The first USS ''Elfin'' was a light draft

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 ...

acquired 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 patrol vessel on

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. She was purchased as ''W. C. Mann'' by Admiral David Dixon Porter at

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, February 23, 1864, and placed under the command of Acting Master A. F. Thompson.

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron

Assigned to 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 ...

, she cruised in the 7th District between Caledonia and

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 ...

, for a month, then took up duty in the 9th District extending from Cairo, Illinois, to the head of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

Elfin destroyed in combat with Confederate shore batteries

On November 4, 1864 ''Elfin'' was operating with and in the

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 Cumberland Rivers. After a severe engagement of several hours with heavy Confederate shore batteries it was considered impossible to save the three vessels, and they were burned to prevent capture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elfin Ships of the Union Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy Steamships of the United States Navy Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks in rivers Maritime incidents in November 1864