USS Circassian

USS Circassian was a large steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

History
United States
Acquired8 November 1862
Commissioned12 December 1862
Decommissioned26 April 1865
Captured
FateSold, 22 June 1865
General characteristics
Displacement1,750 tons
Length241 ft (73 m)
Beam39 ft (12 m)
Draft18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion
Armament
  • 4 × 9 in (230 mm) smoothbore guns
  • 1 × 100-pounder rifle
  • 1 × 12-pounder rifle

She was used by the Union Navy as a supply ship for ships on the blockade of the ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America.

The ship was named after the Circassians.

Service history

Circassian, an iron screw steamer, was captured 4 May 1862 by USS Somerset; purchased from the prize court at Key West, Florida, 8 November 1862; outfitted at New York Navy Yard; and commissioned 12 December 1862, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant W. B. Eaton in command. Circassian served as supply ship for the East and West Gulf Blockading Squadrons. Between 17 December 1862 and 11 April 1865 she completed nine cruises from New York City or Boston, Massachusetts, delivering supplies to ships and stations along the Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico as far west as Galveston, Texas, and up the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana. On return trips she carried men due to be discharged, invalids, prisoners of war, cotton and provisions.

During this time she also captured two prizes and participated in the search for the Confederate steamer Florida in July 1864. In the Gulf of Mexico off Sabine Pass on 3 September 1864, she picked up a boat carrying nine members of the crew of the U.S. steamer Gillum, which had been wrecked during a voyage from New Orleans to Matamoros, Mexico.[1] Circassian arrived at Boston Navy Yard from her last cruise 11 April 1865, was placed out of commission 26 April 1865 and sold 22 June 1865.

References
  1. Gaines, W. Craig, Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks, Louisiana State University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8071-3274-6, p. 168.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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