Background note:

The U.S.S. Marion sailed from Portsmouth, N.H., on July 14, 1861, bound for blockade duty in southern waters, and possibly under letters of marque as a privateer. By mid-August, it had reached the Florida coast, and in September, pulled in to Key West. From there the Marion cruised the Carribean toward Fort Pickens, eventually anchoring at Chandeleur Island and Ship Island, La., and from mid-October to early 1862, Dog Island off the Florida panhandle. During these months, it encountered at least two suspected blockade runners, but had few incidents of note to report.

Scope and contents:

The daily log of the U.S.S. Marion, probably kept by clerk Edward A. Pendester, offers wind speed and direction, weather conditions, barometer readings, and temperature, and includes comments on a wide range of naval concerns: recruitment of crew, inspections, desertions, sightings of and communications with other ships, military drills, and divine services.

While the log entries are generally perfunctory and comparatively uniformative beyond position, direction, and weather, a few incidents of note have been recorded. Of particular interest are an account of sighting a suspected blockade runner loaded with cotton (September 1, 1861), an encounter with a skiff containing four fugitive slaves, a second sighting of a blockade runner (November 6), an account of confining sailors for drunkenness and fighting (November 23), and a court martial for theft (January 10, 1862).

Recat. 11/97 rsc

Link to subject index to the Sloop Marion Log-book

Alphabetic index to the Schoff Civil War Collections

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