Topic summary
Screw corvette
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Steam frigate.
United States Navy
The United States Navy likewise started with a general 'steamer' class. In 1842 it consisted of USS Fulton (1837) of 4 guns, commissioned in 1837, and USS Union (1842) (with a horizontal submerged paddle). Union was not yet armed but would later also have 4 guns. USS Poinsett (1840) was a smaller craft, which would later be armed with 2 guns. By then the U.S. Navy already had the screw corvette USS Princeton (1843) under construction.