USS ''Brilliant'' was a steamer purchased by the

Union Navy The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were un ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. She was used by the Union Navy as a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

assigned to patrol

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

waterways. ''Brilliant'', a wooden stern-wheel steamer, was built in 1862 at

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war resumption of westward migration. The Tradin ...

, and purchased by the War Department, August 13, 1862 at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and converted to tinclad by Edward Hartt; transferred to the Navy with the Western Flotilla October 1, 1862; and commissioned the following day. Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Charles G. Perkins in command.

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron

After undergoing repairs ''Brilliant'' sailed from St. Louis, Missouri, September 25, 1862 to join the

Mississippi Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was ...

at Cairo, Illinois. Throughout the Civil War she operated very actively on the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Cumberland,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

s until August 2, 1865.

Assisting in driving off Confederate attackers of Fort Donelson

On February 3, 1863 she assisted in repelling the Confederate attack on

Fort Donelson Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Da ...

, and from December 3 until December 16, 1864 supported the Union Army's attack on

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

Post war decommissioning

''Brilliant'' was sold at public auction August 17, 1865 at

Mound City, Illinois Mound City is a city and the county seat of Pulaski County, Illinois, United States. It is located along the Ohio River just north of its confluence with the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 588. History Mound Ci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brilliant Ships of the Union Navy Steamships of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in Brownsville, Pennsylvania 1862 ships