Peter U. Murphey

Peter Umstead Murphey

First Lieutenant Peter U. Murphey, CSN

First Lieutenant Peter U. Murphey, CSN
Born Caswell County, North Carolina
Allegiance  United States of America
 Virginia
 Confederate States of America
Service/branch  United States Navy
 Virginia Navy
 Confederate States Navy
Years of service 1834–1861 (USN)
1861–1865 (CSN)
Rank Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Commands held
Battles/wars American Civil War
Relations Archibald Murphey (father)

Peter Umstead Murphey was a former officer of the United States Navy who joined the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.[1]

Biography

Murphey (sometimes incorrectly spelled Murphy) was born in Caswell County, North Carolina, the son of State Senator Archibald Debow Murphey. Appointed from that state as a United States Navy midshipman[2] on May 12, 1834, he was promoted to passed midshipman on July 8, 1839, and to the rank of lieutenant on May 29, 1846.[3] Murphey resigned from the U.S. Navy, in which he served as an instructor at the Norfolk Military Academy in Norfolk, Va., in April 1861.[2]

In April 1861 he joined the Virginia State Navy,[4] and was appointed commander of the steam tug Arrow on picket duty in the vicinity of Craney Island.[5] Murphey became a Confederate States Navy officer on 10 June 1861, with the rank of first lieutenant.[2] After working on naval defenses in Virginia and North Carolina, he served at the Gosport Navy Yard in 1861–62, and then commanded the gunboat CSS Morgan in the Mobile Squadron from March 7, 1862.[4]

Murphey assumed command of the gunboat CSS Selma in July 1862,[6] and was wounded when Selma was captured in the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, by a U.S. Navy squadron headed by Admiral David Farragut.[2] Murphey, who was fondly referred to by his crew and fellow officers as "Captain Pat", was held as a prisoner of war at Fort Warren, until exchanged at Cox Wharf, Virginia, on October 18, 1864. He surrendered to Union forces on May 4, 1865, and was paroled on May 10, 1865.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Miller, Joseph Lyon (1912). The descendants of Capt. Thomas Carter of Barford, Lancaster County, Virginia, 1652-1912; with genealogical notes of many of the allied families. Thomas, West Virginia: J. L. Miller. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "First Lieutenant Peter U. Murphey, Confederate States Navy". Naval Historical Center. 2000. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "US Navy Officers: 1778-1900 (M)". Naval Historical Center. 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Registers of Officers of the Confederate States Navy, 1861-1865 (PDF) (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: US Government Printing Office. 1931. p. 139. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Arrow". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Selma". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
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