- USS George W. Rodgers (1861)
USS "George W. Rodgers" (1861) was a
schooner captured by theUnion Navy during theAmerican Civil War . She was initially intended to be used as part of thestone fleet of sunken obstructions; however, she was retained and used as a picket boat and dispatch vessel and, later, as asurvey ship , concentrating her efforts in the waterways of the Confederate South.Blockade runner "Shark" captured by USS "South Carolina"
"George W. Rodgers", originally blockade runner "Shark", was captured by the screw steamer "South Carolina" off
Galveston, Texas ,4 July 1861 and sent to theU.S. East Coast .Arriving
New York City 24 August , she was sold to a private purchaser5 November .Service under charter by the Union Navy
Later chartered by the Union Navy under a civilian master, "Shark" served during
1862 and1863 as a dispatch ship with theSouth Atlantic Blockading Squadron until taken over by the Union Navy offCharleston, South Carolina ,5 September 1863 by order of AdmiralJohn A. Dahlgren .Commissioned by the Union Navy and renamed "George W. Rodgers"
Although "Shark" was purchased to be sunken obstruction at Charleston, she was retained. Renamed "George W. Rodgers", she sailed to
Port Royal, South Carolina , for arming and repairs, and commissioned there17 January 1865 , Acting Master Loring G. Emerson in command.Service as a picket boat along the Georgia coast
During the remainder of the war, "George W. Rodgers" served as a picket boat along the coast of Georgia in
Wassaw Sound and in Ossabaw Sound and on the Vernon and Great Ogeechee Rivers.Service as a survey vessel along the Georgia coast
Occasionally used for special dispatch service, between February and May she joined Coast Survey steamer Bibb on an important coastal survey in the sounds and rivers of the Georgia coast. She resumed picket duty
2 May and operated along the Georgia andFlorida coasts until departing Ossabaw Sound forBoston, Massachusetts ,25 July .Post-war decommissioning and sale
She arrived
Boston Navy Yard 7 August ; decommissioned16 August ; and was sold to C. H. Miller by public auction8 September .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g4/george_w_rodger.htm USS George W. Rodgers]
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