USS Delaware
Featured Character – 1861-1862
USS Delaware
Courtesy of the U.S. Library of
Congress
Built in Wilmington,
Delaware, the Union Navy
purchased the side-wheel steamer immediately after her completion in October
1861. Originally assigned to duties on
the James River, the Delaware received orders in January 1862 to join
the Union General Ambrose Burnside’s Expedition along North Carolina’s coast. As a member of Burnside’s invasion force, she
fought in the Battle of Roanoke Island and the Battle of Elizabeth City. During a Federal raid on the Chowan River,
Confederate infantry fired upon the Delaware near Winton on February 19, 1862. In response, the Union commander ordered the USS
Commodore Perry to shell the town,
which burned. For the rest of war, the Delaware served intermittently in the inland
waters of Virginia and North Carolina. Decommissioned by the navy in August 1865,
the Delaware subsequently served as a revenue
cutter for the Department of the Treasury.