USS Eureka (1862)

History
United States
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	date unknown
Acquired	22 August 1862
In service	c. August 1862
Out of service	March 1865
Stricken	1865 (est.)
Captured	by Union Navy forces 20 April 1862
Fate	sold, 15 September 1865
General characteristics
Displacement	50 tons
Length	85 ft (26 m)
Beam	12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)
Depth of hold	3 ft 6 in (1.07 m)
Propulsion	steam engine screw-propelled
Speed	not known
Complement	19
Armament	two guns

USS Eureka (1862) was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

Captured steamer converted to Union Navy service[]

Eureka, a screw steamer, was captured 20 April 1862 in the Rappahannock River, Virginia, by USS Anacostia; purchased by the Navy 22 August 1862; and assigned to duty in the Potomac Flotilla, Acting Ensign J. J. Brice in command.

Patrolling the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers[]

For the next 2½ years, Eureka patrolled the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and their tributaries, to prevent the passage of people and commerce between the Confederates in Virginia and their sympathizers in Maryland.

Her shallow draft made her ideal for this duty, essential to controlling the flow of intelligence and supplies to the South.

Post-war decommissioning and sale[]

Inactive after March 1865, Eureka was sold at Washington, D.C., 15 September 1865.

See also[]

• United States Navy
• American Civil War

References[]

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