T D Horner StwStr

T. D. Horner

(StwStr.: t. 123; a. 2 12-pdr. r.)

T. D. Homer-a stern-wheel steamer built in 1859 at Brownsville, Pa.—was purchased by the War Department on 18 May 1862 for use on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the Army's newly established flotilla which was popularly known as the "Ellet Ram Fleet." Commanded and manned by Army personnel, this organization operated in the same waters as the Western Flotilla-later to become the Mississippi Squadron-which had been established the previous summer, also under Army auspices but commanded and manned by Navy personnel. The relationship between these organizations-which often cooperated in carrying out their overlapping missions-was never completely clarified. However, at no time was the Ram Fleet-or were its ships-taken into the Navy. T. D. Homer served the Ram Fleet and its successor, the Marine Brigade, as a tug until the latter was dissolved on 24 August 1864.

After the Civil War ended, T. D. Homer was sold by the Government on 17 August 1865. She was redocumented for merchant service on 27 November 1865 and plied the Mississippi and its tributaries until New Year's Day 1868 when she hit a bridge at Louisville, Ky., and was damaged beyond economical repair.