Description:

(UNION NAVY) USS MERCEDITA FIREMAN'S PATRIOTIC POEMS IN PRAISE OF HIS SHIP
An excellent, patriotic pair of manuscript poems or songs, each 3pp. small 4to., and each dated May 24, 1862, written by U.S. Navy fireman, second class Gilbert N. Bogart aboard his ship, the gunboat USS MERCEDITA. Both poems lavish praise on his ship, her commander and crew, and the Union, while decrying Jefferson Davis and the Confederate cause. The first, titled ‘A Dela To The Mercedita', consists of thirteen verses and two choruses, in small part: ‘1st: With the Bold Mercedita from New York we came./With our Noble Commander Stellwagen by name,/With a hundred brave men, and as merry a crew/As ever sailed o'er the wild Ocean so Blue./Chorus: Tis the Bold Mercedita Oh long may she sail,/O'er the Ocean of Blue, and in danger not fail./2nd: Jeff Davis has tried the North to subdue./With all hid Bold skeaming he found it won't do./For the North is determined to conquer or die,/To disband those vile Trators is still the war cry [all sic]…' several verses of general patriotic sentiment follow, before Bogart turns his attention back to his ship: ‘...4th: On the Ocean we have cruised and the Rebels have run,/When they came within range of our Rifle or Gun./If they wanted a shell we gave it with care,/For the Bold Mercedita had a plenty to spare… 7th: Their Citys we have taken and their vessels also,/We will soon make them feel the North is their foe,/With Jeff Davis their leader, we will make them stand clear,/From their rams and Baterys we have nothing to fear,/8th: Our Batery is good and our Ship she is strong./If we meet them we'l try them for they'r in the wrong,/With strong hands and Brave hearts we'l give them a chance,/To come under our Flag or die in advance [all sic]…' He goes on to relate one of the Mercedita's successes, the capture of the blockade runner BERMUDA, which carried a cargo of artillery and ordnance destined for Confederate fortresses and ships: ‘...10th: In April remember off Abaco light;/Our Commander discovered the Bermuda on Flight,/For Nassau was bound that Cecessionist hole,/To dispose of her cargo of powder and ball,/11th: Now the bold Mercedita outwited her there./And took both herself and her cargo a share,/To Philadelphia they we sent her condemned as a prize./A blow to the South, to the North a surprise [all sic]…' The final verses long for a victorious return home. At the conclusion, Bogart writes: ‘Composed by Gilbert N. Bogart On Board the U. S. S. Mercedita May 24th 1862', a few days later adding ‘Approved by Commander [Henry S.] Stellwagen, May 27th 1862'. The second poem, titled ‘A Song to the Mercedita', consists of eleven verses and three choruses, and appears to be an earlier draft of the piece described above, featuring many of the same verses with Bogart's pencil emendations, although some unique lines are present: ‘...5th: Now think Brave men of the Flag you sail under./The tune from our Guns will cause them to wonder,/The Stars and the Stripes, has cause them a blunder./Three Cheers Brave men, we will cast them asunder [all sic]…' It is unsigned, but is dated ‘May 24th 1862' at the conclusion. Both examples show old folds and are very faintly toned, but are otherwise in fine condition. USS MERCEDITA was a wooden screw steamer purchased by the U.S. Navy in July, 1861 and outfitted as a gunboat. She was attached to the Gulf Blockading Squadron and participated in the capture of several blockade runners, including the Bermuda as described in Bogart's poem. The pieces presented here were written before the most notorious incident in her career: In September of 1862, she was transferred to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and assigned to the blockade outside Charleston Harbor. On the night of January 31, 1863, the Confederate ironclad rams CSS PALMETTO STATE and CSS CHICORA slipped out of the harbor, intent on recapturing a blockade runner carrying steam engines for future ironclads. The Mercedita was the first ship the Confederates encountered, and the Palmetto State succeeded in ramming her, while firing a shot which disabled her engines. Mercedita struck her colors, and the Confederates accepted paroles for the officers and crew before speeding off to attack more attractive targets. Left to her own devices, the Mercedita was able to escape and retire to Port Royal for repairs. Gilbert N. Bogart went on to be assigned to the storeship USS VERMONT and the ‘double-ender' gunboat USS TALLAPOOSA, in both cases still serving as a fireman, and was honorably discharged in 1867

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March 27, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

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