USS Velocity (1862)
| Career (US) | Confederate Navy Jack Union Navy JackConfederate Navy Jack |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | not known |
| Launched: | not known |
| Acquired: | 30 September 1862 |
| In service: | 1862 |
| Out of service: | 21 January 1863 |
| Struck: | 1863 (est.) |
| Captured: |
captured by Confederate forces, 21 January 1863 |
| Fate: | fate unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 87 tons |
| Length: | not known |
| Beam: | not known |
| Draught: | not known |
| Propulsion: | sail |
| Speed: | varied |
| Complement: | not known |
| Armament: | two 12-pounder howitzers |
USS Velocity (1862) was a captured British schooner acquired by the Union Navy from the prize court during the American Civil War.
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.
Contents
Her fate as a Confederate blockade runner
Velocity was a British blockade-running schooner captured by Kensington and 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.
Civil War operations
Assigned to the West Gulf Blockade
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.
Blockade is temporarily lifted as Velocity is captured by Confederates
Velocity was, herself, recaptured together with Morning Light on 21 January 1863 at Sabine Pass, resulting in a temporary lifting of the Union blockade on the Texas coast.
Post-war history
She is believed to have continued to serve as a Confederate gunboat, but her final disposition is unknown.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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