USS ''G. L. Brockenborough'' was a sloop 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 ...

. She was placed in service by the Navy as a gunboat to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries. She also served as a

ship's tender A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship, used to service or support other boats or ships. This is generally done by transporting people or supplies to and from shore or another ship. A second and distinctl ...

, providing help to other ships on blockade duty.

Service history

''G. L. Brockenborough'' (also spelled ''Brockenboro'' or ''G. L. Brockenboro'') was a small sloop captured 15 October 1862 by ''Fort McHenry'', Lt. E. Y. McCauley. ''G. L. Brockenborough'' had apparently been used as a blockade runner and was discovered after being scuttled in the Apalachicola River,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. She was subsequently raised and purchased at the

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 ...

in Key West, Florida, by Rear Admiral James L. Lardner 15 November 1862. Assigned to the

East Gulf Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

, ''G. L. Brockenborough's'' shallow draft made her an ideal vessel to blockade the many inlets of the Florida coast. She served as a blockader and tender to steamers and in St. George's Sound and the Apalachicola River. until she was abandoned after a severe gale had forced her aground in St. George's Sound 27 May 1863.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:G. L. Brockenborough Ships of the Union Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy Tenders of the United States Navy Sloops of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States American Civil War auxiliary ships of the United States Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Florida coast Scuttled vessels Maritime incidents in 1862 Maritime incidents in May 1863