USS Pursuit (1861)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Pursuit.

USS Pursuit was a bark purchased at New York City on 3 September 1861; and was commissioned 17 December 1861, Acting Volunteer Lt. David Cate in command.

Period watercolor by amateur artist
History
United States
Name	USS Pursuit
Acquired	by purchase 3 September 1861
Commissioned	17 December 1861
Decommissioned	5 June 1865
Fate	Sold, 12 July 1865
General characteristics
Type	Barque
Tonnage	600
Length	144 ft (44 m)
Beam	34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)
Depth of hold	15 ft 1 in (4.60 m)
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	100 officers and enlisted
Armament	6 × 32-pounder guns

Service history

Assigned to the Gulf blockade

Assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, she operated off the Florida coast, with several cruises to Cuba, during the course of the American Civil War.

Intercepting and capturing blockade runners

Operating as named, she captured her first prize, the schooner Anna Belle, off Apalachicola, Florida 6 March 1862. In April she took the sloop La Fayette (4th) and the steamer Florida (6th), both in St. Joseph's Bay near Pensacola, Florida, and on 28 May she ran down the schooner Andromeda off the Cuban coast.

On 27 March 1863, while laying off Gadsden's Point in Tampa Bay, the crew spotted smoke on the beach and three people waving a white flag. Suspecting them to be either runaway slaves or Confederate deserters, the Pursuit sent a boat under a flag of truce. It appeared that two of the people on shore were in women's clothing "with their hands and faces blackened." Upon the boat touching the beach, an ambush was sprung as the three people turned out to be Confederates. Roughly 100 armed men revealed themselves and demanded the boat and its small crew surrender. When the men from the Pursuit refused, the Confederates unleashed a volley, injuring four of the crew including the officer in charge. As the boat pulled away from the beach back to the Pursuit, the ship was able to bring its guns to bear and fired four shells into the group of rebels, seemingly without effect.^[1]

On 23 June 1863 she captured the sloop Kate at the mouth of the Indian River and, at the end of December, destroyed two salt works on St. Joseph's Bay.^[2]

Final Indian River operations

Pursuit took her final prizes, the cotton boat Peep O'Day and the British schooner Mary, in the Indian River, 4 December 1864 and 16 March 1865 respectively.

Decommissioning

At the close of the American Civil War she returned to New York where she was decommissioned 5 June 1865 and sold 12 July 1865.

See also

• American Civil War portal

• Union Navy
• Union Blockade