Roster of the U.S.S. Whitehead

(tin-clad steamer)

We are interested in obtaining copies of records, photos, letters and diaries of these Sailors. Also interested in family information and grave location. Interested in obtaining copies of ship information, photos or drawings as well. Corrections, additions or comments welcome. Please respond to Edward Boots.

Naval Historical Center Info on the Whitehead

Soldiers are listed by Name - Rank - Race (If other than White) - Service History

ASKEW, William - Landsman. Born in Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 11 March 62 in Co. D, 17th NC at Hertford Co., NC. Deserted 9 Feb 63. Enlisted in the U.S. Navy 21 Feb 63 at Plymouth, NC at age 21. Served on the Commodore Perry. Transferred 13 Sep 63 to the Whitehead. Discharged 19 July 65 from the Philadelphia.

BALDWIN, William S. - Acting Master's Mate. Born 23 Nov 1842 at Oswego, NY, son of William W. & Phoebe (Ostrander) Baldwin. Rated Acting Master's Mate on July 9 (or 13), 1863. Honorably discharged on August 3, 1865. Re-entered the Navy and rated Mate on June 12, 1866. Resigned on September 18, 1871. Assigned to the USS Crocus and to the USS Madawaska on trials at New York. William S. Baldwin entered the Revenue Cutter Service in 1871, appointed from the state of New York, and was rated Third Lieutenant on October 7, 1871 (pay at $1,200.00 per annum), and Second Lieutenant (Temporary) on April 29, 1875. Assigned to the Cutter Oliver Wolcott on the San Francisco station in 1873, and the Cutter Fessenden on the Detroit station in 1875 (at $1,500.00 per annum). Married Lila Jane Jennings. Died 30 October 1895 from "Mine Poison" at Grand Rapids, MI. Buried in Riverside Cemetery, Oswego, NY.

BARNES, Michael "Mike" - Landsman. Born in Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 27 May 63 at Plymouth, NC; a 20 year old Farmer. Served on the Southfield until it was sunk by the Albemarle. Served on the Whitehead until discharged 13 June 65. Living in Plymouth, NC in 1890.

BARRETT, George W. - Acting Ensign. Born in and a resident of NY. Rated Acting Master's Mate on October 2, 1861. Promoted to Acting Ensign on April 9 (or 18), 1863. In command of the U.S.S. Whitehead on May 5, 1864 during the Battle of Albemarle Sound against the Albemarle. Promoted to Acting Master on August 24, 1864. Honorably discharged on October 28, 1865. Assigned to the USS Commodore Perry in 1864.

BELK, Henry - Seaman.

BELL, Daniel - Cook - Black - Born about 1833 in Washington, DC. Enlisted 11 Jan 63, a 30 year old Cook & Waiter. Second enlistment 12 Nov 64 at Washington, DC, a Sailor from Maine.

BURDIN, Lawrence - 1st Class Boy. Born in Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 1 April 63 at Plymouth, NC at age 21. Served on the Commodore Perry. Transferred 30 Sep 63 to the Hetzel. Transferred 18 Nov 63 to the Whitehead. Discharged 19 July 65 from the Philadelphia.

BURNETT, George W. - Landsman. Born in Philadelphia, PA. Enlisted 28 March 63 at New Bedford, MA, a 22 year old Boot & Shoe Fitter. Served on the Ceres, Hetzel & Whitehead. Discharged 18 May 64.

BURNS, Michael - Landsman - Black - Born about 1843 in Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 31 Dec 63 at Plymouth, NC; a 20 year old Farmer.

BURNS, Patrick - Ordinary Seaman. Born about 1840 in Co. Down, Ireland. Enlisted 14 Sept 61 at Philadelphia, PA, a 21 year old Mariner. Discharged 17 Sept 64.

BURROWS, James W. - Ordinary Seaman. Born about 1840 in France. Enlisted 15 June 61 at New York at age 21.

CARTER, George - Seaman. Born about 1835 in England. Enlisted 5 Dec 62 at Baltimore, MD, a 27 year old Mariner. Assigned 18 Dec 62 to the State of Georgia and then Whitehead. Discharged 31 Dec 64.

CHILDS, Henry Clay - 1st Class Boy - Mulatto. Born Jan 1848 in Baltimore, MD. Enlisted 10 Feb 63 at Baltimore, MD at age 15. Also served on the Princeton, Alleghany, Ceres & Hetzel. Discharged 30 Nov 65. Married about 1873 to Mary E. Worked as a Gardner after the war. Died 23 Jan 1923 in Providence, RI. Buried in North Burial Ground. Headstone

COLLINS, John - Ordinary Seaman. Born about 1839 in Ireland. Enlisted 19 July 61 at New York, at age 22. Discharged 12 Aug 64.

