Fun Fact #392 Pawpaws of War
Fun Fact #392
Pawpaws of War
In 1863, amidst the hectic Civil War, the Union had plans to retake and protect the Missouri River. Critical to this goal was the need for gunboats to protect critical supplies and communications and so in 1863, Chicago Illinois bought, retrofitted, and renamed the 31st Gunboat in US history: The USS PawPaw. After helping to reclaim much of The Tennessee and Northern Mississippi Rivers, The USS Pawpaw would then join General Sherman on his push to Atlanta, Georgia breaking the back of the Confederate south by eliminating both the rail and Waterways upon which the South relied upon. The USS Pawpaw became known by how many confederate Militias named “The Pawpaws” it decimated during the war (8 in total and assisting in battles against another 7).
After the war the South hated The USS Pawpaw, thinking that had it not existed they would have been able to stop the flow of supplies to General Sherman and crushed the last great force of the North turning the tide of the War –failing to see that it was not the only Gunboat, just the most prominent. After it was decommissioned, Georgia would buy The Pawpaw at auction before publicly destroying it. Today Pawpaws are once again seen favorably in the American south, having been a reliable crop no matter the situation which faces the people living near them.
