Name USS R. B. Forbes Acquired 17 August 1861 Decommissioned date unknown Construction started 1845 Length 37 m | Laid down 1845 Commissioned 25 August 1861 In service 8 February 1862 Launched 1845 | |
USS R. B. Forbes (1845) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Her primary task was to prevent blockade runners from entering, or departing from, the South.
Contents
- Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
- Reassigned to the Mortar Flotilla
- Running aground and destroyed
- References
R. B. Forbes, a twin-screw steamer built in 1845 — was acquired by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts on 17 August 1861. Although not formally purchased until September, she was fitted out at Boston and got underway for the Washington Navy Yard on 25 August, Acting Master William G. Gregory in command.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
After spending most of September at the Navy Yard, the steamer operated in the Chesapeake Bay area until ordered to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in late October. Sailing on the 29th, she participated in the capture of Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard at Port Royal, South Carolina, on 7 November, then remained in the area until December. Following damage to her port shaft and propeller, she was towed to New York by the steamer Atlantic, arriving on 20 December.
Reassigned to the Mortar Flotilla
Decommissioned for repairs, she was recommissioned on 8 February 1862 and ordered to join the Mortar Flotilla below New Orleans, Louisiana.
Running aground and destroyed
Caught in a gale off Cape Henry on 25 February, R. B. Forbes was driven ashore and wrecked a few miles south of Currituck Inlet. Young America — dispatched to the scene — brought off the steamer's crew and all salvageable equipment. She was then burnt to prevent capture by Confederate forces.