Ordered as Luke Hoyt Acquired 1 July 1864 Out of service 1865 Launched 1863 Draft 1.4 m | Laid down date unknown In service 1864 Struck 1865 (est.) Length 14 m | |
USS Hoyt (1863) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy for various tasks, including those of a torpedo boat.
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Hoyt, a former merchant tug Luke Hoyt, built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1863, was acquired 1 July 1864.
Fitting out as a torpedo boat
Hoyt and steam tugs USS Belle and USS Martin, fitted with spar torpedoes, were dispatched by Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee to join Union Naval Forces in the rivers and sounds of North Carolina. These torpedo boats were intended as counter-weapons against much-feared Confederate rams rumored to be building up the Roanoke River. Admiral Lee described their armament :
"This form of torpedo is intended to explode on impact, and to be placed on a pole or rod projecting not less than 15 feet, and if possible 20 feet, beyond the vessel using it. It contains 150 pounds of powder."North Carolina operations
Hoyt took station at New Berne, North Carolina, waiting for combat opportunity that never came.
Post-war decommissioning and sale
She steamed north late in May 1865, and was sold 10 August 1865 at Philadelphia.