Name USS King Philip Acquired 21 April 1861 Struck 1865 (est.) Length 62 m | Laid down date unknown In service circa 28 April 1861 Launched 1845 | |
Renamed Originally USS Powhatan; renamed USS King Philip 4 November 1861 | ||
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.
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A commercial steamer seized by the Union Navy
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 Potomac
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. In 1862 she served as a temporary home for the crew of the famous USS Monitor while they were waiting for their ship to be repaired and refitted.
Post-war decommissioning and sale
King Philip was sold at auction to H. F. Harrill on 15 September 1865.