{{short description|Gunboat of the United States Navy}} {{other ships|USS Delaware}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=USS Delaware (1861).jpg |image_caption=USRC ''Louis McLane'', formerly USS ''Delaware''. }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States |flag={{USN flag|1861}} |name=USS ''Delaware'' |namesake= |builder=[[Harlan & Hollingsworth]], Wilmington, Delaware |laid_down=1860 |launched=1861 |completed= |acquired=14 October 1861 |commissioned=12 December 1861 |recommissioned= |decommissioned=5 August 1865 |out_of_service=27 December 1902 |renamed= |fate=Sold on 12 September 1865 to the [[U.S. Treasury Department]] |notes=*Commissioned as USRC ''Delaware'', 1865 *Commissioned as USRC ''Louis McLane'', 1873 *Merchant steamer ''Louis Dolive'', 1903 |badge= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption=<ref name=Canney34-35/> |type=[[Gunboat]] |displacement={{convert|350|LT|t|abbr=on}} |length={{convert|153|ft|m|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|27|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} |draft={{convert|6|ft|m|abbr=on}} |depth={{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |power= |propulsion=*1 × [[walking beam engine]],{{convert|38|in|m|abbr=on}} diameter × {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} stroke *side wheel propelled |sail_plan=[[Gaff rig]] [[schooner]] |speed={{convert|13|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} |range= |complement=65 (Navy), 33 (Revenue Cutter Service) |armament=4 × 32-pounder guns, 1 × 12-pounder rifled gun (Navy); 2 guns of unknown caliber (Revenue Cutter Service) |notes= }} }}
'''USS ''Delaware''''' was a [[Steamboat|steamer]] acquired by the [[Union Navy]] for use during the [[American Civil War]]. She had a very active naval career as a [[gunboat]] for over three years, and after the war served as a revenue cutter for over 37 years. The steamer was sold to the private sector in 1903, and disappeared from shipping registers in 1919.
==Origins== The ''Delaware''—a sidewheel steamer—was the fourth ship to be named ''Delaware'' by the Navy. She was built in 1861 at the [[Harlan & Hollingsworth]] Iron Shipbuilding Company of [[Wilmington, Delaware]]. The steamboat, initially called the ''Edenton'', was ordered in 1860 by the Albemarle Steam Packet Company. This company was made up of 24 businessmen from northeastern [[North Carolina]] who wanted to operate a steamboat in the [[Albemarle Sound]] area of North Carolina. According to the agreement, the steamboat would be built using "timbers of bar iron, attached to the hull plating via keepers." The Packet Company's president, Edward Wood of [[Edenton, North Carolina]], grew concerned over the deteriorating situation between the North and the South. Wood ultimately stopped payments over fear that the steamboat, now called the ''Virginia Dare'' would be detained. (Hayes Collection, SHC) Later the ''Virginia Dare'' was purchased by the [[Union Navy]] on 14 October 1861, and renamed ''USS Delaware''.<ref name=Lytle53>Lytle–Holdcamper, p 53</ref> [[Lieutenant]] S. P. Quackenbush was placed in command.
==Assigned to the North Atlantic blockade== ''Delaware''{{'}}s task—during the course of her patrols—was to sink or capture [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] ships, and to bombard forts and other military installations. Assigned to the [[North Atlantic Blockading Squadron]], ''Delaware'' sailed from [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] on 12 December 1861 and stood up the [[James River]] on 26 December 1861 on patrol. On 12 January 1862, she sailed for [[Hatteras Inlet]], [[North Carolina]] as part of General Burnside's expedition against Confederate forces in the North Carolina sounds. ''Delaware'' took part in the capture of [[Roanoke Island]] from 7 to 8 February 1862, securing the landing of Union infantry on the island by shelling an awaiting enemy detachment at Ashby's Harbor;<ref>{{cite map|last=Andrews|first=W.S.|title=Map of the battlefield of Roanoke Id. Feb. 8th.|publisher=Office of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/99447476/|year=1862|access-date=5 April 2023|via=Library of Congress}}</ref> and on 10 February 1862 she took part in the attack on [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina]], where she shared in the capture or destruction of five Confederate gunboats and two [[schooners]].
