USS Thistle (1862)

History
United States
Ordered	as Spiteful
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	date unknown
Acquired	1 October 1862
In service	October 1862
Out of service	12 August 1865
Stricken	1865 (est.)
Fate	Sold, 17 August 1865
General characteristics
Displacement	50 tons
Length	not known
Beam	not known
Draught	not known
Propulsion	steam engine; side wheel-propelled;
Speed	not known
Complement	not specified
Armament	one 12-pounder smoothbore gun

The first USS Thistle was a Union Army steamer acquired by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

Thistle was placed in service and used by the Union Navy as a tugboat and, when the opportunity presented itself, as a gunboat, in the blockade of ports of the Confederate States of America.

Civil War operations

Transfer of Thistle from the Army to the Navy

Thistle—formerly the Army tug Spiteful—was transferred by the War Department to the Union Navy on 1 October 1862.

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron as a tug and recon vessel

Thistle deployed with the Mississippi Squadron as a tug and reconnaissance vessel in October 1862 and participated in the capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas, on 11 January 1863.

From 14 to 27 March, she took part in an expedition in the Steele's Bayou Expedition in Mississippi, attempting to find an entrance into the Yazoo River, Mississippi, and a rear approach to the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

After the expedition failed, Thistle rejoined the squadron in the Mississippi River. There, she performed dispatch and reconnaissance duty for the remainder of the war.

Post-war decommissioning and sale

Thistle was decommissioned at Mound City, Illinois., on 12 August 1865 and was sold at public auction there on 17 August to J. T. Haight.

References

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