USS ''Advance'', the second

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

ship to be so named, was later known as USS ''Frolic'', and was originally the

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

''Advance'' captured by the Union Navy during the latter part of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. She was purchased by the Union Navy and outfitted as a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

and assigned to the blockade of the waterways of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

. She also served as dispatch ship and supply vessel when military action eventually slowed.

Construction and Irish service

''Lord Clyde'', named for Scottish military officer Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, was built for the packet service between Ireland and Scotland operated by the Dublin & Glasgow Sailing and Steam Packet Company. She was launched at

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

, Scotland, by Caird & Co. as Yard No.97 on 3 July 1862. ''Lord Clyde'' was an iron-hulled vessel with a length of , a beam of , a depth of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . She measured and and was powered by a 2-cylinder oscillating side-lever steam engine of 350 nhp, also made by Caird, driving two side paddle wheels. On completion she conducted

sea trials A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on o ...

on 18 September 1862 and sailed from Greenock five days later for Kingstown,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to commence her regular service with

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Service with the Confederacy

During the

, a growing shortage of supplies for the manufacture of uniforms for

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

troops in 1862 prompted incoming governor Zebulon B. Vance to propose that the state purchase its own

. With the assistance of British businessman Alexander Collie, ''Lord Clyde'' was purchased by the state of

and on 28 June 1863 she successfully ran the Union blockade into Wilmington. At Wilmington the ship was changed to local registry and renamed ''Advance'' (some sources state ''A. D. Vance'' in honor of the Governor). Three months later, a half share in ''Advance'' was sold to the firm of Power, Low & Co. in order to raise funds towards purchasing additional ships. She successfully passed through the blockade between the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

and Nassau or

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

some seventeen times between June 1863 and September 1864, under the command of Lt. John J. Guthrie, CSN.

Capture by the Union Navy

''Advance'' was commanded by Capt. Tom Crossan when captured by on 10 September 1864 when she attempted to put to sea from

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

. Gov. Vance attributed her capture to use of low grade North Carolina bituminous coal and denounced Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory for giving the stockpile of smokeless anthracite to (a raiding cruiser) so that none was left for ''Advance'' to run out of Wilmington safely. Writing on 3 January 1865, Vance complained:

Why a State struggling for the common good, to clothe and provide for its troops in the public service, should meet with no more favor than a blockade gambler passes my comprehension.

''Advance'' was condemned by the New York prize court, and she was purchased by the Navy that same month; then commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 28 October 1864, Lt. Comdr. John H. Upshur in command.

Civil War service

Bombardment of Fort Fisher

''Advance'' departed New York City on 30 October; arrived off

, on 14 November; and joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In addition to her reversed role—catching blockade runners as opposed to being one—she participated in the two expeditions against Fort Fisher, located on Confederate (Federal) Point at the mouth of the

. The first – abortive—attempt was carried out between 24 and 26 December 1864 after a bizarre attempt to flatten some of the defenses by running what amounted to a fire-ship stocked with some 30 tons of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

aground at a point some 250 to 300 yards north of the fort. Needless to say, that unique shore bombardment proved to be a huge flash in the pan causing little or no damage. When the fleet moved in on 24 December, ''Advance'' was in the 1st Reserve Division which appears to have constituted a second line of bombarding ships behind the ironclads. She fired only her large 20-pounder rifle and stopped that when she had to go to the assistance of the stricken and tow her to a safe anchorage. The following day, Christmas 1864, she and five or six other warships moved off to draw fire from Half Moon Battery as preparation for the Army's landings. Though an 8-inch gun in the Confederate battery drove off other vessels in the division as well as some Union Army transports, ''Advance'' claimed credit for silencing that gun with her heavy rifle. The Army landed late Christmas Day. Firing continued through the day and intermittently that night—fire that degenerated into covering fire to protect the bogged-down Federals instead of a bombardment preparatory to the by-then cancelled assault. ''Advance'' retired from Cape Fear on the 26th and the remnants of General Butler's Army force embarked on the 27th. After a visit to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, for supplies between 31 December 1864 and 11 January 1865, ''Advance'' returned to her blockade station off the

