USS Grosbeak (1865)

History
United States
Ordered:	as Fanny
Laid down:	date unknown
Launched:	date unknown
Acquired:	3 February 1865
Commissioned:	24 February 1865
Decommissioned:	circa 17 August 1865
Stricken:	1865 (est.)
Fate:	sold, 17 August 1865
General characteristics
Displacement:	196 tons
Length:	164'
Beam:	28’
Draught:	depth of hold 4' 6"
Propulsion:	steam engine; side wheel-propelled;
Speed:	not known
Complement:	not known
Armament:	two 20-pounder Parrott rifles; two 30-pounder Parrott rifles; one 12-pounder smoothbore;

USS Grosbeak (1865) was a steamship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

Grosbeak was placed into service as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of ports of the Confederate States of America.

Purchased at Mount City, Illinois, in 1865

Grosbeak, renamed from Fanny, was purchased at Mound City, Illinois. 3 February 1865; and commissioned 24 February, Acting Master Thomas Burns in command.

Civil War service

Assigned for duty on the Mississippi River

After brief duty in Kentucky with the iron-clad monitor squadron stationed there. Grosbeak joined the Mississippi squadron patrolling the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois, to the White River.

Rescuing survivors from the steamboat Sultana

When the river steamer Sultana caught fire and exploded off Memphis, Tennessee, 27 April, 1865, Grosbeak rescued 60 to 80 survivors and transferred them to hospital. She also transported wounded men from boats further down the river to Memphis, Tennessee, for proper care.

Post-war decommissioning and sale

As the war ended, Grosbeak returned to Mound City and was sold there 17 August 1865.

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References

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