On 19 February 1862, ''Delaware'' and seven other gunboats made a reconnaissance up the [[Chowan River]]. The purpose of this voyage was to destroy two railroad bridges above the town of [[Winton, North Carolina]]. It was during this foray that she was nearly ambushed at the town wharf by a force of Confederate soldiers and artillery hiding among the brush near the dock. Union commander [[Rush Hawkins]], who was in the yardarm of the foremast, spotted the Confederates and warned the helmsman in time to sheer off. ''Delaware''{{'}}s superstructure was severely shot up by rifle fire, but fortunately the artillery overshot its mark. After pulling away from the dock ''Delaware'' returned fire and dispersed the Confederate militia. The next day ''Delaware'' and the other gunboats returned to Winton. Finding it deserted, the town was burned, partly in retaliation for the ambush. (Barrett 1963)
From 13 to 14 March 1862, ''Delaware'' participated in the capture of [[New Bern, North Carolina]], and captured four vessels.<ref name=NHHC>''Delaware'', DANFS, Naval History and Heritage Command</ref>
==Virginia river operations== ''Delaware'' arrived in [[Hampton Roads]] on 2 June 1862 for service in [[Virginia]] waters until 30 October 1862. She had several encounters with enemy batteries and captured a number of small craft which she sent in as prizes. She returned to operations in the rivers and sounds of [[North Carolina]] from October 1862 through February 1863, when she sailed with {{USS|Valley City|1859|2}} in tow, arriving at Hampton Roads on 11 February 1863. Until 5 April 1863, ''Delaware'' cruised in the James and [[York River (Virginia)|York River]]s and [[Chesapeake Bay]], then on the North Carolina coast until 27 November 1863, when she sailed to [[Baltimore]], Maryland, for repairs. On 27 March 1864, she returned to the waters of Virginia, to patrol and perform picket duty, transport men and ordnance stores, and clear the rivers of [[torpedoes]] (mines) until the end of the war.
==U.S. Revenue Cutter Service history== ''Delaware'' arrived at [[Washington Navy Yard]] on 27 July 1865 and was decommissioned from U.S. Navy service on 5 August 1865, after serving over three years. On 31 August 1865, she was sold to [[United States Department of the Treasury|The Department of the Treasury]] for $40,000 (less 10-percent) and commissioned [[United States Revenue Cutter Service|USRC ''Delaware'']] on 12 September 1865.<ref name=Lytle53/> After being fitted out as a revenue cutter in [[Baltimore]], Maryland, she was first assigned to [[Galveston, Texas]] in 1865. She was repaired in Baltimore, Maryland in 1867 at a cost of $14,100 and was then reassigned to [[Mobile, Alabama]] in 1868.<ref name=USCGHO>''Delaware'' (1865), Cutter history, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office</ref><ref name=RoM293-299/>
In 1872 she was ordered to relieve the [[USS Wilderness (1864)|USRC ''Wilderness'']] in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana with orders to cruise to Mobile, Alabama "occasionally".<ref name=Canney34-35/> She was extensively modified in 1873 for a cost of $11,500 and was renamed ''Louis McLane'' in June 1873 honoring the tenth [[Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Louis McLane]].<ref name=Canney34-35/><ref name=Lytle53/><ref name=RoM293-299>Record of Movements, pp 293–299</ref> She was then ordered to [[Pensacola, Florida]] for duty where her cruising area was from [[Cedar Key, Florida]] to [[Biloxi, Mississippi]].<ref name=Canney34-35/> ''Louis McLane'' was assigned to a patrol that enforced neutrality laws in 1897. While operating near [[Indian Key, Florida]] on 20 June 1897, she seized the tug ''Dauntless'' bound for Cuba that was carrying 175 rifles, 300,000 rounds of ammunition, medical supplies and 27 men on board in violation of U.S. neutrality laws. Secretary of the Treasury [[Lyman J. Gage]] singled out ''Louis McLane'' in his 1897 report to congress for her enforcement action.<ref name=King109-110/>
