Fanatic,
Here is a small portion of what I've discovered. It is in narrative form for the most part and I've split it up to just give the pertinent sections for our discussion. I've removed the footnotes as they aren't important here. And remember, you are getting only a portion of an article, not the entire article. But this is what I've found out:
". . . The Glide was a 137-ton stern-wheeled river packet, constructed on a wooden hull at Shousetown, Pa., in 1862. She was sold to the U.S. Navy in November 1862. The Tinclad was a light-draft river steamer converted for combat by the addition of light armor. “Tin-clad” was a misnomer; tin was not involved in the armoring. Defensive works generally consisted of wooden or thin metal bulwarks.
On January 3, 1863 the Glide was on the lower Mississippi taking part in the action against Fort Hindman, (Arkansas Post) on January 11. Passing the fort under heavy fire she proceeded upstream to cut off possible escape routes for the garrison. Following the campaign, Glide served as a supply ship until she was sent to Cairo for repairs in early February 1863.
Arriving at that location a few days prior to the fire, Glide’s Captain, Selim Woodworth, was assigned command of the General Price. Not yet having transferred, he continued keeping quarters on the Glide. Command was passed to Dahlgren.
On the night of the 7th, the Glide was boxed in the center of three boats moored on the Ohio-side river front. She was moored to and astern of a wharf boat. On the inside, next to shore was the inspection vessel Abraham. The General Price was moored outside her. Because of engine repairs the General Price did not have steam up. Repairs were also underway on the Glide.
Before 5 a.m. Pennock was awakened and the fire reported to him. Dressing quickly he arrived at the wharf where " . . . I found she was on fire in the fore hold.”
Fifteen minutes later Woodworth was aroused by the fire bell ringing on the naval depot wharf boat: “Not seeing any light or smoke when I looked out, I supposed the alarm to proceed from (a) fire in town.” Woodworth dressed and ran onto the main deck where he went forward to call the officers and crew.
Once topside, he discovered smoke roiling from the fire scuttle and forward hatches of his own ship. The already-alerted crew was heavily engaged “drawing and passing water and making every exertion to extinguish the fire.”
Realizing that while the main fire was the rightful focus of attention; Woodworth realized other steps needed to be taken also. He ordered several contrabands to help him drown the magazines. Located in the rear of the vessel, this action would lessen the danger of an explosion. Finding the magazines were not fitted with bilge cocks Woodworth ordered up a bucket brigade and poured water through the hatches”
Efforts forward were not going well, “ . . . a strong force of officers and laborers . . . made every exertion, with such facilities as were at hand, to extinguish the fire, but the extreme cold weather, leaving everything frozen, but little was effected by the use of buckets,” Dahlgren wrote. Not willing to give up the boat, firefighters cut through the deck with axes, but insulation around the boilers was soon in “a living flame”.
Realizing the Glide was losing the battle to survive and with the situation growing worse, Woodworth consulted Pennock. Agreeing it was impossible to save the Glide and realizing the flames had become dangerous to the Abraham and the General Price, as well as other vessels, preparations were made to clear her from the pier.
The tugboat Dahlia was ordered up to the rear of the Glide. Sailors were called on to secure Glide to the tug and clear her from the pier. Towing lines were run from the tug to the Glide which was made fast by the rear quarter.
Pennock ordered the boats cast off. By this time the entire forward part of the vessel was in flames. At this moment the Glide presented a very real threat to the rest of the fleet.
Anxious minutes passed as the tow struggled to pull the Glide from her moorings and power the flaming wreck into the middle of the river. Once away and finally into the river’s current the two craft drifted with the current until, at a safe distance, the Glide was cast off. Continuing to burn, she drifted two miles down river. Beaching finally on the Kentucky side near Fort Holt, where she burned down to the water’s edge. The magazines did not explode thanks to the work of Woodworth and the contrabands, “but the fixed ammunition seemed to be fired slowly, as shell and shrapnel continued to burst in the air from time to time, for an hour after she grounded.”
Afterwards Woodworth reported that “Acting Ensign (Thomas) Wright and the engineer of the tug Dahlia are deserving much credit in holding on to the Glide until she was so far removed as not to endanger the lives or property at Cairo by the explosion of her magazines. They did not leave her (Glide) until her fasts were burned off and the small arms ammunition were being discharged in every direction.”
The boat’s skeleton “is now lying in five feet water, on the Kentucky shore. Her guns, engines, and boilers can be readily recovered; also all the iron plates from her sides. The officers and crew of the Glide have lost all but their clothes in which they dressed. The crew has been transferred to the Mary Miller, which vessel will be dispatched as soon as ready,” Woodworth concluded.
On February 12, Woodworth informed Admiral David D. Porter “since the burning of the Glide, Mr. Dahlgren and myself have been engaged in recovering from the wreck the most valuable portion of her armament. We have got all her guns, which are in good order, except one. The carriages are destroyed, but the mounts are recovered and can be refitted here. We have also saved her anchor and chains, all the iron plates from her casemates and sides, and many other articles of value that can be again employed. Her boilers, engines, doctor, capstan, and wheel, complete, are saved, and can be used again, with but slight repairs. All the canister and most of her shrapnel and shell are recovered, but slightly damaged by water.”
As a matter of routine a board of inquiry investigated the fire.
. . . Three weeks after the fire, on February 28, 1863, the board submitted its final report. At best the conclusions were selective.
Noting that, “The absence of the officer of the deck and quartermaster on duty at the time of the accident has rendered our examination to some extent incomplete. Glide had a crew of (eight) white men, 30 Negro contrabands. Of the (eight) white men, two were on guard on the forecastle outside the casemate and one, acting as quartermaster, on the upper deck. The officer of the deck was a young and inexperienced master's mate.#
While the report did not state a specific cause for the fire, the board centered speculation on the contrabands. “No evidence of a positive character is given as to the cause of the burning, but it appears very probable that it occurred from a fire made by the Negroes upon the ash pan to warm themselves, the night being a cold one. Accidents from this cause are of frequent occurrence.”
It continued: “The officer of the midwatch states that at 4 o'clock a.m. he examined the light, etc., below in accordance with a general order of the captain to do so every hour, and that then he thinks there was no fire on the ash pan; is not entirely positive, as for a day or two previous he had seen fires there for the purpose of thawing out the boiler, connecting pipes, etc., and that in consequence its presence at that might have escaped his notice. It appears that the master's mate on watch discovered smoke some time before any alarm was given, but seems not to have known how to act or, indeed, to have realized the cause or probable danger. The smoke at length passed up between the chimneys and jackets reached the spar deck, when the quartermaster took alarm and sprang to the bell.”
The conclusion of the report was devastating to all but eight of the crew: “The cause of the fire is undoubtedly traceable to the character of her crew, all but eight being contrabands, sensitive to the cold and reckless of the consequences of building a fire anywhere. There is a hope of escaping discovery, and they were able to kindle it by using a passage lamp hanging near. It is probable, had the officer of the watch been a person of more experience, the fire would have been discovered in time to extinguish it. Finally, we do not find any want of vigilance or the usual precaution against fire, the only reliable men being the eight seamen, and they could not keep the other guard and at the same time watch the lights and the Negroes below.”
T. Pattison, Lieutenant Commander, S.L. Phelps Lieutenant-Commander, and Wm. D. Faulkner Acting Chief Engineer signed the inquiry report.
Placing blame on the contraband crew members helped to begin a campaign to upgrade the seaman corps on Western waters.
That's my information, hoped it clarified. Mike.