| History | |
|---|---|
  United States | |
| Acquired | 22 August 1862 |
| In service | c. August 1862 |
| Out of service | March 1865 |
| Captured |
|
| Fate | Sold, 15 September 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 50 tons |
| Length | 85 ft (26 m) |
| Beam | 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) |
| Depth of hold | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Complement | 19 |
| Armament | two guns |
USS Eureka was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.
Eureka, a screw steamer, was captured 20 April 1862 in the Rappahannock River, Virginia, by USS Anacostia; purchased by the Navy 22 August 1862; and assigned to duty in the Potomac Flotilla, Acting Ensign J. J. Brice in command. For the next 2½ years, Eureka patrolled the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and their tributaries, to prevent the passage of people and commerce between the Confederates in Virginia and their sympathizers in Maryland. Her shallow draft made her ideal for this duty, essential to controlling the flow of intelligence and supplies to the South. Inactive after March 1865, Eureka was sold at Washington, D.C., 15 September 1865.
CSS Teaser had been the aging Georgetown, D.C. tugboat York River until the beginning of the American Civil War, when she was taken into the Confederate States Navy and took part in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads. Later, she was captured by the United States Navy and became the first USS Teaser.
The first USS Pocahontas, a screw steamer built at Medford, Massachusetts in 1852 as City of Boston, and purchased by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts on 20 March 1855, was the first United States Navy ship to be named for Pocahontas, the Algonquian wife of Virginia colonist John Rolfe. She was originally commissioned as USS Despatch – the second U.S. Navy ship of that name – on 17 January 1856, with Lieutenant T. M. Crossan in command, and was recommissioned and renamed in 1860, seeing action in the American Civil War. As Pocahontas, one of her junior officers was Alfred Thayer Mahan, who would later achieve international fame as a military writer and theorist of naval power.
USS Satellite was a steam powered large tugboat, acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War and equipped with two powerful 8-inch guns. She was assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.
USS Yankee was a steam-powered side-wheel tugboat acquired by the Union Navy just prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War.
USS Heliotrope was a wooden steamer originally named Maggie Baker, which was acquired by the Union Navy for use during the American Civil War. In addition to patrol duty, Heliotrope performed other services, such as towing and dispatch running.
USRC Reliance was a steamer acquired by the US Revenue Cutter Service for use during the American Civil War. Her duties included river patrols and bombarding with her howitzers.
USS Currituck was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy for use during the American Civil War.
USS Jacob Bell was a sidewheel steamer acquired by the Union Navy for use during the American Civil War. She was one of the oldest vessels so acquired. Her duties included river patrols, guard duty, and other duties as assigned.
USS Anacostia was a steamer, constructed as a tugboat, that was first chartered by the United States Navy for service during the Paraguay crisis of the 1850s and then commissioned as a U.S. Navy ship. She later served prominently in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Dragon was a small 118-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the start of the American Civil War.
USS Young America was a Confederate steamer captured by the Union Navy’s blockade vessels, and subsequently placed in-service in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
The first USS Resolute was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Western World was a ship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.
USS Thomas Freeborn was a steam tug acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy as a gunboat to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.
The Potomac Flotilla, or the Potomac Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to disrupt Confederate communications and shipping in the same.
USS Mount Washington was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways.
USS Stepping Stones was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the early part of the American Civil War.
USS King Philip was a steamer that was originally named Powhatan; she was acquired by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a dispatch boat, providing various services.
USS Rescue was a small (111-ton) steamer commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
USS T. A. Ward was a 284-ton schooner was purchased by the Union Navy during the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.