USS Preston (1865)

History
United States
Name	USS Preston
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	date unknown
In service	1865
Out of service	1865
Stricken	1868 (est.)
Homeport	Port Royal, South Carolina Washington Navy Yard
Captured	by Union Navy forces February 1865
Fate	sold, 17 September 1868
General characteristics
Type	Gunboat
Displacement	230 long tons (230,000 kg)
Length	160 ft (49 m)
Beam	12 ft (3.7 m)
Draft	Unknown
Propulsion	Steam engine
Speed	Unknown
Complement	Unknown
Armament	Unknown

The USS Preston (1865) was a blockade-running steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

She was placed in service in Port Royal, South Carolina, by the Union Navy as a gunboat during blockade operations against the Confederate States of America.

Captured by the Union Navy

The Preston, a "cigar shaped steamer" used to transport cotton, was captured in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina in February 1865.

Civil War service

Renamed the Preston and operated under the command of Acting Ensign William Thomas, she was assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and stationed at Port Royal, South Carolina until August 1865.

Decommissioning

Then ordered north, she arrived at Washington, D.C. on 21 August and was placed in ordinary. She was sold at auction on 17 September 1868.

See also

• Blockade runners of the American Civil War
• Blockade mail of the Confederacy
• 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.