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USS Velocity (1862)
Encyclopedia
USS Velocity (1862) was a captured British schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
acquired by the Union Navy
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
from the prize court
Prize court
A prize court is a court authorized to consider whether or not a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the terms of the seizing ship's letters of marque and reprisal...
during 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...
.
She was put into service by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
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
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
coast.
Her fate as a Confederate blockade runner
Velocity was a British blockade-running schoonerSchooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
captured by Kensington
USS Kensington (1862)
The second USS Kensington was a steamship in the United States Navy.Kensington was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by J. W. Lynn in 1858 and was purchased by the Union Navy at Boston, Massachusetts, 27 January 1862...
and Rachel Seaman
USS Rachel Seaman (1861)
USS Rachel Seaman was a wooden schooner purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.Rachel Seaman was armed as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America...
at Sabine, Texas, on 25 September 1862; and was purchased by the Navy from the Key West prize court
Prize court
A prize court is a court authorized to consider whether or not a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the terms of the seizing ship's letters of marque and reprisal...
, Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, on 30 September.
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 Morning LightUSS Morning Light (1853)
USS Morning Light was a sailing ship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
on 21 January 1863 at Sabine Pass, resulting in a temporary lifting of the Union blockade on the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
coast.
Post-war history
She is believed to have continued to serve as a Confederate gunboatGunboat
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:...
, but her final disposition is unknown.