USS Primrose (1863)

USS Primrose (1863), a screw steamer tugboat, armed with a heavy rifled gun and a howitzer capable of dropping a 24 pound ball, was acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

History
United States
Ordered:	date unknown
Laid down:	date unknown
Launched:	as Nellie B. Vaughn
Acquired:	14 January 1863
Commissioned:	26 February 1863
Decommissioned:	1871
Stricken:	1871
Fate:	sold, 17 March 1871
General characteristics
Displacement:	94 tons
Length:	83 ft (25 m)
Beam:	17 ft (5.2 m)
Draught:	depth 9", draft 7'
Propulsion:	steam engine, screw
Speed:	not known
Complement:	not known
Armament:	one 30-pounder rifled gun, one 24-pounder howitzer

The tug Primrose, a wooden screw steamer, purchased as Nellie B. Vaughn 14 January 1863, at Washington, D.C., was renamed Primrose; fitted out at the Washington Navy Yard; and commissioned 26 February 1863, acting Master Street in command.

Assigned to the Potomac Flotilla

Assigned to the Potomac Flotilla for duty in the Potomac River and adjacent waters, Primrose participated in operations in the Nansemond River in April and in the Curritoman in May. On 2 June, with USS Anacostia, she took the sloop Flying Cloud at Tapp's Creek, Virginia, then on the 20th captured the sloop Richard Vaux off Blakistone Island in the Potomac River.

Post-war activity and decommissioning

Laid up for repairs in February 1864, Primose returned to active duty in April, remaining with the Potomac River forces until 1866. Then assigned to the Washington Navy Yard, she remained active until 1871, when she was placed in ordinary. She was sold at Washington to J. W. Denty, 17 March 1871.

See also

• Union Blockade
• United States Navy
• List of United States Navy ships

References

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