USS William H. Brown (1862)

History
United States
Laid down:	date unknown
Launched:	date unknown
Acquired:	30 September 1862
In service:	circa 30 September 1862
Out of service:	12 August 1865
Stricken:	1865 (est.)
Fate:	sold, 17 August 1865
General characteristics
Displacement:	800 tons
Length:	not known
Beam:	not known
Draught:	not known
Propulsion:	steam engine; side wheel-propelled;
Speed:	not known
Complement:	not known
Armament:	two 12-pounder guns

USS William H. Brown (1862) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a dispatch and supply boat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

William H. Brown acquired by the Union Navy as a transport

On 30 September 1862, William H. Brown, a stern-wheel steamer of 200 tons built at Monongahela, PA, 1860,[1] was transferred to the Navy by the U.S. War Department; and she served as a transport and dispatch vessel for the Mississippi Squadron for the duration of the Civil War.

Support operations with the Union fleet

The ship carried supplies and messages between the squadron's base at Cairo, Illinois, and its ships at various locations on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

William H. Brown fires on Confederate batteries

Her only recorded engagement came on 13 April 1864 during the Red River expedition when she fired on Confederate shore batteries while assisting the grounded Chillicothe. Confederate return fire hit her drum and disabled her so that she had to be towed back to Cairo for repairs.

End-of-war decommissioning and sale

After hostilities ended, the ship was placed out of commission at Mound City, Illinois, on 12 August 1865. Five days later, she was sold at auction to Mr. R. R. Hudson.

References

Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 1790 - 1868, originally compiled by William M. Lytle and Forrest R. Holdcamper, revised and edited by C. Bradford Mitchell with Kenneth R. Hall, published by The Steamship Historical Society of America, Inc., staten Island, NY, 1975.

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

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[1] Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 1790 - 1868, originally compiled by William M. Lytle and Forrest R. Holdcamper, revised and edited by C. Bradford Mitchell with Kenneth R. Hall, published by The Steamship Historical Society of America, Inc., staten Island, NY, 1975.