DAVIS, William - Coal Heaver - Black - Born in Charles Co., MD. Enlisted 10 Feb 62 at Roanoke Island, NC; an 18 year old Farmer & Fireman.

DEAN, Henry - Boy. Enlisted 4 Jan 63. Assigned 1 July 63 to the Whitehead.

DOWNING, Thomas - Quarter Master. Born about 1835 at Lowell, MA. Enlisted 31 July 61 at New Bedford, MA at age 26. First served on the Brandywine.

DOXTADER, George A. - Landsman. Possibly George H. DOXSTATER.

DUFFY, Peter - 1st Class Fireman.

GARRETT, Ebenezer - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in Raleigh, NC. Enlisted 8 Oct 62 at Plymouth, NC; a 26 year old Slave. Also served on the Commodore Perry. Living in Plymouth, NC in 1890.

GASKIN, Samuel - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in Craven Co., NC. Enlisted 15 Sept 64 at New Bern, NC; a 19 year old Waiter.

GODFREY, John - Seaman. Born about 1841 in France. Enlisted 27 Jan 62 at New York, at age 21. First served on the R. B. Forbes. Assigned March 63 to the Commodore Perry and then Whitehead. Discharged 20 March 65.

HARBAN, John - B. Mate.

HOPKINS, Charles - Coxwain. Born about 1839 in Norway. Enlisted 1 June 61 at New York, at age 22. First served on the Hunchback. Assigned Feb 64 to the Whitehead. Also served on the Sassacus & Brandywine. Discharged 30 June 64.

JOHNSTON, Thomas H. - Seaman. Born about 1839 in Newark, NJ. Enlisted 2 March 63 at New York, at age 24. Assigned 18 March 63 to the Sumpter then Hunchback before being assigned to the Whitehead. Discharged 11 April 64.

JONES, Henry - Seaman. Born about 1833 in Wales. First served 4 1/2 years in the Navy. Enlisted 2 March 63 at New York, at age 30. Assigned 18 March 63 to the Sumpter then Hunchback before being assigned to the Whitehead. Discharged 10 May 64.

JOST, James - Ordinary Seaman. Born about 1839 in Nova Scotia. Enlisted 10 June 61 at New York, a 22 year old Blacksmith.

KEARNS, John - 1st Class Fireman. Enlisted 1 July 63. First served on the Narragansett. Discharged 17 Jan 65.

KELLY, Patrick - 1st Class Fireman. Born about 1831 at Limerick, Ireland. Enlisted 9 Nov 61 as Coal Heaver at Philadelphia, PA, a 30 year old Fireman. First served on the Georgia. Discharged 31 Oct 64.

LEWIS, William H. - Landsman - Black - Born in Augusta, ME. Enlisted 10 Jan 62 at Hampton Roads, VA; a 22 year old Hackman. Also served on the Commodore Perry. 

LIVERMAN, William H. - 2nd Class Boy. Enlisted 1 Feb 63. Assigned 1 Oct 63 to the Valley City. Admitted to the Naval Hospital, New Bern, NC. Assigned to the Whitehead. Discharged 20 March 65.

McDAVID, Patrick - Landsman.

McDERMOTT, George B. - Acting 3rd Assistant Engineer. Born in and a resident of Washington, DC. Rated Acting Third Assistant Engineer on December 31, 1862. Honorably discharged on October 28, 1867. Assigned to the USS Whitehead in 1864, and to the USS Agawam on the North Atlantic Squadron in 1867.

MOORE, Dirson or Dawson - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in either Bertie or Hertford Co., PA. Enlisted 1 April 63 at Plymouth, NC at age 18 or 19. Served onboard the Commodore Perry until transferred to the Hetzel. Later transferred to the Whitehead. Discharged 19 July 65 from the Philadelphia.

NELSON, Thomas M. - Acting Master's Mate. Born about 1833 in Norway and a resident of NY. Rated Acting Master's Mate on 6 Jan 63. Assigned to the USS Whitehead in 1864, to the USS Shamokin on the South Atlantic Squadron in 1867, and to the USS Fortune on the North Atlantic Squadron in 1873. Died 22 April 1875 in New York. Buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY.

NICKENS, Joshua - Landsman - Mulatto - Born in Hertford Co., NC. Enlisted 10 Jan 63 at Plymouth, NC; a 24 year old Blacksmith & Laborer. Also served on the Commodore Perry. 

OVERTON, Richard - 1st Class Boy. Enlisted 21 April 63. Assigned 11 Sept 63 to the Commodore Perry.

O'BRIAN, Dennis - Quarter Master. Born about 1837 at Fall River, MA. Enlisted 3 Sept 61 at New Bedford, MA, at age 24.

