The Ships of Rebel Raiders - The Gunboats

  

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships.

Part II – The Gunboats: USS Black Hawk

The USS Black Hawk (USN Card 10) was originally the Mississippi River steamship New Uncle Sam before being pressed into service by the Navy in Cairo in 1862.  The luxurious 902-ton sidewheeler was the flagship for Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter (USN Card 2).  Upgraded to a “tinclad” and packed with four 32-pounders, two 30-pound rifles and a pair of 12-pounders she was present a Vicksburg,  participated in the capture of Fort Hindman and went along on the notorious Red River Expedition (CSN Card 76). Although she survived that fiasco, she caught fire, burned and sank above Cairo on April 22, 1865.