USS Fern (1862)

USS Fern (1862) was a tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Her task was to tow other ships and barges, and to provide other duties that a tug could easily do, such as dispatch running.

History
United States
Ordered:	as Intrepid
Laid down:	not known
Launched:	not known
Acquired:	not known
Commissioned:	19 October 1962
Decommissioned:	12 August 1865
Stricken:	date unknown
Fate:	sold
General characteristics
Displacement:	50 tons
Length:	not known
Beam:	not known
Draught:	6 ft (1.8 m)
Propulsion:	steam engine
Speed:	10 knots
Complement:	not known
Armament:	one 12-pounder gun

Assigned to the Western Flotilla

The first ship to be named Fern by the Union Navy was a tug, formerly Intrepid, which operated under Master Alpheus Amiss with the War Department's Western Flotilla until 1 October 1862 when all these vessels were transferred to the Union Navy. Placed in the command of Amiss who was made Acting Ensign, she was renamed Fern about 19 October.

Operating with the Mississippi Squadron

Fern was assigned to the Mississippi River Squadron to operate on western waters between Cairo, Illinois, and the mouth of the Red River. She towed barges loaded with troops, delivered dispatches, transported officers, and tended coal barges.

Transporting Major General William T. Sherman

On 19 March 1863 during a joint expedition to penetrate the Yazoo River, she carried Major-General William T. Sherman up Steele's Bayou. From August 1863 to May 1865 she was stationed off Natchez, Mississippi, to tend and pump coal barges, and in early June 1865 participated in an expedition up the Red River to receive the surrender of Confederate Navy men and material.

Fern was ordered to Mound City, Illinois, where on 12 August 1865 she was decommissioned and later sold.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.