USS ''Philippi'' was a

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 ...

captured by the Union Navy during 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 served the Union Navy’s struggle against 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 ...

as a picket, patrol and

dispatch vessel Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message w ...

Service history

Union steamer discovered new and fast sidewheeler ''Ella'' 10 November 1863 steaming along the coast north of

Fort Fisher, North Carolina Fort Fisher was a Confederate States of America, 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 (American Civil War), Un ...

. She immediately gave chase and fired a shot at the blockade runner which glanced off ''Ella’s'' gallows frame and caused her to surrender. The

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Prize Court A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...

subsequently condemned the prize and sold her to the Navy 23 February 1864. Renamed ''Philippi'' four days later, the steamer commissioned early in April. ''Philippi'' was ordered to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, on the 11th for duty in the

West Gulf Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

, ''Philippi'' served the squadron as a picket, patrol, and dispatch vessel until set afire by Confederate artillery and destroyed while following Admiral

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral, Vice admiral (United State ...

’s fleet into

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. T ...

5 August 1864.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippi Ships of the Union Navy Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy Dispatch boats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Alabama coast Maritime incidents in August 1864

Service history

See also

References