USS Hornet (1865)
| USS Hornet | |
| Career | Union Navy Jack |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 1864 |
| Launched: | 1864 |
| Christened: | Lady Stirling |
| Completed: | 1864 |
| Acquired: | 28 October 1864 |
| Decommissioned: | 15 December 1865 |
| Renamed: | USS Hornet, April 25, 1865 |
| Fate: | Sold 1869 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 835 tons |
| Length: | 242 ft (74 m) |
| Beam: | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Draft: | 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m) |
The USS Hornet (1865) was the fifth United States Navy ship to bear the name Hornet. She was originally the Confederate blockade runner CSS Lady Stirling, built by James Ash at Cubitt Town, London in 1864. She was badly damaged and captured by the United States Navy on 28 October 1864 off Wilmington, North Carolina.
Following condemnation by a prize court, Lady Sterling was bought by the U.S. Navy, repaired, armed, and commissioned as USS Lady Sterling and later renamed USS Hornet on 25 April 1865 In navy service she mainly operated in the Chesapeake Bay squadron. In October 1865, Hornet escorted the Confederate ironclad CSS Stonewall from Cuba to the United States.
Hornet was decommissioned on 15 December 1865 and sold into private ownership in 1869. After the war Hornet was involved in several filibustering expeditions to Cuba under the names Hornet and Cuba.
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here. nl:USS Hornet (1865)
