USS Lily (1862)

History
United States
Ordered	as Jessie Benton
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	date unknown
Acquired	30 September 1862
In service	19 October 1862
Out of service	28 May 1863
Stricken	1863 (est.)
Fate	sunk, 28 May 1863
General characteristics
Displacement	50 long tons (50 t)
Length	not known
Beam	not known
Draft	not known
Propulsion	steam engine
Speed	not known
Complement	not known
Armament	not known

USS Lily (1862) was a tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. It was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

Construction and commissioning[]

Lily, a steam tugboat, was built as Jessie Benton, and purchased by the War Department 5 May 1862. Used by the Quartermaster Corps on the western rivers, she was known as Jessie until transferred to the Navy 30 September 1862, Acting Ensign R. H. Smith in command, and renamed Lily on 19 October 1862.

Service history[]

Assigned to Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter’s Mississippi Squadron, she served on the river, including duty during the Vicksburg campaign.

Lily sank near Chickasaw Bayou in the Yazoo River in collision with the ironclad ram USS Choctaw on 28 May 1863.

References[]

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

See also[]

• United States Navy
• American Civil War