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USS Tempest (1862)

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History
United States
Laid downdate unknown
Launchedin 1862 at Louisville, Kentucky
Acquired30 December 1864
Commissioned26 April 1865
Decommissioned
Stricken1865 (est.)
Fatesold, 29 November 1865
General characteristics
Displacement161 tons
Lengthnot known
Beamnot known
Draughtnot known
Propulsion
Speednot known
Complementnot known
Armament
  • two 12-pounder guns
  • two 24-pounder howitzers
  • two 30-pounder Parrott rifles

USS Tempest (1862) was a 161-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War for service against the Confederate States of America.

Tempest was commissioned as a gunboat at the end of the war and was assigned demobilization operations in western waters of the Confederacy.

Built at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1862

Tempest—a wooden-hulled, sidewheel steamer built in 1862 at Louisville, Kentucky—was acquired by the Navy at Cincinnati, Ohio, on 30 December 1864 from Joseph Brown; was converted there to a gunboat by Mr. Brown; and was commissioned on 26 April, Acting Volunteer Lt. Comdr. William G. Saltonstall in command.

Tempest operated with the naval forces in western waters throughout her brief naval career. She served as flagship for Acting Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee, while he directed efforts on the Mississippi River and its tributaries to prevent the escape of the former President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis.

She continued in this role while he oversaw the demobilization of the Mississippi Squadron. Rear Admiral Lee hauled down his flag from her on 14 August.

Post-war decommissioning

The ship was decommissioned at Mound City, Illinois, on 30 November 1865, the day after she was sold at public auction there to Robert Cams. Tempest was redocumented on 11 December 1865 and remained in merchant service until 1870.

See also

References