Thank you for the information about the USS Mendota. What is your connection to the ship?

As I have researched the history of the USS Mendota I have seen pictures of the Mendota and its crew misidentified. I have also read about the small differences between the USS Miami, the USS Agawam and the USS Mendota.

My paternal great-grandfather, Alexander Leslie Bower, joined the Federal Navy as a paid substitute. He lived in Manhattan, NYC but was born in the highlands of Scotland in 1846. He was a landsman on the USS Mendota for the time the ship was in service. I live in Tidewater, VA and taken guided tours of the areas of the James River where the Mendota was stationed. In June I will be taking a tour that will include a tour of the Fort Harrison National Cemetery outside of Richmond, VA. Three of the Mendota crew were killed during a fight with Confederate gun batteries and I will be able to view their graves.

I was able to find where my great-grandfather served because after he died in 1886 my great-grandmother received a small pension. In a Yankee magazine article there was information on how to obtain pension records of a Civil War ancestor. I sent away for the records and they included the ship he served on. A friend who was a naval historian was kind enough to give me some pictures of the Mendota and lent me the Union Navy records where the Mendota was mentioned. Over the years I have acquired several books with pictures of the Mendota and her crew as well as photographs of the crew. The Union Navy records are now online and easily accessible. At a local Civil War era mansion I was able to read the Confederate Naval records which described how they saw the shelling of the Mendota.

My family has one picture of our great-grandfather. I have looked at the crew photographs but cannot see anyone who resembles him. I thought that Matthew Brady had taken the Mendota photographs. Did Mr. Russell work for him?

Any information that you are willing to share would be very welcome. I would be happy to share what I have found.

Pam