USS Lily (1862)

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.

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

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.

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gollark: Ah.
gollark: How is a lisp interpreter characteristic of *you*?
gollark: And also my alt, yes.
gollark: You don't agree because you know YOU made it, and are me!

References

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

See also
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