The first USS ''Mount Vernon'' was a wooden-screw steamer in the

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 ...

. ''Mount Vernon'' was built at

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, in 1859; chartered by the Navy in May 1861 for three months; purchased by the Navy at New York on 12 September 1861; and commissioned at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Commander

Oliver S. Glisson Oliver Spencer Glisson (January 18, 1809 – November 20, 1890), was a Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral of the United States Navy. After commanding a schooner in the Mexican–American War, he was posted to the East India Squadron and to ...

in command.

Service history

After charter, ''Mount Vernon'' convoyed two steamers and two sailing ships to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

in May. While in the gulf, she took

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Ol ...

''East'', suspected of communicating with

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

-held shore territory, and towed damaged ''Parkersburg'' from

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

. Ordered to

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, 3 July, ''Mount Vernon'' gave refuge to Unionists preparing to travel north. From 17 July, ''Mount Vernon'' patrolled in and off the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

, capturing sloop ''Wild Pigeon'' in an attempted escape at night 20 July. On 1 September she sailed for

Mobjack Bay Mobjack Bay is a bay on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia in the United States. It lies between the Rappahannock River on the north and the York River on the south. The bay appears in early documents as "Mockjack Bay"; it was said tha ...

to relieve , and in November proceeded to

Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, South Carolina) is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina ( ...

. She engaged

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

''Phantom'' off Cape Lookout 2 December, and on the 31st sent an armed party to aid in firing a ship being used by the Confederates as a beacon. In continued blockade and patrol service off

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 ...

, ''Mount Vernon'' took British schooners ''British Queen'' on 1 March 1862 and ''Mary Jane'' on 24 March 1863. With and , ''Mount Vernon'' chased Confederate schooner ''Kate'' ashore near Fort Casswell 2 April, and later in the month captured ''St. George''. After joining in the attack on Confederate batteries at

Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to t ...

2 May, ''Mount Vernon'' returned to blockade duty, playing a key role in the Navy's efforts to block the flow of materials from overseas and from one point to another in the Confederacy. She took ''Constitution'' 23 May, forced an unknown schooner to ground and set herself on fire 26 June, then in July took up close blockade of

New Inlet New Inlet was an inlet along the Outer Banks of North Carolina joining Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. It had not existed since 1945 before Hurricane Irene temporarily re-opened the inlet in 2011. History New Inlet first opened around 1738, ...

and Little River Inlet. With ''Cambridge'', in December ''Mount Vernon'' chased another schooner ashore, a feat duplicated on 12 June 1863. ''Mount Vernon'', , and together cut out a blockade runner on 1 August near New Inlet. Arriving

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

early in 1864, ''Mount Vernon'' remained there until May 1864. She was in the group of Union ships attacked by ''North Carolina'' off the mouth of

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 ...

in May, and she searched for ''Florida'' in July. She joined in the abortive attack on

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Riv ...

23 and 24 December, and renewed the attack in mid-January 1865. Decommissioning at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 27 June 1865, she was sold at

public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...

12 July 1865.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Vernon Steamships of the United States Navy Ships built in Brooklyn Ships of the Union Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Gunboats of the United States Navy 1859 ships

Service history

See also

References