The list of ship commissionings in 1861 includes a chronological list of ships commissioned in 1861. In cases where no official commissioning ceremony was held, the date of service entry may be used instead.
| Date | Operator | Ship | Pennant | Class and type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unknown date |  United States Navy | A. Houghton | Bark | commissioned at New York Navy Yard with Acting Master Newell Graham in command [1] |
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The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War against the United States's Union Navy.
Andrew Hull Foote was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war came, he was appointed to command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla, predecessor of the Mississippi River Squadron. In that position, he led the gunboats in the Battle of Fort Henry. For his services with the Western Gunboat Flotilla, Foote was among the first naval officers to be promoted to the then-new rank of rear admiral.
Cornelius Kinchiloe Stribling was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served during the War of 1812, the Second Barbary War, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War.
USS Merrimack, also improperly Merrimac, was a steam frigate, best known as the hull upon which the ironclad warship CSS Virginia was constructed during the American Civil War. The CSS Virginia then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads in the first engagement between ironclad warships.
USS Plymouth was a sloop-of-war constructed and commissioned just prior to the Mexican–American War. She was heavily gunned, and traveled to Japan as part of Commodore Matthew C. Perry's effort to force Japan to open her ports to international trade. She also served in European and Caribbean waters and, later in her career, she was used to train midshipmen.
United States Naval Ship (USNS) is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy (USN).
Joseph Nicholson Barney was a career United States Navy officer (1835–1861) who served in the Confederate States Navy in the American Civil War (1861–1865).
The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were under the control of the United States Army, also called the Union Army.
The first USS Courier was a storeship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a supply ship to support Union Navy ships engaged in the blockade of Southern ports. Courier also operated as a gunboat when the opportunity presented itself from time to time.
USS G. W. Blunt was a Sandy Hook pilot boat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War in 1861. See George W. Blunt (1856) for more details. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat as well as a dispatch boat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.
USS Hope (1861) was a 19th-century wooden yacht schooner, designed and built in 1861 by Henry Steers for Captain Thomas B. Ives of Providence, Rhode Island. She was acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a gunboat assigned to support the fleet blockading the ports of the Confederate States of America. However, at times, Hope was assigned extra tasks, such as that of a dispatch boat, supply runner and salvage ship. She was a pilot boat from 1866 to 1891 and in 1891 she was replaced by the Herman Oelrichs, when the Hope was wrecked ashore the Sandy Hook Point.
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 U.S. allies or partner nations as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the U.S. military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of June 2019.
Commodore John R. Goldsborough was an officer in the United States Navy. Goldsborough was made a cadet-midshipman in 1824 and as such saw action in the Mediterranean against pirates. In one incident, while in charge of 18 men he attacked and captured a Greek pirate ship with a 58-man crew.
The Texas Marine Department (1861–1865) was formed in the State of Texas shortly after Texas came under blockade from the Union Navy in 1861. It operated under the control of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf was a Royal Navy command appointment who was responsible for administering the Persian Gulf Station military formation including its establishments and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Squadron later called the Persian Gulf Division. Initially located at Basidu, Qishm Island in Persia, then Henjam Island, Persia, (1911–1935) and finally Ras Al-Jufair, Bahrain from 1935 to 1972.
CSS Carondelet was a sidewheel steamer that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Construction for the vessel started in 1861, and she was launched on January 25, 1862, and commissioned on March 16. Her sister ship was CSS Bienville. On April 4, Carondelet, along with CSS Oregon and CSS Pamlico, took part in a small naval action near Pass Christian against USS New London, USS John P. Jackson, and the troop transport USS Henry Lewis. Carondelet suffered damage to her wheel during the fight, and likely fired the only two shots that struck John P. Jackson. Later that month, with the Confederates abandoning New Orleans, Louisiana, Carondelet was scuttled by her crew in either Lake Pontchartrain, the Tchefuncte River, or the Bogue Falaya River.
CSS Pamlico was a sidewheel steamer that served in the Confederate States Navy during the early stages of the American Civil War. Originally a passenger vessel on Lake Pontchartrain, she was purchased by Confederate authorities on July 10, 1861, and converted into a gunboat. She participated in two minor naval actions in the vicinities of Horn Island and Ship Island in December, before taking part in two more small battles defending the Pass Christian area in March and April 1862. In late April, Union Navy ships passed the defenses of New Orleans, Louisiana. After ferrying Confederate troops out of the city, Pamlico was burned by her crew on Lake Pontchartrain on April 25 to prevent capture.
after being fitted out at the New York Navy Yard, was placed in commission on 19 February 1862, Acting Master Newell Graham in command
| Ship events in 1861 | |||||||||||
| Ship launches: | 1856 | 1857 | 1858 | 1859 | 1860 | 1861 | 1862 | 1863 | 1864 | 1865 | 1866 |
| Ship commissionings: | 1856 | 1857 | 1858 | 1859 | 1860 | 1861 | 1862 | 1863 | 1864 | 1865 | 1866 |
| Ship decommissionings: | 1856 | 1857 | 1858 | 1859 | 1860 | 1861 | 1862 | 1863 | 1864 | 1865 | 1866 |
| Shipwrecks: | 1856 | 1857 | 1858 | 1859 | 1860 | 1861 | 1862 | 1863 | 1864 | 1865 | 1866 |