USS ''Sorrel'' was a small 68-ton steamer purchased by the

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

towards the end of 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 th ...

. The Navy placed ''Sorrel'' in service as a Philadelphia

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

, a role she maintained through the end of the Civil War and for a short period afterwards.

Service history

''W. S. Hancock''—a wooden-hulled steam tug—was purchased by the Navy at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on 1 August 1864 from Hillman and Streaker. The small steamer was renamed ''Sorrel'' and was apparently served as a general purpose tug at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

throughout her naval career. She was laid up in Philadelphia in the late 1870s and remained inactive until she was sold there to A. Purvis & Son on 27 September 1883.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorrel Ships of the Union Navy Steamships of the United States Navy Tugs of the United States Navy American Civil War auxiliary ships of the United States