September 30, 1862
Nearly a year-and-a-half after the start of the American Civil War, the Union Navy (the name for the U.S. Navy during that military conflict) acquired the side-wheel steamer Red Rover as part of its fleet. Red Rover became this military branch’s first vessel used specifically as a hospital ship.
Red Rover had been built in 1859 in the city of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. On November 7, 1861, she was acquired by the Confederacy. Red Rover was initially deployed as barracks for military personnel. By March 1862, she was serving in this capacity at Island Number 10 in the section of the Mississippi River that is near New Madrid, Missouri. It was at this time that Red Rover was significantly pummeled by Union forces during their bombardment of the island. The Confederate forces ended up abandoning Red Rover altogether as a barracks ship and, on April 7, Union Navy captured this vessel.
After being repaired and modified, Red Rover was used as a hospital ship by the Union Army’s squadron for western rivers (most notably the Mississippi) that was best known as the Western Gunboat Flotilla. This medical service officially began on June 10, 1862, with Captain A. McDaniel as the ship’s commanding officer and George H. Bixby as the surgeon in charge. The following day, Red Rover received her first patient. He was David Sans, a Union Navy sailor suffering from cholera. By June 14, there were 55 patients on board the vessel for medical care.
Just a few days later, Red Rover came to rescue of 135 severely injured crewmembers of USS Mound City after this vessel’s steam drum exploded when it was ruptured by Confederate gunfire at St. Charles, Arkansas. Red Rover took on board the most extreme among these burn and wound cases and transported them to on-shore hospitals in Union territory.
The day after the Union Navy purchased Red Rover, all of the other vessels of the Western Gunboat Flotilla were likewise transferred to this military branch. This flotilla was renamed the Mississippi River Squadron and it was placed under the command of Acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter. At this time, the Navy Medical Department of Western Waters was established under the supervision of fleet surgeon Edward Gilchrist.
As the navy’s first hospital ship, Red Rover was used to not only care for and transport sick and wounded military personnel but also to deliver medical supplies to other Union vessels on the western rivers. While other vessels had also been deployed by this point in the war to transport casualties as needed, Red Rover had the advantage of qualified medical staff and better sanitary conditions. The key features aboard Red Rover included a specially installed operating room; kitchen facilities exclusively for patients; an elevator; several bathrooms; and a cabin after for improved air circulation.
Those providing medical assistance on Red Rover included several nurses from the Sisters of the Holy Cross. In addition, there were five former enslaved women likewise serving as nurses. These women were Ellen Campbell, Alice Kennedy, Sarah Kinno, Ann Bradford Stokes, and Betsy Young. All of these women helped pave the way for what became the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps.
About a month following the Union Navy’s acquisition of Red Rover, this ship was officially commissioned under the command of Acting Master William R. Wells. Red Rover’s medical complement, which continued to be supervised by Bixby, consisted of approximately 30 individuals altogether. There were 47 other people also serving on board the vessel.
One of the subsequent campaigns in which Red Rover became significantly involved was the siege of Vicksburg in 1863. Along with providing emergency care for those sick and wounded during this campaign, those serving on Red Rover transported medical personnel ashore as needed and delivered ice and fresh meat on a regular basis to several of the Mississippi River Squadron’s other ships.
Red Rover was decommissioned on November 17, 1865, nearly a half-year after what is widely regarded as the official end of the war. A dozen days later, the ship was sold at public auction to A.M. Carpenter.
Image Credit: Public Domain
For more information on USS Red Rover, please check out https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/red-rover.html
A video about this ship can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN9xpC2o_WA&t=1839s
Transportation History 
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