Ordered as Spiteful Launched date unknown In service October 1862 Weight 50.8 tons | Laid down date unknown Acquired 1 October 1862 Out of service 12 August 1865 | |
The first USS Thistle was a Union Army steamer acquired by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
Contents
- Transfer of Thistle from the Army to the Navy
- Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron as a tug and recon vessel
- Post war decommissioning and sale
- References
Thistle was placed in service and used by the Union Navy as a tugboat and, when the opportunity presented itself, as a gunship, in the blockade of ports of the Confederate States of America.
Transfer of Thistle from the Army to the Navy
Thistle—formerly the Army tug Spiteful—was transferred by the War Department to the Union Navy on 1 October 1862.
Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron as a tug and recon vessel
Thistle deployed with the Mississippi Squadron as a tug and reconnaissance vessel in October 1862 and participated in the capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Port, Arkansas, on 11 January 1863.
From 14 to 27 March, she took part in an expedition in the Steele's Bayou Expedition in Mississippi, attempting to find an entrance into the Yazoo River, Mississippi, and a rear approach to the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
After the expedition failed, Thistle rejoined the squadron in the Mississippi River. There, she performed dispatch and reconnaissance duty for the remainder of the war.
Post-war decommissioning and sale
Thistle was decommissioned at Mound City, Illinois., on 12 August 1865 and was sold at public auction there on 17 August to J. T. Haight.