mouth on 13 January – Friday the 13th, to be exact, an ominous day for the Southerners defending Fort Fisher. Before dawn that day, the Federal fleet unleashed a terrific bombardment on the fort. Not long thereafter, around 0800, about 8,000 Union troops began landing on the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

north of the fortifications. The following day, the fleet resumed its bombardment while the Union Army began landing its own supporting artillery. ''Advance'', in one of the reserve divisions, helped support the landing of the Army guns and supplies while the bulk of the fleet continued to batter the Fort Fisher defenses. The main attack commenced on 15 January 1865. The Army, aided by sailors and marines from the fleet, stormed the Southern positions. Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, the Confederates fought with the tenacity and ferocity of desperation—more often than not at close quarters with

bayonets A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or Spike bayonet, spike-shaped melee weapon designed to be mounted on the end of the gun barrel, barrel of a rifle, carbine, musket or similar long gun, long firearm, allowing t ...

and rifle butts. They fought the entire day and into the evening but to no avail. The last fortifications, Battery Buchanan and the Mound, gave up at about 2200 hours (10 p.m.) that evening. The Navy had closed the eastern portion of the Confederacy's last avenue of contact with the outside world.

North Atlantic blockade operations

''Advance'' resumed duty on the blockade. With the last deep-draft Confederate port closed, few runners tried to make the run. Those that did were of very shallow draft and of even more limited cargo capacity than that characteristic of their deep-draft predecessors. That fact made blockade running a highly unprofitable venture considering the danger involved. As a consequence, ''Advance'' participated in no captures. Instead, she served as a dispatch and supply ship for the remainder of her tour of duty with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

End-of-war activity

On 11 February, she put into Norfolk for a month of repairs before embarking passengers and sailing for New York City on 13 March. She reached that port the following day and entered the New York Navy Yard. On 16 March 1865, ''Advance'' was detached from the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and was placed out of commission at New York City. She remained inactive for about three months during which time hostilities were coming to an end. On 22 April, almost a fortnight after General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

surrendered the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

, ''Advance'' was renamed USS ''Frolic'', the second U.S. Navy ship of that name. On 12 June 1865, she was recommissioned under her new name, Lt. Comdr. John H. Upshur again in command.

Post-war operations as USS ''Frolic''

USS ''Frolic'' (formerly USS ''Advance'') at Naples, Italy, ca. 1865–69 On 24 June 1865, ''Frolic'' departed the east coast to join the newly formed European Squadron and arrived at Flushing in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

on 17 July. Over the next four years, she made ceremonial visits to ports in Europe including many on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

. Those events reached a particularly high frequency during 1867 and 1868 when David Glasgow Farragut commanded the squadron. On 22 March 1869, the ship departed

Lisbon, Portugal Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, to return to the United States. She arrived in New York City on 30 April and was placed out of commission there on 8 May 1869.

1869 recommissioning

Recommissioned on 24 September 1869, ''Frolic'' patrolled the fishing grounds off

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

between April and October 1870. She arrived at Washington, D.C., on 26 October 1870 and was decommissioned there on 11 November for repairs. On 18 January 1872, she was recommissioned at Washington, Lt. Comdr. G. C. Remey in command. On 19 February, ''Frolic'' departed Washington, D.C., to relieve on patrol off the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

coast. She concluded that assignment in May and returned to Washington on the 24th. Between 12 and 16 June 1872, she made the passage between Washington, D.C. and New York City. At the latter port, she became station ship and, on the 29th, broke the flag of Vice Admiral Stephen C. Rowan. She served alternately as station ship at New York and on patrols at sea until 30 April 1874 at which time she was decommissioned at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for repairs. Recommissioned on 18 August 1875, ''Frolic'' departed Philadelphia for duty on the South Atlantic Station a week later. She cruised the coasts of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Uruguay and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

for a little over two years. While at

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

on 20 April 1877, Second Class Fireman James M. Trout attempted to rescue a shipmate from drowning, for which he was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

Final decommissioning

She returned to Washington, D.C., on 20 October 1877 and was decommissioned there for the last time on 31 October 1877. ''Frolic'' remained at Washington, in ordinary, until sold to Mr. J. P. Agnew, of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, on 1 October 1883.

Notes

References

*
USS Frolic (II) ex USS Advance (II) (1864-1865)USS Advance