USS Chicopee (1863)

History
United States
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	4 March 1863
Commissioned	7 May 1864
Decommissioned	19 December 1866
Stricken	1867 (est.)
Fate	sold, 8 October 1867
General characteristics
Displacement	974 tons
Length	205 ft (62 m)
Beam	35 ft (11 m)
Draft	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Depth of hold	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Propulsion	steam engine side wheel-propelled
Speed	not known
Complement	not known
Armament	not known

USS Chicopee (1863) was a large steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy for various purposes, but especially to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

Chicopee, a double-ended side wheel steamer, was built by Paul Curtis, Boston, Massachusetts; launched 4 March 1863; and commissioned 7 May 1864, Commander A. D. Harell in command.

Assigned to blockade operations off the U.S. East Coast[]

From 10 June 1864 Chicopee sailed off the coast and in the inland waters of North Carolina. She joined in the operations which led to the capture of Plymouth, North Carolina, between 29 October and 1 November 1864. Later she cooperated with the Union Army in the expeditions to Pitch Landing and against , of December 1864.

After overhaul at Norfolk Navy Yard in early 1865, Chicopee returned to North Carolina waters, and resumed her cruising with the North Atlantic Squadron until 24 December 1865 when she arrived at Norfolk Navy Yard. She returned to Wilmington, North Carolina, 23 January 1866, and continued to cruise off the North Carolina coast until 3 December, sailing then for Washington, D.C.

Post-war decommissioning and sale[]

She was placed out of commission there 19 December 1866 and sold 8 October 1867.

References in Popular Culture[]

In the 2019 psychological horror film The Light House directed by Robert Eggers; the character Thomas Wake, played by Willem Dafoe, reminisces about his time spent aboard the USS Chicopee in his younger sea-faring days before retiring to the life of a light house keeper, stating, "Ah, the Chicopee, there were none as fast and fleet in '63."

References[]

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.