PERRY, Edward B. - Landsman. Born about 1840 at Worcestor, MA. Enlisted 16 Oct 61 at Boston, MA, at age 21. Discharged 31 Oct 64.

PETERSON, Moses - Acting 2nd Class Engineer. Born about 1828 in South River, NJ and a resident of NY. Rated Acting Second Assistant Engineer on November 17 (or 26), 1861. Assigned to the USS Whitehead in 1864 and escaped captured at Plymouth. Died 6 Oct 1864 in NC. Buried in the "Old Cemetery," New Bern, NC. Cenotaph in Washington Monumental Cemetery, South River, Middlesex Co., NJ. Headstone | Dick Myers

PIERCE, Isaac - 2nd Class Boy & Coal Heaver. Black. Born in Currituck, Currituck Co., NC. Enlisted 10 April 62 at Elizabeth City, NC, a 21 year old Cook & Servant. Served 16 Aug to 20 Nov 63 on the Whitehead as 2nd Class Boy and as Coal Heaver until 30 June 64.

QUALE or QUAYLE, Thomas E. - Acting Master's Mate. Rated Acting Master's Mate 20 Nov 61. Resigned 27 April 65.

RYAN, Robert Horton - Acting 3d Assistant Engineer. Born in and a resident of New York. Appointed 22 Dec `62, an Engineer & Machinist from Troy, NY. Attached for duty to the Whitehead until 5 July `64 when  he was sent to the Naval Hospital at Portsmouth, VA. Afterwards served onboard the U.S.S. Emma & U.S.S. Nahant. Discharged 11 Nov `65. Married Sarah J. Watson 16 Sep 1875 in Washington, DC. Died 3 April 1881 in Washington, DC.

SCISSON, Wiley - 1st Class Boy. Born in Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 1 April 63 at Plymouth, NC; a 21 year old Slave. Served on the Commodore Perry. Transferred to the Whitehead until transferred to the hospital at Norfolk, VA.

SHARK, Isham - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in Plymouth or Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 26 March 63 at Plymouth, NC a 22 year old Slave. Served onboard the Commodore Perry until transferred 5 Sep `63 to the Whitehead. Transferred 10 June `65 to the Princeton. Discharged 19 July 65. Died 5 March 1893 in Philadelphia, PA.

SHARP, Daniel - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in Hertford Co., NC. Enlisted 19 May 62 on the Chowan River, NC; a 19 year old Steward.

SHARP, Haywood or Hayward - Coal Heaver - Black - Born in Hertford Co. or Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 2 June 62 at Roanoke Island, NC; a 28 year old Fireman & Farmer. Discharged 23 June 65.

SHARP, Henry - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in Hertford Co. or Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 2 June 62 on the Chowan River, NC; a 22 year old Farmer. Last reported as present 1 July `63.

SHARP, John - 1st Class Boy - Black - Bertie Co., NC. Enlisted 2 June 62 on the Chowan River, NC; a 40 year old Farmer. Discharged 22 May 65.

SHARP, Washington - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in Hertford Co., NC. Enlisted 19 May 62 on the Chowan River, NC; an 18 year old Steward.

SMITH, Albert - Seaman.

SMITH, Edwin - Ordinary Seaman. Born 1841 in New York, NY. Navy Medal of Honor. On board the U.S.S. Whitehead in the attack upon Franklin, VA on 3 Oct 1862. When his ship became grounded in a narrow passage as she rounded a bend in the Blackwater River, Smith, realizing the hazards of lowering a boat voluntarily swam to shore with a line under the enemy's heavy fire. His fearless action enabled his ship to maintain steady fire and keep the enemy in check during the battle.

SMITH, Silas - Landsman - Black - Born in Yorktown, VA. Enlisted 14 Aug 61 at Hampton Roads, VA; a 20 year old Cook. Died 22 Jan 1895 in Norfolk, VA.

SNARTH, G. S. - Acting 3d Assistant Engineer. 

TALLIDGE, William R. - Seaman.

TAYLOR, James - Landsman - Black - Born in Maryland. Enlisted 11 Jan 62 at Hampton Roads, VA; a 19 year old Seaman. Also served on the Commodore Perry. 

WARD, John - 2nd Class Fireman. Born about 1840 in Philadelphia, PA. Enlisted 14 Oct 61 at Philadelphia, PA, a 21 year old Mariner. First served on the Georgia. Discharged 31 Oct 64.

WILSON, Jarvis - Acting Ensign.

WINNS, Moses - 1st Class Boy - Black - Born in Tyrel Co., NC. Enlisted 1 Feb 64 at Plymouth, NC, a 16 year old Laborer. Also served on the Miami.