an engagement with Union gunboats. There, two days later, on November 4, 1864, the Undinewas burned to the waterline by Confederate forces to prevent her recapture by Union gunboats attacking Reynoldsburg Island. This piece of white oak was removed from the Undine in 1925 when extremely low water exposed part of the hull. It wasn’t until 1990 when diver for a local preservation company “refound” the Undine and began a salvage operation and planed to raise the Undine, which has been under 40 feet of water since the construction of the Gilbertsville, KY Dam in 1940. HPC hopes to get 2 pens out of the 6 inch piece of hull and is currently reviewing options to best utilize this amazing piece of “Witness Wood” and turn it into historic heirlooms that can be displayed for generations. For more information contact, Bob @HistoricPenCompany.com
