Gunboat of the United States Navy
USS
Violet
was a 166-ton
steamer
acquired by the
U.S. Navy
for use during the
American Civil War
.
Violet
served the Navy in several ways: as a
gunboat
, as a
tugboat
, and as a
torpedo boat
. She served on the
U.S. East Coast
in the
Union blockade
of the
Confederate States of America
.
Built in Brooklyn in 1862
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Violet
?a wooden steam tug built as
Martha
in 1862 at
Brooklyn, New York
?was purchased by the Navy at
New York City
on 30 December 1862 for use during the
American Civil War
; and was commissioned at the
New York Navy Yard
on 29 January 1863.
Civil War operations
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Soon after her commissioning,
Violet
was dispatched to
Newport News, Virginia
, for duty as a
tugboat
with the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
. On 27 March, she received orders to proceed to the blockade off
Cape Fear Inlet
, near
Wilmington, North Carolina
, and finally arrived for duty in early April after a storm off
Cape Hatteras
,
North Carolina
, had forced her return to
Hampton Roads, Virginia
, in a sinking condition on 28 March.
While off Wilmington, the vessel performed double duty as both a tug and a blockader. On the night of 11 April, she chased and fired upon an unidentified steamer and, in the company of
Aries
, discovered the blockade-running British steamer
Ceres
aground and burning at the mouth of the
Cape Fear River
on 6 December.
When
Ceres
floated free during the night,
Violet
seized her and extinguished the fire.
Violet
, herself, grounded on 20 December while attempting to refloat the Confederate
blockade-running
steamer
Antoniea
. She lay aground for two nights and a day; and, at one time, salvagers feared she would become a total loss. However, after her guns had been heaved overboard, the vessel was refloated.
Early in 1864,
Violet
underwent repairs at the
Norfolk Navy Yard
,
Virginia
, and in April was assigned duty as a tug to the ironclad
Roanoke
off
Newport News, Virginia
. Her orders were to maintain a vigilant nighttime and foul weather guard over the ironclad and be prepared to tow the
warship
to safety or run down any enemy vessels in the event of a Confederate attack.
She performed this task until 20 July, when she was fitted with a
torpedo
device and reassigned to her old blockade station off the
Cape Fear River
. There, on the night of 7 August, she ran aground while proceeding to her inshore station, close to the shoal off
Western Bar, North Carolina
.
Despite the efforts of both her crew and volunteers from other nearby vessels to float her off, the tides forced
Violet
harder aground. Finally, seeing that the situation was hopeless,
Violet's
captain and crew fired her magazine to prevent capture, and the vessel blew up on the morning of 8 August 1864.
See also
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References
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Shipwrecks
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Other incidents
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