| The fourth Delaware, a side wheel steamer, was built in
1861 at Wilmington, Delaware; purchased by the Navy 14 October 1861, Lieutenant
S. P. Quackenbush in command. |
| Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
Delaware sailed from Philadelphia 12 December 1861 and stood up the
James River 26 December on patrol. On 12 January 1862 she sailed for Hatteras
Inlet, North Carolina. Remaining on the North Carolina coast until 2 June,
she took part in the capture of Roanoke Island on 7 and 8 February and Elizabeth
City on 10 February, where she shared in the capture of five Confederate
steamers and two schooners. She made a reconnaissance up Chowan River from
19 to 21 February, and on 13 and 14 March bombarded New Bern and captured
four vessels. |
| Delaware arrived in Hampton Roads 2 June 1862 for service
in Virginia waters until 30 October. She had several encounters with enemy
batteries and captured a number of small craft which she sent in as prizes.
She returned to operations in the rivers and sounds of North Carolina from
October 1862 to February 1863 when she sailed with Valley City in
tow, arriving at Hampton Roads on the 11th. |
| Until 5 April 1863 Delaware cruised in the James and York
Rivers and Chesapeake Bay, then on the North Carolina coast until 27 November
when she sailed to Baltimore for repairs. On 27 March 1864 she returned to
the waters of Virginia, to patrol and perform picket duty, transport men
and ordnance stores, and clear the rivers of torpedoes until the end of the
war. Arriving at Washington Navy Yard 27 July 1865, Delaware was
decommissioned there 5 August 1865 and sold on 12 September to the Treasury
Department. |
Tonnage, 357; Length, 161'; Beam, 27'; Depth of hold, 8'3"; Draft,
6'; Speed, 13 knots; Complement, 65; Armament, four 32-pdrs., 1 21-pdr.
rifle |
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