USS Velocity (1862)

History
United States
Laid down	not known
Launched	not known
Acquired	30 September 1862
In service	1862
Out of service	21 January 1863
Stricken	1863 (est.)
Captured	captured by Confederate forces,; 21 January 1863;
Fate	fate unknown
General characteristics
Displacement	87 tons
Length	not known
Beam	not known
Draught	not known
Propulsion	sail
Speed	varied
Complement	not known
Armament	two 12-pounder howitzers

USS Velocity (1862) was a captured British schooner acquired by the Union Navy from the prize court during the American Civil War.

She was put into service by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries. Unfortunately for the Union Navy, she was captured, in turn, by the Confederate Navy off the Texas coast.

Her fate as a Confederate blockade runner

Velocity was a British blockade-running schooner captured by USS Kensington and USS Rachel Seaman at Sabine, Texas, on 25 September 1862; and was purchased by the Navy from the Key West prize court, Key West, Florida, on 30 September.

Civil War operations

Assigned to the West Gulf Blockade

Velocity joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron shortly after her acquisition, deploying with the blockade off Sabine Pass. There, on 25 November, she assisted Kensington, Rachel Seaman, and another prize vessel, Dan, in the capture of the British schooner Maria and the Confederate schooner Course.

Blockade is temporarily lifted as Velocity is captured by Confederates

Velocity was, herself, recaptured together with USS Morning Light on 21 January 1863 at Sabine Pass, resulting in a temporary lifting of the Union blockade on the Texas coast.

Post-war history

She is believed to have continued to serve as a Confederate gunboat, but her final disposition is unknown.

References

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