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USS Virginia (III)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons
Civil War Medal
Screw Gunboat
Built in 1861 at Dumbarton, Scotland as the merchanman Pet
Pet sailed as Noe-Daquy during the early months of the Civil War
Acquired in December 1862 by a Havana merchant for use as a Confederate blockade runner, renamed Virginia
Virginia was captured off Mugeres Island, Mexico, by USS Wachusett and
USS Sonoma on 18 January 1863
Commissined USS Virgina, 12 June 1863
Purchased by the Navy from the New York prize court, 1 September 1863.
Assigned to Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron
Virginia departed New York within a week of her commissioning bound for the Gulf of Mexico, joining Farragut's squadron in July
Needing additional repairs and modifications to become a fully effective fighting unit she spent August and most of September at New Orleans undergoing overhaul
Returning to active service in late September Virginia was deployed along the coast of Texas for the duration of the war where she conducted numerous
patrol and reconnaissance missions
Virginia compiled an impressive list of captures. Her first success was the seizure of the British blockade runner Jenny off the Texas
coast with a cargo of cotton on 6 October
Between 2 and 14 November USS Monongahela,
USS Owasco and Virginia convoyed and supported General Nathaniel Banks' successful landing at Brazos Santiago, TX., near the mouth of the Rio Grande River.
Here, Virginia captured the British steamer Matamoras on the 4th and the English brig Dashing Wave on the 5th.
After the Rio Grande expedition, Virginia returned to blockade duty capturing British schooner Mary Douglas, 15 February 1864
On the 22nd she took the English schooner Henry Colthirst
on the 29th Virginia overhauled the Confederate schooner Camilla and the sloop Cassie Holt also captured at the same time
but she grounded off San Luis Pass and was burned
On 8 March Virginia captured the sloop Randall
On 10 March she seized schooner Sylphide
On 11 April she captured the Mexican schooner Juanita, however, Juanita grounded on the 13th and was recaptured with the loss of the prize
crew. This incident was partially offset by the capture of the Mexican schooner Alma on the 19th and the seizure and destruction of the sloop Rosina
on the 20th
Virginia's last captures off San Luis Pass included the schooner Experiment, which she took on 3 May and subsequently destroyed.
Virginia returned to New Orleans in mid-May for badly needed repairs to her boilers. She remained there until 5 December, leaving for the blockade
off Galveston where she captured the schooner Belle on 27 December and helped to destroy the side-wheel steamer Acadia in February 1865.
Virginia sailed for Philadelphia in April 1865 where she was decommissioned
Sold at public auction at New York City to Perry Brothers on 30 November, documented on 14 December and was rerigged as a barge on 24 March 1885
Final Disposition, fate unknown
Specifications:
Displacement 581 t.
Length 170'
Beam 26'2"
Depth of Hull 14'8"
Draft unknown
Speed 9 kts.
Complement 122
Armament
six 24-pdr howitzers
one 12-pdr rifle
Propulsion
one steam
single propeller
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USS Virginia (III)
Dictionary of American Navy Fighting Ships (DANFS)
This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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Last Updated 13 August 2021