CivilWarNews.com
22
January 2022
Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships
List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801–1947. NARA Navy log web page. Ahoy researchers! Last month, this column featured The Civil War Diary of Gideon Welles, President Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy. Now, let us take an overview of U.S. Navy (blue-water) ship logbooks. The National Archives - https://catalog.archives.gov – provides these logs online and in a searchable manner. Visit the site listed above and search ‘Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships.’ Upon entering this section, the user will initially see 1,966 available records. Select ‘18601869’ in the ‘Refine By Date’ section to narrow the focus more closely to the American Civil War. Next, select ‘Available Online’ to search through 1,187 Civil War records. See the image above. Before initiating a search, a brief review of the history of logbooks reveals naval officers kept logs before the American Civil War, which typically consisted of notes written on individual sheets of paper. A standardized format, and binding of ships’ logs, did not occur until around 1860. These records disclose, on any given day, a ship’s location, the performance of the vessel, weather conditions, supplies received, and observations of various activities, including engaging with Confederate ships. For example, this writer selected the USS Pembina, a ship assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading 22
Squadron. As an illustration of early Federal naval attempts to take Savannah, Ga., the “Log of U.S.S. Pembina: 10/16/1861 – 9/2/1862” will serve as a model. Note to researchers: utilize other source materials, like the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, to determine dates for specific activities. Users will need to ‘flip’ through each page of the logbook to locate sought-after information. The digitized records appear as a two-page (or a two-day) spread. Researchers can view the logs on the National Archives website or download a PDF file of the entire journal. The latter method typically results in a user-friendly experience, especially if one
wishes to print specific pages. December 24, 1861: All handson deck as an officer onboard the Pembina, stationed outside Wassaw Sound, observed, on “a clear and very cold day,” he could “see the rebels at work on their fort. The 3 Rebel steamers left.” This Pembina account offers a brief example of the information found within these naval records. The following resources will prove helpful to those researchers seeking additional material on these logbooks. First, the National Archives Special List 44 (shown), available through various online booksellers, or visit WorldCat http://www. worldcat.org/ to locate a copy in a local library. This guide, which
covers 1801–1947, lists warships in alphabetical order and serves as a source for using the website. A second tool resides at the website of Civil War Navy – The Magazine: https://bit.ly/3npITtl. Select this link and download a finding aid recently developed as a collaborative effort between Gary McQuarrie, Managing Editor of the magazine, and Karen Needles, Founder and Head of the Lincoln Archives Digital Project. Continued good luck in researching the American Civil War!
Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, and instructor, who remains a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at mkscdr11@ gmail.com or request speaking engagements via his website w w w. c i v i l w a r h i s t o r i a n . n e t . Follow Michael on Facebook www.facebook.com/ michael.k.shaffer, and Twitter @ michaelkshaffer.
Page from the Pembina log.
CivilWarNews.com
January 2022