USS Anemone (1864)

Last updated

History
US flag 36 stars.svgUnited States
Laid downdate unknown
Launched1864 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Acquired13 August 1864
Commissioned14 September 1864 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
Decommissioned28 September 1865 at New York City
Stricken1865 (est.)
Homeport
FateSold, 25 October 1865
General characteristics
Displacement156 tons
Length99 ft (30 m)
Beam20 ft 5 in (6.22 m)
Depth of hold8 ft 4 in (2.54 m)
Propulsion
Speed11 knots
Complement30
Armamenttwo 24-pounder smoothbore guns two 12-pounder smoothbore guns

The first USS Anemone was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a tugboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

Contents

Constructed and commissioned at Philadelphia in 1864

Anemone—a screw tug built in 1864 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—was purchased by the US Navy from S. & J. M. Flannagan on 13 August 1864 at Philadelphia prior to her documentation as a merchantman; named Anemone; fitted out by the Philadelphia Navy Yard for naval service; and commissioned there on 14 September 1864.

Civil War service

Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockade

Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Anemone reported to Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee at Beaufort, North Carolina, on 20 September 1864 and received orders to join in the cordon of Union ships guarding the western bar off Wilmington, North Carolina. She promptly took station, but soon thereafter suffered a rudder casualty and was forced to retire to the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs.

Participating in the attack on Fort Fisher

The tug returned to waters off Wilmington early in December and took part in the abortive attack on Fort Fisher on Christmas Eve 1864. She then received orders to Beaufort, North Carolina, where she served through the end of the Civil War and into the ensuing summer.

Assisting in the rescue of the crew of USAT Quinnebaug

On the morning of 20 July, after USAT Quinnebaug had been seriously damaged while leaving Beaufort, Anemone's commanding officer, Acting Ensign A.O. Kruge, and her executive officer, Mate George W. Briggs, commanded launches which rescued the crew and passengers—homeward-bound troops—from the doomed Army transport.

Shortly thereafter, Anemone sailed North to serve as a tug at the New York Navy Yard during the partial demobilization of the Union fleet.

Post-war decommissioning, sale, and subsequent career

She was decommissioned there on 28 September 1865 and was sold at public auction on 25 October 1865. Documented Wicaco (after the Philadelphia community of the same name on 1 December 1865, the tug served American shipping until 1896.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Advance</i> (1862) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Advance, the second United States Navy ship to be so named, was later known as USS Frolic, and was originally the blockade runner Advance captured by the Union Navy during the latter part of the American Civil War. She was purchased by the Union Navy and outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America. She also served as dispatch ship and supply vessel when military action eventually slowed.

USS <i>Pawnee</i> (1859) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Pawnee was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Pawnee Indian tribe.

USS Vicksburg was a wooden steamship built in 1863 at Mystic, Connecticut; purchased by the United States Navy at New York City on 20 October 1863; converted into a gunboat; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 2 December, Lieutenant Commander L. Braine in command. Vicksburg was named in honor of the great victory that General Ulysses S. Grant had recently won at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

USS <i>Susquehanna</i> (1850) Sidewheel steam frigate

USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Susquehanna River, which rises in Lake Otsego in central New York and flows across Pennsylvania and the northeast corner of Maryland emptying into the Chesapeake Bay.

USS <i>Tuscarora</i> Sloop-of-war of the United States Navy

|} The first USS Tuscarora was a Mohican-class sloop of war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Tuscarora was laid down on 27 June 1861 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Merrick & Sons; launched on 24 August 1861; sponsored by Miss Margaret Lardner; and commissioned on 5 December 1861, Commander Tunis A. M. Craven in command.

USS <i>Stars and Stripes</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Stars and Stripes was a 407-ton steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy and put to use by the Union during the American Civil War.

USS Dacotah – the only United States Navy ship to be so named – was a large steam sloop that served the United States Navy in the Atlantic Ocean as well as in the Pacific Ocean. When the American Civil War occurred, Dacotah assumed the role of a gunboat in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Wilderness</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Wilderness was a wooden-hulled, side-wheel steamship in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. After the war, she served as a revenue cutter. In 1873, she was renamed John A. Dix for former Secretary of the Treasury John Adams Dix.

USS <i>Unadilla</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Unadilla was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for service with the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was the lead ship in her class.

USS <i>Aries</i> (1863) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Aries was an 820-ton iron screw steamer built at Sunderland, England, during 1861–1862, intended for employment as a blockade runner during the American Civil War. She was captured by Union Navy forces during the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America, and was commissioned as a Union gunboat. Aries was named for the constellation.

USS Berberry was a steam-powered tugboat 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 Dumbarton was a captured steam operated gunboat acquired by the Union Navy from the prize court 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 Tristram Shandy was a 444-ton steamer and blockade runner captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Clematis was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

USS Britannia was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat and patrol vessel in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS Amaranthus was a screw steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a tugboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS State of Georgia was a large steamer with powerful guns acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. State of Georgia, with her crew of 113 sailors and officers, was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in its blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS Victoria was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Harcourt was a small steamship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a tugboat and assigned to the blockade of ports of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Violet</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Violet was a 166-ton steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy for use during the American Civil War.

References