USS King Philip (1845)
| Career (United States) | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS King Philip |
| Laid down: | date unknown |
| Launched: | 1845 |
| Acquired: | 21 April 1861 |
| In service: | circa 28 April 1861 |
| Renamed: | Originally USS Powhatan; renamed USS King Philip 4 November 1861 |
| Struck: | 1865 (est.) |
| Homeport: | Washington Navy Yard |
| Fate: | Sold 15 September 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Steamer / Dispatch boat |
| Displacement: | 500 long tons (510 t) |
| Length: | 204 ft (62 m) |
| Beam: | 22 ft 11 in (6.99 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 8 ft (2.4 m) |
| Propulsion: |
steam engine side wheel-propelled |
| Complement: | 14 |
| Armament: | 1 × gun |
USS King Philip (1845) was a steamer acquired by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a dispatch boat, providing various services.
Contents
Powhatan — a side-wheel steamer built in Baltimore, Maryland in 1845 by J. A. and E. T. Robinson — operated on the Potomac River out of Georgetown, D.C.. Early in the Civil War, the Union Army seized the side wheeler on 21 April 1861 and transferred her to the United States Navy.
Assigned to replace stolen buoys in the Potoma
The next day, she entered the Washington Navy Yard to be fitted out for war service. A week later, Lieutenant John Glendy Sproston was ordered to take command of Powhatan and proceed to Kettle Bottom Shoals to replace and protect buoys there which had been removed by Confederate agents.
Renamed USS King Philip
After patrol duty in the Potomac River, helping to protect Washington, D.C. during the early months of the Civil War, Powhatan steamed to Baltimore, Maryland for repairs. She was renamed USS King Philip on 4 November.
Civil War duties
Throughout the Civil War, King Philip was used as a dispatch boat, shuttling mail, supplies, and passengers between Washington, D.C. and Union ships on the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers.
Post-war decommissioning and sale
King Philip was sold at auction to H. F. Harrill on 15 September 1865.
See also
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- Ship infoboxes without an image
- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Ships of the Union Navy
- Ships built in Maryland
- United States Navy steamships
- United States Navy dispatch boats
- American Civil War auxiliary ships of the United States
- 1845 ships
