USS ''Lilian'' was a large
steamer captured 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 th ...
. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the
Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.
Captured by the Union and commissioned as a Union Navy vessel
''Lilian'', an iron wide-wheel steamer built on the
Clyde River,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, in 1863, was captured some 100 miles east of
Cape Fear,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, 24 August 1864 by and other Union ships. Among the prisoners were five
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
, pilots being carried to
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
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to guide Confederate ships through the
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
. Purchased by the Navy from the
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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 ...
,
Prize Court
A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the t ...
6 September 1864, she was commissioned 6 October 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 ci ...
, Acting Volunteer Lt. T. A. Harris in command.
Assigned to join the Union fleet attacking Fort Fisher
''Lilian'' joined the fleet attacking
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...
,
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...
, 23 to 24 December 1864 and 13 to 14 January 1865. She landed troops above the fort on the 13th, and then bombarded it. After this attack, she patrolled the inlet, and with captured the British steamer ''Blenheim'' 25 January.
Post-war decommissioning, sale, and civilian career
She decommissioned 5 April 1865 and was sold at
public auction at
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
30 November 1865. Documented 8 October 1866, ''Lilian'' operated in merchant service until 1868.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilian
Ships of the Union Navy
Steamships of the United States Navy
Ships built on the River Clyde
Gunboats of the United States Navy
1863 ships