USS Eureka

History
United States
Acquired	22 August 1862
In service	c. August 1862
Out of service	March 1865
Captured	by Union Navy forces; 20 April 1862;
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	steam engine; screw-propelled;
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.

Service history

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.

References

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

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