During the [[Spanish–American War]], ''Louis McLane'' was stationed at [[Key West, Florida]] and commanded by [[First Lieutenant]] [[William E. Reynolds]], assigned to the [[North Atlantic Squadron]] commanded by Rear Admiral [[William T. Sampson]], USN.<ref name=King109-110>King, pp 109–110</ref> ''Louis McLane'' patrolled the submarine cable from Key West, Florida to [[Sanibel, Florida|Sanibel Island]] from 1898 to 1899.<ref name=Evans172>Evans, p 172</ref> She operated in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] for the rest of her career, mostly out of Key West, Florida from 1877 until she was decommissioned on 27 December 1902.<ref name=RoM293-299/>
After over 37 years of revenue service, she was sold to J. A. Carney for $4,195 on 23 October 1903.<ref name=Canney34-35>Canney, pp 34–35</ref> She was re-documented as ''Louis Dolive'' on 31 March 1904.<ref name=Lytle53/><ref name=RoM293-299/>
{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width: 40em; margin: auto;" ! colspan=2 style="text-align: center;" | List of officers of USRC ''Louis McLane'' in the Spanish American War |- | *First Lieutenant [[William E. Reynolds]], USRCS, Commanding *Second Lieutenant Andrew James Henderson, USRCS, Executive Officer *Second Lieutenant A. R. Hasson, USRCS *Third Lieutenant George W. Cairns, USRCS *Second Assistant Engineer Charles A. Wheeler, USRCS |}
==Notes==
===Citations=== {{reflist}}
===References=== * {{cite web |title=Delaware |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/d3/delaware-iv.htm |website=Dictionary of American Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command, U.S. Navy |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024121027/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/d3/delaware-iv.htm |archive-date=24 October 2012 |location=Washington, DC}} * {{cite web |title=Delaware (1865) |url=https://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Delaware1865.asp |website=Cutter History |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520235726/http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Delaware1865.asp |archive-date=20 May 2017}} * {{cite web |title=Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790–December 31, 1933 |url=https://media.defense.gov/2020/Mar/09/2002261298/-1/-1/0/USCG_RECORD_OF_MOVEMENTS.PDF |website=Historic Documents |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office |access-date=24 November 2020}} * {{cite book |last1=Barrett |first1=John G. |title=The Civil War in North Carolina |date=1963 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina}} * {{cite book|last=Canney|first=Donald L.|title=U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-101-1}} * {{cite book|last=Evans|first=Stephen H.|title=The United States Coast Guard 1790–1915: A Definitive History|year=1949|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland}} No ISBN * {{cite book|last=King|first=Irving H.|title=The Coast Guard Expands, 1865–1915: New Roles, New Frontiers|year=1996|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-458-6}} * {{cite book |last1=Lytle |first1=William M.|last2=Holdcamper |first2=Forrest R.|title=Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 1790-1868 |date=1975 |publisher= The Steamship Historical Society of America |location=Staten Island, New York}} * Wood Family Papers in the Hayes Collection, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
==External links== *[http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/h/Hayes_Collection.html Inventory of the Hayes Collection], in the Southern Historical Collection, [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|UNC-Chapel Hill]].
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware (1861)}} [[Category:Ships built by Harlan and Hollingsworth]] [[Category:Ships of the Union navy]] [[Category:Steamships of the United States Navy]] [[Category:Gunboats of the United States Navy]] [[Category:American Civil War patrol boats of the United States]] [[Category:1861 ships]]