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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Proteus (I)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Screw Steamer:
  • Built as the wooden screw steamer Proteus date and location unknown
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Purchased, 5 October 1863, by the Navy from William P. Williams, at New York
  • Commissioned USS Proteus, 10 March 1864, CDR. Robert W. Shufeldt in command
  • Proteus joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Key West, FL., 22 April 1863
    14 May she got underway for Cuba, where she watched for blockade runners bound for Wilmington from the Windwards
    24 May, she headed for the Bahama Banks to intercept traffic from Nassau
    9 June Proteus took the British schooner R. S. Hood
    27 June, she took Jupiter out of London
    In early September she captured Ann Louisa out of Havana
    27 February 1865 Proteus took the steamer Ruby out of Havana
    4 March Proteus arrived off the St. Marks River, Fla., to support Union forces marching on Tallahassee
  • Decommissioned, at New York, date unknown
  • Sold at public auction in New York, 12 July 1865, to Hooper and Co., redocumented as the steamer SS Carroll
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,244 t.
    Length 203'
    Beam 36'
    Depth of Hold 20'8"
    Draft 13'9"
    Speed 11 kts
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    one 100-pdr Parrott rifle
    two 30-pdr Parrott rifles
    six 32-pdrs
    two 12-pdr rifles
    Propulsion
    steam
    single propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source or
    Contributed By
    Proteus 28k
    Namesake
    In Greek mythology, Proteus is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea."
    Illustration of Proteus by Andrea Alciato from The Book of Emblems (1531)    		 Tommy Trampp
    Proteus (I) 61k Watercolor by Erik Heyl, 1950, of the steamer SS Carroll (ex-USS Proteus painted for use in his book "Early American Steamers", Volume I. This steamer served as USS Proteus in 1864-1865.
    US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Photo #: NH 63869. Courtesy of Erik Heyl.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Proteus (I)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 5 July 2019