- USS Mystic (1853)
USS "Mystic" (1853) was a steamer acquired by the
U.S. Navy prior to theAmerican Civil War when she was known as theUSS Memphis and served in theParaguay expedition of 1858 and 1859.During the
American Civil War , she was used by theUnion Navy as agunship in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.Constructed in Philadelphia in 1853 as a 452-ton steamship
"Mount Savage", a 452-ton (burden) screw steamship, was built in
1853 atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania . She was renamed "Memphis" in1857 .Service, as USS "Memphis", in the Paraguay expedition
Chartered by the Navy in September
1858 , she served as USS "Memphis" during theParaguay expedition of late1858 and early1859 .Renamed USS "Mystic" by the Navy
The steamer was purchased by the Navy in May
1859 and renamed USS "Mystic" a few weeks later.Capturing slave ships off the African coast
In June and July
1860 , while operating offAfrica , "Mystic" captured two slave ships.Service during the American Civil War
During the first part of the Civil War "Mystic" served in the blockade of the Confederacy's
Atlantic Ocean Coast. She assisted in the capture or destruction of fourblockade runners off the coast ofNorth Carolina in June-September1862 , among them the steamers "Emma" and "Sunbeam".While in the process of taking the latter, on
28 September , she was damaged in collision with "State of Georgia".Supporting the 1863 York River expedition
In May
1863 she supported theUnion Army during an expedition up the York River and in September of that year seized a sailing vessel offYorktown, Virginia ."Mystic" was employed in the
Chesapeake Bay region from late1862 until the war's end.Post-war decommissioning, sale and subsequent maritime career
USS "Mystic" was sold to private owners in June
1865 . Renamed "General Custer", she disappeared from merchant vessel registers in1868 .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-m/mt-savge.htm USS Mystic]
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