USS Nyack was a wooden-hulled screw gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, that saw action in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. The ship was laid down at New York Navy Yard in 1863, launched on 6 October 1863, and commissioned on 28 September 1864, Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 L. Howard Newman in command.

Civil War, 1864–1865

Nyack joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

, for duty through the close of the Civil War. She joined in attacks on Fort Fisher

Battle of Fort Fisher

Two battles were fought over Fort Fisher during the American Civil War. The first battle was a failed attempt by the Union army and Navy to capture the fort. The second battle was a successful operation which led to the fall of the fort and the city of Wilmington, North Carolina.* First Battle of...

 in the Cape Fear River

Cape Fear River

The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina in the United States. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The overall water quality of the river is continuously measured and monitored by and conducted by the , , and the...

 on 24 and 25 December 1864, and participated in the capture of Fort Anderson

Fort Anderson (North Carolina)

Fort Anderson was an early fort in the lower Cape Fear Region of North Carolina, at Brunswick Town in Brunswick County. It was used as a Confederate Fort during the American Civil War. The fort was pivotal in protecting the Cape Fear River inlets and Wilmington upstream. Earthen batteries...

 nearby on 18 and 19 February 1865.

Pacific, 1866–1871

Ordered to the Pacific in 1866, Nyack cruised the coasts of Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, and Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, protecting American nationals while maintaining American neutrality during tension between Spain and her former colonies

Chincha Islands War

The Chincha Islands War was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru and Chile from 1864 to 1866, that began with Spain's seizure of the guano-rich Chincha Islands, part of a series of attempts by Isabel II of Spain to reassert her country's lost...

. She gave asylum to General Manuel Pardo

Manuel Pardo

Manuel Pardo y Lavalle was a Peruvian politician and the first civilian President of Peru.Born in Lima, Peru, he was the founder of the most important political party of the era...

, ex-President of Peru, on 10 January 1868 as he fled revolutionary turmoil, carrying him safely to Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

. After similar service to America's foreign relations Nyack returned to San Francisco early in 1871, decommissioning on 15 March 1871. She was sold there to W. E. Mighell on 30 November 1883.