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William McKean Log of the USS Niagara and Related Papers
MSS 0777  
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PAPERS

Box 1, Folder 1

Midshipman warrant for McKean 1814 November 30

Box 1, Folder 2

Orders for McKean to take command of the Niagara 1860 April 28

Box 1, Folder 3

Captain's oath of allegiance 1861 May

Box 2

Niagara crew and officers' oaths of allegiance 1861 May

Box 1, Folder 4

Letter, Admiral David D. Porter to McKean 1861 June 8

General note

Letter regarding the Union loyalty oath of First Lieutenant John L. Broome.
Box 1, Folder 5

Portrait of William McKean 1861 August

Box 1, Folder 6

Oath of allegiance of John Rainbow, carpenter 1861 August 20

Box 1, Folder 7

Orders and letter appointing McKean to the Command of the Gulf Blockading Squadron 1861 September 3, 6

General note

Letter signed by Gideon Welles, U.S. Secretary of the Navy. It describes blockade duties at the mouth of the Mississippi River and in the Gulf. The orders direct the transfer of responsibility for the Squadron to McKean from Flag Officer Mervine.
Box 1, Folder 8

Letter, McKean to Capt A. Harwood 1861 September

General note

Letter describes the condition of the Niagara and advises on strategy in the Gulf, including a recommendation to attack Pensacola.
Oversize FB-295, Folder 5

Letter, McKean to his family 1862 January

General note

The letter mentions the launch of the Burnside Expedition and the ships Baltic and Atlantic.
Box 1, Folder 9

Release from command of the USS Niagara, signed by Gideon Welles 1862 June 14

Box 1, Folder 10

Letter, Gideon Welles to McKean, regarding prize money for the capture of the Salvor 1863 October 27

 

LOG BOOKS

Scope and Content of Series

The log book entries began on 1 February 1861 as the Niagara rounded the Cape of Good Hope on her way back to the United States following a diplomatic mission with Japanese dignitaries, and end on 17 May 1862, shortly before McKean left the service. The log books contain descriptions of the ship, weather, and patrolling action in the early years of the Civil War, in addition to longer journal entries with McKean's observations of events. Details include narrative descriptions of the capture of the Rebel blockade runner General Parkhill as she attempted to make port at Charleston; warning off British ships; shelling Fort Pickens; and other skirmishes.
Box 1, Folder 11

1861 February 1 - October 16

General note

Includes a pen-and-watercolor sketch of Cape Town and Table Bay.
Box 1, Folder 12

1861 October 17 - 1862 May 17