USS Velocity (1862)

USS Velocity was a captured British schooner acquired by the Union Navy from the prize court during the American Civil War.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Velocity.
History
United States
Acquired30 September 1862
In service1862
Out of service21 January 1863
Captured
  • captured by Confederate forces,
  • 21 January 1863
General characteristics
Displacement87 tons
Propulsionsail
Armamenttwo 12-pounder howitzers

She was put into service by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries. Unfortunately for the Union Navy, she was captured, in turn, by the Confederate Navy off the Texas coast.

Service history

Velocity was a British blockade-running schooner captured by USS Kensington and USS Rachel Seaman at Sabine, Texas, on 25 September 1862; and was purchased by the Navy from the Key West prize court, Key West, Florida, on 30 September. Velocity joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron shortly after her acquisition, deploying with the blockade off Sabine Pass. There, on 25 November, she assisted Kensington, Rachel Seaman, and another prize vessel, Dan, in the capture of the British schooner Maria and the Confederate schooner Course. Velocity was, herself, recaptured together with USS Morning Light on 21 January 1863 at Sabine Pass, resulting in a temporary lifting of the Union blockade on the Texas coast. She is believed to have continued to serve as a Confederate gunboat, but her final disposition is unknown.

See also

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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